DOCTOR WHO: THE WITCH’S FAMILIAR (S09E02)

Last weekend brought us The Magician’s Apprentice, the first episode of DOCTOR WHO Season/Series 9, and the beginning of the end of Jenna Coleman’s run on the show as companion ‘Clara.’ 

Now we’re onto The Witch’s Familiar, the second part of that bizarre and shocking tale, which should (in theory) address and/or resolve several significant plot developments, as well as explore the wickedly wrenching moral quandary piled onto the Doctor in Apprentice’s second half.  

Since the show’s 2005 relaunch, I can’t recall ever having been profoundly impressed by any of its Season/Series openers.  I haven’t disliked them, per se, but I’ve frequently felt like they were attempting to rediscover the show…again…instead of confidently charging out of the gates swinging.  This was not the case with Magician’s Apprentice.  It was big, bold, brash, and (depending on how storylines resolve) it may’ve even been a little ballsy.  Apprentice felt almost as if it was professing…loudly and in no uncertain terms…there is still artistic and conceptual gold to be mined from DOCTOR WHO, and it showed us as much rather brilliantly at times.  

Photography by Ali Asad was cinematic and carefully considered, deftly evoking WHO’s modernized sensibilities while somehow recalling photographic proclivities from the best of ‘classic’ DW.  Performances were more sharply defined and more fully invested than we’ve seen in a long time, with Capaldi’s conveyance of our favorite Timelord feeling assured and effortless and like he’s finally found a deeper connection...and fully plugged into...his role.  

Hettie Macdonald’s directing was smart and clean - allowing for an almost surreal atmospheric slow-burn at times, invariably punctuated by either dopey-fun WHOish madness, or effectively high drama.  All driven by one of the most ‘on game’ Steven Moffat scripts we’ve enjoyed for some time.  

A great start for the new Season/Series?  Very much so.  I’d even call it the best (2005+) seasonal launch episode this show has put forth.  There is, however, a nagging sensation I can’t quite shake.  An itch I can’t quite manage to scratch.  

Over its long history, my personal feeling is that DOCTOR WHO, on the whole, has often been far more proficient at setting-up its multi-part stories than successfully paying them off.   Thus, when word arrived that S9 would be heavily comprised of two-parters, I (literally) shifted in my seat uncomfortably.  I couldn’t help but wonder if S9 might end up being a staggering and consistent frustration throughout - populated by immensely promising initial episodes, chased by relatively scattershot and underamped resolutions.  

I can not express how much I hope this won’t be the MO for this Season/Series, and this weekend’s transmission of The Witch’s Familiar promises to deliver unto us (at least) some sense of how such formatting might play out over the next few months.  

Based on the strength of Magician’s Apprentice and my sense of the overall ‘vision’ Team Moffat appear to be pursuing for S9, I feel…hopeful…as of this writing.  Very hopeful, in fact.    We’ll see soon enough…

In the gallery below are some images from The Witch’s Familiar.    Should further images arrive throughout the week, I’ll incorporate them here as well.  This article may feasibly be updated with other media which may come our way (clips from episodes? etc.) - but feel free to glance through the discussion stream below, as videos and images are posted there quite frequently...and content you may find there isn’t necessarily mirrored in artricles here.   

PLEASE NOTE that some of the images in this gallery may be considered ‘SPOILERY’ - although the spoiler itself shouldn’t come as a particular surprise if you’ve been following recent interviews with the cast/crew of the show.   

Also note that these images are officially issued, thus they can't be THAT spoilery, I suppose.  Although, as discussed in our forums recently, content TPTB on this show do and do not brand as 'spoilery' is sometimes very nonsensical indeed.  

Also interesting here:  notably present in these images is _____, notably absent from these images is _____.  Misdirection or manipulation by The Powers That Be?  Or, meaningful??

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ALL CLEAR 

Welcome to Geeklectica’s second episode-specific DOCTOR WHO discussion thread.  The notion driving this environment is simple and sincere:  

We warmly invite and encourage an open discourse and free exchange of ideas, but will enforce a strict zero tolerance policy regarding trolling, disrespect, or hate speak of any kind. 

With this in mind, please feel free to step in, say ‘Hi!’, share your thoughts, hang out, and…above all…have fun!  



The ongoing DOCTOR WHO Season/Series 9 Multi-topic Megathread can be found HERE.

The Magician’s Apprentice thread which began last week can be found HERE.  

COMING NEXT WEEK - DOCTOR WHO: Under the Lake (S09E03)