Rate & Discuss: The Woman Who Lived
England, 1651. The deadly Highwayman ‘The Nightmare’ and his sidekick stalk the dark streets of London. But when they find loot that’s not of this world, they come face to face with the Doctor. Who is the Nightmare in league with? And can the Doctor avoid the hangman’s noose and protect Earth from a devilish betrayal?
Series 9 reached its halfway point tonight but the drama showed no signs of slowing down as Maisie Williams returned once again to challenge the Doctor in unexpected ways. When they told us she was “cosmic”, they meant it! But this time, who was she in league with?
Fresh (give or take, like, eight hundred years!) from her debut in The Girl Who Died, the Game of Thrones star was back with an almighty vengeance in the appropriately titled The Woman Who Lived, only this week there wasn’t a Viking in sight… More’s the pity. That’s because the action was now taking place in London in 1651 where a deadly Highwayman stalked the streets as the Doctor found himself in a race against time to protect planet Earth from a devilish betrayal. So it was just another day in the office for our Time Lord!
Ashildr has certainly been driving you all into a fevered frenzy since her entrance last week (as a matter of fact, at the time of writing, 19% of you are still adamant that she’s River Song!), but was the continuation of her story as enjoyable as her inception? Let us know what you thought of tonight’s episode, its shocks, guest stars and everything and anything else in between, by voting, rating and commenting below. Happy discussing, Whovians!
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NOTE: This discussion will NOT be spoiler monitored so please do not read the comments if you haven’t seen The Woman Who Lived. You have been warned!
So, let’s get one thing cleared up straight away, I don’t watch game of thrones.
With all the hype for Miss Williams, I went into this 2 parter expecting a bafta-winning performance, what I got in return was an average performance. To add to this, her character was annoying.
The story was weak. And one of the writers wrote one of the most wonderful doctor who stories of all time (& space) ‘The Mummy on the orient express.’
I just couldn’t get excited about this one though, to the point finding it dull.
So far, I’m happy to say that series 9 is shaping up, and ticking, over nicely.
And it looks as though next week’s is steering back on track.
I thought Maisie Williams’ acting was amazing. There was a marked difference in her performance this week. I really believed she was jaded and bitter. There was no trace of the charming little girl we saw last week.
Didn’t really care for Lenny the Lion, but the rest of it was spot on, for me. It was good to see the Doctor engaging with someone similar to him, yet different. I was glad he kept plugging away at her and didn’t give up on her humanity coming back.
I wonder if her appearance in the selfie at the end is malevolent or benevolent. She’s not easy to read and that’s another thing I like about the character.
Capaldi continues to mesmerise.
I have to say first off, I am really getting to hate Moffatt, he has no imagination! When you look into the story, Ashildr is just a carbon copy of Clara – Clara, there possible girl appearing all through the Doctor’s lives, Ashildr, the immortal girls, always protecting the Doctor’s companions. I mean, come on…….
Saying that though, if this story proves anything it is that the Doctor is better of without Clara. PC was at his best, in the driving seat and Doctor Who, not second to Clara!! This need to humanise the Doctor is dull, it is the most striking thing about Tom Baker, he was an alien and no-one tried to humanise him.
Sarah “Sometimes you don’t seem hu…”
Doctor “Human? I am not”
This season, although the best Moffatt has done, just continues to show, he has to go!!!
Although not everyone was impressed with last night’s episode, I much preferred it to The Woman Who Died. In terms of story, I just found it much more entertaining and I was hooked all the way through.
I thought Maisie Williams as Lady Me and The Knightmare was much more interesting than the original character of Ashildr, who I found unremarkable and forgettable.
The Lion character was reminiscent of the Cats of New Earth from Series 2 and 3, but he didn’t really play a massive role in the episode. That’s a shame, because the prosthetic work was good and the voice of the character distinctive.
The Sonic Sunglasses were back, as we all predicted they would be, only I’m not sure anyone is that amused by them now, if they ever were. I’m not going to complain too much about them as that is part of the entertainment for some, so I’ll just say I don’t get it and that “joke” isn’t meant for me.
Ashildr in the present day is something I’m interested to see. It’s been confirmed that …
**SPOILER** **SPOILER** **SPOILER** **SPOILER** **SPOILER**
Ashildr is returning in Episode 10 with Rigsy from the Series 8 episode “Flatline” and was also seen in a selfie at the end of this episode. As I’m not a fan of historically set episodes, I will be interested to see how Maisie Williams changes the character again after more than 400 years since “Lady Me”.
As Hoody Lover said, it’s unknown at the moment whether she will turn out to be a malevolent or a benevolent character and they’ve clearly designed it that way. I think the character has the potential to grow, but episode 10 will tell whether I can give her that chance.
Overall, a better episode this week, but Episodes 1 & 2 of this Series have yet to be bested so far.
I have got to say, I didn’t really like this two parter, kinda dragged for me and lacked action
Another meagre episode. A pretty dull plot, stiff dialogue, forced humour and some moments that left me going “Wait what just happened!?” and not in a good way.
But the best positives about this episode was Ashildr and another physiological insight into the Doctor’s character. Although Ashildr presentation isn’t all that good as the dialogue and the acting did not do the character justice, I think the idea behind her is brilliant! A tortured character created from a mistake the Doctor made out of kindness. I wish this character had more than two episodes to evolve. I know she’ll come back but I wish we had more time to see her than It would be more believable seeing her change.
The relationship her and the Doctor have is interesting, sort of like a strained father and daughter relationship and it was very touching at the end when Her and the Doctor talk in the Pub, discussing why he can’t travel with her and why he needs companions. The episode had a light-hearted yet intriguing ending with a dash of foreboding.
So now that the season is halfway through I can say it is a good season. It’s lost the epicness that it started of with but that was expected really and there’s a good chance the season finale will pick things up!