Doctor Who really went all out with this year’s finale. The finale is a two-part episode, filled with betrayals, revelations and deaths. Whovians have already seen the first half of the two-parter this Saturday, but some of the show’s fans were not particularly happy with the outcome of the epic saga. In fact, some of the show’s viewers complained to Doctor Who’s parent station, the BBC, prompting the network to come up with an official response related to the complaints.
If you aren’t caught up on Doctor Who, there are spoilers in this paragraph! last week’s episode cheekily revealed Missy’s identity—an answer we’ve been waiting on for weeks. More importantly, however, the show dealt with the subject of death, as Clara suffered from the loss of her partner, Danny, who died. It also explored theories of the afterlife, including a scene we called Beetlejuice-esque in which the dead meet with a caseworker to tie up loose ends. Then, we find out Missy is actually turning the dead into Cybermen, pulling the ultimate twist ending.
Despite the fact that the show is science fiction and often explores outside-the-box possibilities, apparently a few viewers got their panties in a twist about the "death" and "cremation" components of the episode. Luckily, the BBC seems to be fully behind the episode, which was, well, awesome. Here’s the network’s full statement.
“Doctor Who is a family drama with a long tradition of tackling some of the more fundamental questions about life and death. We were mindful of the themes explored in ‘Dark Water' and are confident that they are appropriate in the context of the heightened sci-fi world of the show.The scene in which a character reveals 3W's unconventional theory about the afterlife was preceded by the same character warning the Doctor and Clara several times that what they were about to hear could be distressing. When the Doctor does hear these claims, he immediately pours scorn on them, dismissing them out of hand as a "con" and a "racket". It transpires that he is correct, and the entire concept is revealed to be a scam perpetrated by Missy.”
The waters will only get murkier from here on out. There’s a lot that still needs to be resolved to wrap up Season 8 of Doctor Who. Provided you aren’t one of the people who complained about the show’s treatment of the afterlife, you should be pleased to hear that Doctor Who gave the cast and crew an extended episode to finish telling this twisty story. The final episode is rolling with the title “Death in Heaven,” so expect more talks about death and the afterlife as Doctor Who moves forward. In the States, you can catch the finale on BBC America on Saturday, November 8 at 9 p.m. ET.
