Doctor Who – The Pyramid at the End of the World

It’s quite tricky to pull off the second chapter of a three-part story without just bridging the gap between the problem and the solution. Fortunately, Moffat and co. decided that, for this saga, the location would drastically alter in every episode, keeping the story (and the mystery) fresh. This episode occasionally lags, but nonetheless makes for a tense and exciting watch.

A 5,000-year-old pyramid appears overnight, on land which is being fought over by the Chinese, Americans, and Russians. Why? Because the Monks – who, it transpires, have been meddling in human history for a long time – want to warn humanity of an imminent disaster, which they can prevent. The twist? Humanity has to consent to their intervention, and do so out of love – but no-one, not even the Doctor, can be sure of what giving this consent might lead to.

The Doctor (Peter Capaldi) inside the pyramid. Credit: BBC/BBC Worldwide/Simon Ridgway

The premise smacks of two other ventures in the ‘Whoniverse’. Firstly of the Silence (see series 6), who had been on Earth for thousands of years, fiddling with human development, always unknown to humanity. Secondly of the 456 (see Torchwood: Children of Earth), who come to Earth and demand the ‘gift’ of a tenth of the planet’s children, which they use as a drug. Hopefully these parallels are just surface-level comparisons, because the Monks (and these episodes) have otherwise been a refreshingly different and thoughtful challenge posed to the Doctor.

Back to the Pyramid. The Monks want us to think that the impending disaster will be military, but the Doctor (through some questionably quick deductions) concludes that the threat is biological. He jets off to the lab, builds a bomb, the threat level decreases, and it seems that crisis has been averted. But this is just the second of a three-part story, so things can’t be that simple. And it’s here, at the Doctor’s proudest moment of the episode, when the price of his blindness is finally revealed.

So far, Doctor Who has managed to circumvent any serious issues the Doctor might face due to his blindness by equipping him with motion sensitive Sonic Sunglasses, and not-so-surreptitious directions being issued from Nardole. However, this tech and gadgetry is no match for a manual, combination lock. With no way out of the ready-to-blow lab, the Doctor is forced to admit to Bill that he is blind, and that he’ll have to perish on one side of the locked door in order to save all those on the other side. It’s an age-old device, but never ceases to be effective.

If this episode was a standalone, it would feel unsubstantial. As the middle chapter of a trilogy, it manages to keep our attention…

And here comes the second great twist in a row on Who. Last week, we had the simulation. This week, we see how far Bill is prepared to go to help the Doctor – she consents to the Monk’s intervention, if they can give him his sight back. Yes, of course this was going to happen (why spend an episode talking about giving the aliens consent if you don’t actually give it to them?) but it nonetheless makes for gripping viewing which leaves us heading into the unknown next week.

If this episode was a standalone, it would feel unsubstantial. As the middle chapter of a trilogy, it manages to keep our attention whilst also holding off on revealing the true capabilities and consequences of the Monks. It’s proper Doctor Who – a cliffhanger which promises the return of Missy (properly, this time), the Doctor separated from Bill, and the true consequences of giving your consent to the enemy. In the words of the Doctor: “bring it”.