12 Great Moments From Flatline

Mark McCullough picks out twelve faves from the ninth episode of Series 8.

Note: Episode spoilers naturally!

After an impressive debut last week, writer Jamie Mathieson set the bar very highly for himself. In my opinion Flatline did not reach the quality of its predecessor, but it wasn’t far off. Once again however the consistency of the script left me with an extremely tough decision to settle on just twelve memorable moments from the episode. After a few tough decisions these are what I come up with:

12. The Opening Sequence

For the first time in this series of articles, I actually considered leaving the pre-title scene out. Obviously I have decided to include it because it was so unique. We see a character that we aren’t even properly introduced to make a panicked phone call to the police claiming to have solved the case, only to fall victim to an unseen villain. The scene is tense and raises a lot of questions thus setting up the episode perfectly. On reflection it was probably the shortest pre-titles that we have had this series, however it makes up for this by being memorable and innovative.

11. Tiny TARDIS

It was cute, it was funny and it’s an idea which I can’t believe hadn’t been done before. I absolutely adored the idea of the TARDIS being shrunk, especially down to the size where it fitted into Clara’s handbag. Right from when we first seen the duo squeeze through the smaller door until it shrinks down to a size with which it could be lifted, I was in stitches laughing. There were some scenes I didn’t like however – the Doctor’s hand coming about of the TARDIS looked a bit too silly for my liking. Call me a cynic if you like, but this was especially noticeable in the scene where the Doctor tries to move the TARDIS from inside it. Funnily enough it looked like a little TARDIS snail, but I thought it was a bit cringe worthy, especially at a rather serious stage of the episode.

10. The Missing People

For me the episode was almost in two acts, and this was the moment that separated them. Prior to this chilling reveal, the episode was largely a fun filled mystery. After this it adopted a more serious and tense tone with a consistent threat present. The revelation that the paintings of the missing were actually the monsters wearing the dead as disguises was enough to send chills down my spine. Sure it may have been a somewhat guessable one, but that didn’t detract from the tension as the Doctor and eventually Clara figured out what was going on. It was also made more real by the death of one of the workers, setting a tone which was maintained until the resolution.

9. The Doctor is Trapped in the TARDIS

I suspect that you may be a little surprised to see that I have picked instead of some of the moments with more impact on the story. The reason is because it is the first real opportunity to see the Doctor for an extended time period without his veil. Think back to Deep Breath and the themes discussed in the veil scene, and then contextualise this with what was revealed on the beach in last week’s outing. What this means is that essentially for the first time we get to see the real Twelfth Doctor as he isn’t interacting with anyone other than his closest friend, so there is no need to maintain his cold hearted façade. As a result we see a significantly different man, one who is kind and offers support and one who outwardly shows his pride in Clara.

8. The Creatures Revealed

There were a few memorable scenes where the creatures were revealed to be present; the first was when the police officer was attacked and shortly after Clara and Rigsy encounters the Boneless. The death scene was well executed and gave the episode a sense of consequence. However the most chilling thing was when the painting on the wall was revealed to be the police woman’s nervous system (I did recognise this before it was pointed out – but I have an advantage there). The scene which follows with Clara being attacked by the creatures is tense and beautifully directed. The second notable creature reveal is where 22 falls victim to them, again the director does a fantastic job making 2D look 3D until the moment of the reveal. Speaking of direction, Douglas Mackinnon is on fine form throughout.

7. The Wrong People Lived

If there’s something I really detest, it is the characters which we are meant to hate. Fenton falls into this category; he’s a horrid man who I wish the narrative had actually killed in place of some of the more decent characters. In that sense Mathieson did write the character extremely well, but where I think he really excelled was what he used the character to do. Fenton’s comments about the people who died deserving it were particularly shocking, but they afforded the opportunity for Twelve to show his true morality by conveying his disgust at such comments. However the usual dark side to his character was not far behind, as the Doctor claimed that the wrong people survived. There is a difference though between saying someone deserved to die, and that some people deserved to live more than others, however the logistics of that do not apply here. What the scene proves is there are worse people than the Doctor, even when he is at his most cold hearted.

6. You’re a Good Liar

After Clara’s drastic change of heart at the end of last week’s episode, her lie about Danny being the reason she was reluctant to continue travelling with the Doctor, was always going to come back and bite her. Unfortunately it is revealed that she is lying to both of them, and then makes the rookie mistake of answering a phone call from Danny whilst the Doctor can hear everything she is saying. On another note, who answers their phone when their life is in danger from 2D killer aliens anyway? The net result is that the Doctor catches on to her lie, but not to the full extent of what it was. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Doctor seems somewhat pleased by Clara’s deception and then goes on to appear to encourage lying (not a good message for the children watching). But he does have a point, sometimes a lie can be useful. Did I really like this episode? Who knows?

5. A life or a hairband?

This was a wonderful scene which showcased the persuasive aspect of Clara’s character. It was also an opportunity to for Rigsy to be the hero and sacrifice himself for the potential good of others. As it transpired this was unnecessary as Clara could operate the same thing using just her hair band. Although it may have been a little strange and unrealistic that Clara actually had to convince him that he didn’t need to die. How she did it showed intelligence in that she essentially guilt tripped him into doing something even though it was for his own good. Again this is not dissimilar to situations which the Doctor has actually placed her in, so it is interesting to see that she acts like the Doctor despite her own experiences.

4. The Painting Which Saved the World

With everyone’s lives in danger, the situation was calling out for a hero to think fast on their feet and do something clever to save the day. This is usually where the Doctor would step in, but what Mathieson does by making the Doctor a secondary focus for the danger, but outside of the immediate situation, is force Clara to step up. The resolution here is one of the smartest I have seen this series (pity about what followed with the sonic). I can say I honestly didn’t realise that the door which the Boneless were trying to threedimensionalise (Yes. That’s a word now) turned out to be just a painting. This resulted in the Boneless restoring the TARDIS and sealing their own fate. Clara plays on strengths, using the strengths of her team to turn the strength of the enemy against them.

3. Who’s that Missy?

It’s a question that’s been on our lips since the garden scene of Deep Breath, but finally eight episodes later we get some answers, or at least more fuel for the fires of speculation. Starting with solid facts: Missy has chosen Clara, which by my reckoning is confirmation that she is the so-called woman in the shop right back in The Bells of Saint John. The only firm fact we can draw from the scene is the Cyber-eye on the wall behind Missy, given that she will share the screen with the Cybermen in the finale, the link is interesting. We see her using a tablet to monitor Clara, this would seem to suggest interaction between Missy and the real world is possible, so the Nethersphere is probably in-universe. We can also draw on her motives so far, bringing the Doctor and Clara together suggests she wanted thing: A Doctor with a new set of regenerations. Why? The answer is only a few weeks away!

2. A Good Doctor?

A theme running through both this narrative and the entire series is the question of whether the Doctor is a good man. The way Mathieson addresses the idea is to take a character that has already been established as a good person: Clara, and elevating her to the Doctor role. It is interesting to see how Clara adapts to the type of situation and responsibilities that Doctor has to navigate at a regular basis. The outcome of such burdens on her character actually sees her compromise her own ideals and embrace some of the things which she was critical of the Doctor doing earlier in the series. Perhaps rather surprisingly by the end of the episode, she is actually proud of her actions and seeks validation for this from the Doctor. The response about goodness not coming into it suggests a man in turmoil. Does the Doctor still believe his own claim?

1. I’m the Doctor

It only took nine episodes, but finally we have a scene which showcases the Doctor facing off against the enemy. I feel that this is something which Capaldi’s Doctor has been lacking, a real moment which confirms to the audience that he is the Doctor and he knows it. For Smith, it came in his first episode on the hospital rooftop. I think part of the reason is that Capaldi’s incarnation knows who he is, but significantly he isn’t proud of that fact, which rather perversely makes him the most human Doctor of the lot. So why does he embrace his nature here? The simple reason that I can see is the fact that Clara showed him that it is possible to both be the Doctor and be a good man. Ok, so the resolution itself is a little lacklustre with the sonic saving the day in a manner which Clara could have done at any point. But surprisingly that didn’t detract from the story too much, because Flatline wasn’t about the monsters, but about what it meant to be the Doctor.