2nd Opinion: “Ascension of the Cybermen”

JC and Gustaff give their takes on the ninth episode of Series 12.

JC’s Verdict – Conflicted

It’s hard to review Doctor Who two-parters, especially finales. With just half the picture, unanswered questions and open plot lines galore, can you really give a proper verdict at this stage? What can I say? I’m conflicted. For now, I enjoyed some parts better than others. I have issues, but some of those may be addressed by the next episode. They may not. So…

Anyway, the episode’s most unexpected subplot focusses on an abandoned baby who grows up to be known as Brendan, a policeman in what appears to be Ireland. Not so strange, until we later see that Brendan comes back to life after being shot and falling off a cliff. And just to add further confusion, by retirement he is seemingly hooked up to a Chameleon Arch. Initially I wondered where this plot was going and why it was taking away valuable time from the main storyline. But by the episode’s end I found this plot to actually be the most compelling part of the episode. For all his faults, something I think Chibnall can do well is mystery and the build up (see “Fugitive of the Judoon” and Broadchurch). I just hope the pay-off is as good.

I found the Doctor’s scenes this week to be second most interesting. Not only did we get to see an angrier side to her again, but we also had more intrigue as she attempts to find the mysterious Boundary. Ryan is paired with her on this journey, but unfortunately feels completely peripheral again (especially disappointing since this might be his penultimate ever appearance). Making up for that though is seasoned actor Ian McElhinney, as the stupidly named Ko Sharmus (what is it with Chibnall’s character and planet names – does he use a random word generator?!). A lot of fans seemed to be stunned by the revelation that Gallifrey was revealed to be the destination, but I had already guessed it.

I found the Yaz and Graham parts not as good as the rest, at least for a good chunk of the duration. It didn’t help that the duo were joined by a couple of annoying / pointless characters, and some sections just dragged. I was hoping whiny guy with another ridiculous name (Yedlarmi – Alex Austin) would die fast, and Discount Rose (Bescot – Rhiannon Clements) didn’t add anything either. Julie Graham fared a bit better as tough gal Ravio, and I enjoyed her exchanges with Graham. The scene with the gang trapped in space with Cyber body parts hitting the craft could have been even better if it was fully mined for horror (imagine a Cyberman trying to break in to the ship). This led to a silly scene where they perfectly navigate into the Cybership docking bay.

As for the Cybermen, I was pleased the Doctor pointed out the inherent contradiction in Ashad’s being. As I said last week, a Cyberman with emotions goes against the monster’s very nature, and I’m still not sure on that. I’m also left wondering why “pure” emotionless Cybermen would allow him to lead them. Maybe that’ll be answered next time? Ashad was at least a pretty intimidating villain, even if it felt his bark was bigger than his bite at times.

The new Cyber design is a visually cool mash-up of old and new, but I’ve never been a huge fan of the stompy theatrics that the revival era often resorts to. I much preferred the creepier way Moffat employed them last in “World Enough & Time”. The Cyberdrones were laughably stupid, even if they did at least hit some of their targets (eventually). After his absence last week, I was pleased to see Nick Briggs back as the Cyber voices. Sadly, the same cannot be said for the Cyberman theme. A shame Segun Akinola couldn’t at least tip his hat to it, rather than the Terminator-esque mix we have now.

The cliffhanger fell a little flat I felt, as the Master’s return was already intentionally leaked by the BBC (On the cast list as an obvious anagram) and I suspected Gallifrey’s return all along. “Ascension” is certainly better than Series 11’s attempt at a finale though. It still contains some familiar Chibnall flaws such as: clunky dialogue (3 scenes in succession deliver nothing but exposition), too many superfluous characters (again), reduced companion roles (again), but it’s a pretty encouraging start. Part 2 has a hell of a lot of work to do though. Can it possibly deliver?

Gustaff’s Verdict – A doozy

…I’ve always wanted to see the inside of a Cyber War.

Doctor Who crashed onto our screens for the penultimate episode and it sure was a doozy. Cybermen finales are not a new thing, with Series Ten featuring them as genuine threats in a clever and chilling body horror story, as did Series Two where they are made to look like fools next to the Daleks. Given the aforementioned, it’s safe to say that whenever the Cybermen have appeared in the new era, whether it be in finales or standalone episodes, they usually aren’t dealt with in a very dignified manner. “Ascension of the Cybermen” goes out of its way to change all that.

Emotional Inhibitors? Glitter Guns? Force Fields?

All gone!

Introduced in the first couple minutes and promptly rendered useless.

TARDIS?

Too far away!

Something this episode does extremely well is raising the stakes and continuously building the tension. The first action sequence establishes just how frightfully powerful the Cybermen in this era are, even if they are just coming off a major loss. Most of their victims are nameless redshirts I grant you, but points for effort.

I particularly enjoyed the exploration of the Lone Cybermen’s motives and his quest to revive the Cyber Army despite being a human in a metal body. Ashad states that the same qualities which make him a threat are antithetical to the nature of Cybermen. Ironically; giving this Cyberman emotions and individuality help ‘upgrade’ him into a much savvier foe. You can see this when Ethan attempts to give himself up to spare his friend, but Ashad realizes he’s lying and guns down the other one instead. No normal Cyberman would’ve managed this.

Moving onto the characters, I can’t say I remembered any of them other than Ethan (who I Googled). No one does anything to stand out. It also doesn’t help that the back-story for every single one of these guest stars is exactly the same if they are even mentioned. Loved ones killed by Cybermen, born in war, yada, yada, yada. Given that the Cyber War is a massive conflict in Doctor Who and the humans suffered heavily for years and years, adding a turncoat-esque character, be it as a prisoner or saboteur, amongst the ragtag group would’ve done wonders for their entertainment potential.

“Ascension of the Cybermen” also works wonders for Jodie’s Doctor. We’re almost two seasons in and she barely has any character development apart from ‘I’m socially awkward’. Here the episode pushes Thirteen to the limit and it shows. The Doctor isn’t mildly annoyed when her companions point out that Plan A didn’t work, she is livid. She snaps at them like she knows they have the same value as a Sonic Screwdriver pointed at a wooden door. Instead of leaving the three sacks of convertible Cyber-meat behind in the TARDIS, the Doctor forgets about this piece of obviousness and puts Graham, Yaz and Ryan in harm’s way by bringing them along. She shouts at them to leave when they try to win her over with the Power of Friendship. The most notable piece of evidence is in the Doctor’s emotionless reaction to learning that nobody in the settlement is a soldier who can actually be of some help to her, just scared useless civilians trying to survive. These noticeable ticks sound out of character for the Doctor, but unlike other times there is a narrative reason for these and it helps improve the character as opposed to just doing something because the script calls for it.

That isn’t to say this episode isn’t littered with the usual Chris Chibnall idiotic decision-making. Instead of using the stolen Cybership to get to the TARDIS, a vehicle that would allow her to collect the others and head to the Boundary, the Doctor sticks with the Cybership, leaving two of her three friends in mortal danger.

And while we’re on the topic, why didn’t she just park the TARDIS in the settlement and evacuated civilians immediately. A similar error is made by the writer of “Praxeus” by having the Doctor park her TARDIS so far away from shelter that her critically injured passenger needs to be carried halfway across the beach just to receive medical attention.

But it’s Yaz who wins the prize for ‘best’ written companion this week when she chooses not to steal a shuttle to get off the Cybership, or even the ship Ashad arrived in once he and his two Cybermen have left, but instead insist on taking a ship full of Cybermen to the Boundary because ‘there’s no other way’. Way to go Yaz! That’s my girl! Let’s not forget that triggering the self-destruct sequence or even blowing up the ship would kill themselves, but it would also guarantee fewer Cybermen for the Doctor to worry about next week. Plus it would be a very selfless/heroic beat to go out on.

I’ll be honest, I found most of the Brendan storyline not only dull and disconnected from the main plot, but every time we did cut to a particular scene with him, the momentum in the A-plot just deflated. This plot thread feels as though it would have worked better had it been a little something extra in every other episode much like how Missy’s scenes in the Nethersphere were sprinkled into episodes of Series 8. I only became fully invested during the last scene and only because I found it odd that Brendan was the only one aged. The rest of the build up is nice, but it also takes up a quarter of the runtime. Likewise with the Boundary crossing near the end of the episode. It’s only when the Master shows up to tease next week’s episode that I got goosebumps.

“The Timeless Children,” at this point, is unfortunately mostly feared by me. There are so many plot points that need to be tied up including the Ruth Doctor (I don’t see any space for her to show up next week), the Master’s prophecy, the Timeless Children, Brendan’s storyline and the Cybermen’s rise to power. Not to mention that 50+ years of mythology is on the verge of an ‘upgrade’ and Chris Chibnall, a writer whose vast contribution to Doctor Who since its resurrection hasn’t even come close to breaking into the Top 20 Most Popular Doctor Who stories on this website, is the one holding the blow torch…