Who Review: In the Forest of the Night

London has been taken over by a forest overnight. In the confusion, young Coal Hill student Maebh Arden has stumbled upon the TARDIS and asks the Doctor to help. Meanwhile, Danny and Clara have taken a class of students for an overnight stay at London’s Natural History Museum, so they are as surprised as everyone else to find the city turned into a jungle. They meet up with the Doctor at Trafalgar Square–or what they can find of it–where the TARDIS is parked, only to narrowly escape Nelson’s Column as it topples over from the growing foliage. But that’s not the least of their worries. Animals have escaped from London Zoo and are hiding amidst the trees. And it seems Maebh knows more about this than even she realizes. What are the voices she keeps hearing? And how is it she was able to predict the coming solar flare? Is the earth fighting back against the humans? With the Doctor running out of ideas, it seems the trees have won…

SPOILER ALERT!! My comments may (and likely will) contain spoilers for those that haven’t seen the episode. If you want to stay spoiler-free, please watch the story before you continue reading!

Remember this now, do you? I can quite understand if, after the “Next Week” preview, you’ve quite forgotten what this episode was about. More of that later…

Another interesting concept–a major metropolitan city becomes a forest. Trees everywhere. And then the whole world becomes forest land. As you might imagine, my main disappointment with the episode was… a non-baddie! Now, I admit, this was a nice idea–the trees are our friends, protecting us from the sun. It even has some scientific foundation, which is always a plus with Doctor Who (*ahem* Kill the Moon *ahem*). However, as you know, I find these benign threats tend to suck the potential drama out of the story. After a good juicy bad guy last week, this was a bit of a let-down. But not too much.

The CGI and effects overall were great. If you saw the related episode of Doctor Who Extra (it’s on YouTube), you’ll know they used a forest near Newport, Wales for the forest scenes, planting replicas of phone boxes, Underground signs, traffic lights, etc. in strategic locations. Very cleverly done, and, I thought, quite convincing. As usual Capaldi and Coleman gave great performances, as did Samuel Anderson as Danny Pink. Whatever the failings of this season, you can’t fault the acting. Everyone from the lead stars to the child actors has brought their A-game, which really helps lift even the dodgiest episode.

The fact that this episode featured children quite heavily made this more of a children’s episode than a broadly “family” episode. This is a story I could expect from The Sarah Jane Adventures. That’s not necessarily a criticism (I enjoyed The Sarah Jane Adventures… *sniff*), but it does make it stand out from the other stories this season–especially the previous two (“Mummy on the Orient Express” and “Flatline”) which have been particularly dark and scary. The kids were superb (special shout-out to red-headed Ruby, played by Harley Bird, and Abigail Eames who played Maebh), but they rather dominated the episode. If I was still a kid, maybe I’d have appreciated that more.

With ten episodes of season eight behind us, we are left with two to go: the two-part season finale. And what a finale it looks to be! What’s up with Clara? “Clara Oswald has never existed!”?? Clara telling the Doctor he’ll never step inside the TARDIS again?? Perhaps I’ve been suspicious of Danny for too long and I’ve missed something with the Impossible Girl? Then we have Missy’s “that was a surprise” comment at the end of the episode. And, of course, Cybermen! What have they got to do with all this? Are you looking at me for answers? I’ve seen some of the theories (and there will be many more before Saturday), some suggesting Clara’s a TARDIS, or she’s an cyborg, or she’s one of the fragments of Clara that scattered throughout the Doctor’s time line in Name of the Doctor… and frankly, I’m suspicious of them all. Too complicated. Too convoluted. Perhaps Clara’s comment was taken out of context to get everyone to watch the episode. As if we wouldn’t anyway! Seriously, though, I’m still holding out for Danny being not all he appears. I’m not convinced there’s more to Clara than we already know (my goodness, how much more CAN she be after last season?!)… but let’s not put anything past Steven Moffat. I’m still trying to figure out Season 6!

So, share your thoughts! Did you like In the Forest of the Night? Any speculations you’d like to share about the finale? Remember–document it here, and if you’re right you have bragging rights for life!