BWW Recap: The Doctor is 'Heaven Sent' on DOCTOR WHO

In "Heaven Sent," Peter Capaldi shines in his first episode alone. Capaldi has no other interactions in the episode, unless you cant the silent hooded figure that follows him the entire time. This episode had a lot of surprises, and really allowed for Capaldi to show his talent and ability to create emotion all on his own.

After the tragic events of "Face the Raven," The Doctor is transported to a castle, designed to scare him to death. He immediately yells at his unseen captors to come out and face him, with no avail. The Doctor begins to figure out why he is there: he has to confess things he's never said before. He makes three confessions to avoid the Veil: the first is that he is genuinely afraid of dying, the second is that he ran from Gallifrey not because he was bored but, because he was scared, and finally that he knows the hybrid is real and where it is and the he is afraid. However, instead of revealing the full truth about the hybrid to his unknown captors, The Doctor chooses to live out the same sequence of events for 2 billion years, not exaggerating. He knows his only form of escape without divulging the truth to them is breaking through a 20 feet thick wall, a wall that takes him trillions of attempts to finally break down.

Even though he is all alone, The Doctor does not cease in talking as if he had an audience. Throughout the episode, The Doctor escapes in his mind to the TARDIS, where he sees Clara and talks through his situation with her. She doesn't speak back, but responds through the use of a chalk board. Not only does this episode reveal a lot about The Doctor and his past, it also reveals a lot about how he deals with being alone, and without Clara. His pain is evident, choking up at the thought of her never returning no matter what he does, but that doesn't mean he'll still do everything he can to honor her. When he wants to give up, her voice in his head tells him to win. And when The Doctor finally realizes the tragicness of his situation, instead of giving up, he hears Clara's voice in his head to keep going. He feels so much pain at the loss of his companion, but he is able to succeed with her help. Clara has always been The Doctor's conscience, but not until now is it made very apparent. She is what helps him get through the gruelling agony of having to re-live suffering and dying only to repeat it over and over again.

The realization that The Doctor has been in a constant cycle for 7,000 years, repeating the same actions over and over again was a shocking one. At first the thousand of skulls lining the bottom of the ocean seemed like an indication of those who have been there before him, but when you learn The Doctor has to kill himself to start over in order to break through that wall, you realize those skulls are all him. Things start to make more sense, like how there is an already an exact pair of his clothes waiting for him, or how the word "bird" is written in the sand, his indicator of what he'll have to endure to succeed. "Bird" refers to the Brothers Grimm story about a bird sharpening its beak on a diamond mountain, which was The Doctor's way of realizing what his fate in this castle was.

I don't think I've seen a montage as artfully done as the one at the end of this episode. After revealing what The Doctor has gone through for 7,000 years, we watch--in increasing speed--how much more pain he has to endure in order to finally break through the wall. The montage effortlessly portrays The Doctor's resilience, and ability to keep going through the absolute worst of situations. Not only that, it also makes it clear how much Clara can effect The Doctor. He was willing to give up for once, but her voice in his head told him to "win" and that was all he needed to suffer for 2 billion years.

After all of this pain, The Doctor finally emerges on the other side of the wall: Gallifrey. After almost 9 seasons of The Doctor being away from home, he finally returns. Not only are we shocked to see him on Gallifrey, we also find out that the hybrid is not a half-Dalek/half-Time Lord, but instead it is him. The end of "Heaven Sent" leaves a lot open for the finale of Season 9, and I can't wait to see The Doctor interacting with the people of Gallifrey once again!

I have loved Peter Capaldi these past two seasons, but this episode blew me away. He has become my second favorite Doctor, and I honestly think this season of Who has been the best one of the modern era. Capaldi has really been able to shine, and he and Coleman had such wonderful chemistry and complemented each other so well. "Heaven Sent" may go down as the best episode yet, and I only hope "Hell Bent" can match it.

Let me know what you thought of "Heaven Sent" below or tweet me at @kaitmilligan. Check back next week as I recap another episode of DOCTOR WHO.

Photo Credit: © BBC WORLDWIDE LIMITED