Rewatchalong: The Beast Below

[randomgirl666.livejournal.com]

Months ago, we attempted a rewatchalong of series 5 and it was sort-of abandoned after a quite lacklustre response. However, because I am a cheater, I actually watched two episodes in one go and that led to me making these notes on The Beast Below, which are under the cut.



I used to think this episode was a unfairly maligned. It's not my favourite Moffat-scripted episode, but there's some good stuff in it. It looks/feels like a combination of "Brazil," "1984" and "V for Vendetta" and there are some brilliant ideas in it - the smilers, the voting booths, the option to protest or forget, the idea of a starship with no engine, the queen sneaking around in a mask investigating her government... I love all of that.

Unfortunately, the mystery at the heart of it all turns out to be a big flying whale. And it's something of a let down, because the impression you get from the voting booth and the police state is that there is something truly SHOCKING at the heart of Starship UK. But once Amy and the Doctor have been inside the whale's mouth, we pretty much know all we need to know.

For some reason, my perspective on the episode has changed since I first watched it. I always found the starwhale revelation a bit of a let down, but on this particular rewatch I was more struck by the fact that THEY ARE FEEDING CHILDREN AND PROTESTERS TO IT. I mean, seriously, am I the only one who finds that a lot more shocking and scandalous than what's happened to the starwhale itself? And yet it's totally glossed over. Even the Doctor has nothing to say about it. I'm not cool with torturing animals, but to be honest, if I had to choose between one whale and 60 million people, I'd certainly choose the 60 million and I wouldn't need to press a "forget" button to be able to sleep at night either. But feeding it children?! And referring to them as "citizens of limited value"?!

The first time I saw this I adored Liz 10. I still think that Sophie Okonedo is great and I think "I'm the bloody Queen mate" is a great line, but the more I think about it, the more I'm annoyed by the attempted infanticide. I honestly don't understand how that could have passed me by the first time. Perhaps I was just dazzled by how visually stunning the episode is in places.

And then there's that ending. The unnecessarily long and repetitive montage/flashback where Amy figures it all out. I mean, really, they did everything short of flash up the words "THE WHALE IS KIND, IT IS LIKE THE DOCTOR" on screen. I doubt even the youngest children in the audience needed it to be explained so clearly.

This episode was probably also the first time when I noticed Moffat's trope of having children reciting "spooky" rhymes and I have to say, it's my least favourite thing about his writing. There's no need for it.

On the upside, Karen Gillan brilliant throughout. I love the Doctor's moment of "ah humans, you're all shit" and chucking his toys out of the pram. It seems so weird now to think that Amy was ever not sure about marrying Rory, and some people have taken that as an indication that she doesn't care about him, but watching this again it seems to me more like she's just freaking out and overwhelmed by all the crazy stuff going on.



Feel free to add your own comments, or rewatch and comment.

Comments

[goodly-sin.livejournal.com]

I've lent my series 5 box set to a friend so can't rewatch, but I have watched it several times so have a pretty good memory of it! I do think it's Moffat's weakest episode, and I remember it seemed like a bit of a come down after the brilliance of 'The Eleventh Hour'. I agree that feeding protesters and children to the whale is pretty dark and not really addressed. That's not too unusual for DW though - deaths of non-main characters are often not really dwelt upon. But it's a bleak vision for the future of the UK.

I also agree that they really, really hammered home the point at the end - if I recall correctly, Amy says the whole speech about being 'very very old and very very kind' not once but twice, which was really unnecessary. Also quite unusually sloppy writing for Moffat.

My take on Amy's uncertainties about marriage in series 5 is that they stemmed from her growing up with the crack. This version of Amy had lived her life constantly losing things she loved and not knowing how it happened. It seems only natural therefore that she would be reluctant to commit to Rory, lest she lose him too. Hence her occasional snarking at him, the comments like 'you're so clingy' in the Silurian episodes etc - she's pushing away what she loves because she fears losing it. Once the universe is rebooted and the crack is gone, she's very happy to marry Rory and for the first time is able to tell him she loves him. She's no longer troubled by a lifetime of loss.

[randomgirl666.livejournal.com]

That's an interesting way of looking at Amy and Rory's relationship - I hadn't really thought about it like that before but it totally makes sense.

[philstar22.livejournal.com]

I love your thoughts on Amy's doubts. That makes total sense and is now my headcanon.

[owlboy]

There's a line in the episode about the whale *refusing* to eat children.... It's part of Amy's entire thought process when she figures out what to do....

[randomgirl666.livejournal.com]

I know, but they're still trying to feed it children though. My point is, the way the society is treating it's "citizens of limited value" is actually probably more disturbing than anything to do with the starwhale.