Jamie Mathieson's episodes of Series Eight came at the top of the Doctor Who Magazine poll for 2014 so the news that he would be working with Steven Moffat on The Girl Who Died suggested that the audience were in for something brilliant. The resulting episode did not disappoint.
Any guesses about which author wrote which part are usually clouded by personal bias but I personally assume that the basic pitch of the story was Mathieson's. It's a straight forward, Seven Samurai inspired tale of the Doctor trying to help a group of Vikings defend their village from alien warriors known as the Mire after a girl, Ashildir, declares war on them. Like Mathieson's previous episodes, we have a straightforward story that nonetheless feels seems more sophisticated when one peers under the surface.
The Doctor was faced with the dilemma on whether to help the villagers against the Mire. Peter Capaldi is brilliant in these scenes. The Doctor speaking baby felt twee in the Matt Smith years but here it came across quite well here as a form of telepathy rather than literally speaking to a baby. The character's ultimate decision to defeat the enemy using storytelling is a great example of what the Doctor does at his best. Somehow Jamie Mathieson seem's to write for Capaldi's Doctor better than anyone else.
The other big highlight of this episode is, to the surprise of no-one, the presence of Maisie Williams in the role of Ashildir. Comparisons between this character Maisie's Game of Thrones character, Arya Stark, are somewhat inevitable. They are both outsiders who are nonetheless loyal to their family and have a zeal for combat . In Arya's stark it was her fighting spirit that made her different. In Ashildir's case it is her storytelling that makes her an outsider and also provides the key to defeating the Mire.
As the girl who died of the title becomes immortal and it will be interesting to see how this changes the character. The final scene where we see Ashildir harden through Maisie's facial expressions alone are a sign of how this actor is up and coming.
While the Doctor and Ashildir were clearly the most important characters, Clara was not too badly sidelined here. She plays a crucial role in saving Ashildir from the Mire Ship and confronting the Mire's leader, Odin. The scene of Clara talking Odin into revealing his plan is another example of how much she is becoming like the Doctor and Jenna is perfect here. The character's knowledge of the Doctor is crucial in prompting him to defeat the Mire. Less successful is the moment when she quips about fancying Ashidir. Clara's bisexuality came out of the blue in The Magician's Apprentice and although it's nice to see it as more than one line, it still feels like a last minute change to the character. Clara's development in the show has always felt a bit patchwork and this is just one example. With Clara's departure imminent it might have been better if Steven Moffat waited to make the next companion bisexual instead. Then it wouldn't have felt so tacked on.
The rest of the characters are decent, if undeveloped. The Viking villagers are fairly funny, but it's hard to remember anything beyond their funny names. The alien Mire look impressive, and the concept that they drain testosterone from their enemies is an interesting one, but they are faily standard invaders. David Schofield gives a decent enough performance as Odin, but perhaps the role required a more bombastic, over the top performance to work.
This episode certainly succeeded in presentation. The direction was decent and the music was decent, especially the Ashildir theme. Murray Gold's music has been fairly subdued this series and it felt like he'd finally woken up
While previous episodes of Series Nine have been fun they've felt a bit like they were going through the motions. The Girl Who Died is fairly familiar in some regards but also very well done. It's probably the first genuine success of this series.
9/10
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