#Breaking The Wall

[starlyght000]

Heaven Sent - The best episode of all time

For many reasons I consider this the Magnum Opus of Steven Moffat, and of the television in general to be honest. Going in parts, I will break down what makes this episode so special.

The series as a whole is based on the format of weekly stories, having a "monster of the week" or just a problem to be solved at that moment. Although many of these stories are well written and become true classics, they end up having no real weight in the plot, leaving no future consequences or bringing evolution to the characters. Of course, we must take into consideration that there are several scriptwriters writing these episodes, and connecting so many parallel plots to a main narrative is very difficult to do. Still, the lack of a sense of continuity can be a problem because it gives that feeling of "you don't have to worry about the characters, of course they'll be fine in the end". Exceptions do exist, of course, and the greatest evidence of this are the farewells of the companions, which in most cases are permanent, with rare occasions where they make a special appearance here and there.

However, we have reached the 9th season, and things look quite different. After the episode Face the Raven many questions were hanging in the air: "Is she really dead?" or "And now, how is the Doctor going to solve this?". But what makes this arc so fatidic is, it was the first time in the modern series that a companion had actually died. Clara didn't get stuck in another universe, she didn't stop traveling, she didn't have her memory erased or even go to live her life in another time, she just... died. A shocking, cold and cruel death, nothing more than that. And this is where we get to the main point of the review, what makes Heaven Sent so great: the monster. In this case the monster of the week is not a creature trying to destroy the earth or conquer the universe. The monster of the week is one that everyone will go through one day, something inevitable: grief. After facing gods and demons, the Doctor now has to deal with the grief of losing his friend.

The episode revolves around the Doctor being in his personal hell, a place designed with his greatest fears trying to incapacitate him in every way to get him to confess about the Hybrid, all while having to deal with the pain of losing Clara. The castle created inside his Confession Dial is specially designed to render him powerless. The Doctor's first rule is that he lies, and this is often his greatest weapon, to ensnare his enemies while inventing some ingenious plan to defeat them. But this time, the creature that chases him around the castle only stops when he speaks the truth, confessing his greatest secrets. Moreover, he is alone in that place. No one to listen to him, therefore, no one who can be convinced by his words. No Tardis. No sonic screwdriver. No weapons. Just the Doctor alone with his thoughts. And another important thing is that his mental palace, his safe haven, is the Tardis. Very fitting for the character, considering that it is practically his home, the place where he spends the most time in the whole universe.

Throughout the episode we see everything through his eyes, the way he sees the world and makes thousands of calculations in a second. The way he talks to himself in his mind and how he tries to overcome that situation. It is one of the very rare times that we watch the series from his point of view. If you notice, the Doctor is the star of the show, but the story revolves around the companions, how they relate to the Doctor, how this affects their lives and the universe. However, in this moment we can observe the way his mind works, how his reasoning is infinitely greater than any human being. And mainly, how broken he is at that moment.

After a few days exploring the castle, he finds what he was looking for: the room 12. When he gets there he is weakened by the situation. Several clues were planted along the way to that revelation. If the prison was made especially for him, whose skulls were in the water? Why were the stars in different positions? All this makes him understand what happened. And that's when the urge to give up appears. He asks himself why he can't just lose. Just drop everything and put an end to the suffering. It would be easy and quick just to give up and tell them what they wanted to know. Until the side of his mind where he saw Clara, the side that urged him to continue, makes him persist and continue what he was doing. The Doctor stands up, confident of what he was about to do, says he won't reveal any information, faces that diamond wall, punches it with all his strength and... nothing. A good breach of expectation. When it comes to physical strength, he is no different from an ordinary human. Still he persists, until the Veil attacks him, leaving him mortally wounded. Even so, he drags himself through the castle and returns to the first room where he arrived, and then the plot twist of the episode is revealed. The Doctor had been there for 7,000 years, doing exactly the same thing, over and over again. Copying himself again and again to try to break that wall.

At this moment we see a series of cut scenes throughout the episode, showing this almost endless cycle of suffering, while we see him quoting a poem by the Brothers Grimm that perfectly reflects the situation. And it is at this moment that we also see who the Doctor is. Above all the titles he holds, he is a TIME LORD, and the TIME will be his weapon, endlessly persisting in his goal. In addition, we hear an exceptional soundtrack composed by Murray Gold, in my opinion being his best track as well. 12,000, 500,000, 1 million, half a billion, 2 billion years, it seems like endless torture, until finally the wall breaks down, and its exit was finally clear. Arriving in a desert, we see that the Doctor was in his Confession Dial all this time, and more importantly, that he was in Gallifrey. After so long, he was back in his home, unfortunately not for a good reason at the moment. The episode ends with the Doctor revealing that the Hybrid was actually him, leaving an amazing cliffhanger for next week.

Absolutely everything in this episode is spectacular. Peter Capaldi's performance is sensational, showing that he was able to stand for 55 minutes just talking to himself and make it a very interesting story. Steven Moffat's script is impeccable, from the presentation of the problem to the dynamic conduction of the story. Murray Gold's soundtrack fits every scene. Every detail was very well thought out and executed. The feeling that this story brings is hard to describe, but at least for me, it was a mix between crying a lot throughout the episode and a certain inspiration for the character. Stories are made to entertain, but they can also teach many things. What I take away with this episode is that no matter how difficult a goal seems, no matter how bad a situation is, if you work hard you can always overcome it. To me, the best piece of art that television has ever produced.

[civetcider]

so embarrassing to be drawing an OC and forget to add some part of their design...like yeah i made this guy...hand picked everything about them....yeah i forgot to add the things i like about them....

[ohio-thestate]

I should do a face reveal but only post the most horrendous pictures of me

[mischievous-thunder]

Flashback:

[one-time-i-dreamt]

Princess Bubblegum from Adventure Time broke the 4th wall in an episode and everyone on the internet was drawing her being besties with Deadpool.

[professionalidiot32]

aw look she’s learning metronome :D

SHIT

[ditzybat]

tim with nothing but a mild cold acting like a dying victorian child because his immune system is basically that of one: if i die, wear a superbat t-shirt with a suit and bowtie, tell no one what it means

kon: alright, let's get you back to bed hun

tim: also dump me in an incinerator i don't wanna steal jason's schtick because i don't think the authors will let me die

kon: okay you're just hallucinating now

[go-star-sailor]

[ID from alt: Over the Garden Wall fanart. Greg and Wirt sit on the ground, and Greg holds up a handful of leaves, smiling. Wirt's looking into the distance, as more leaves fall around them. End ID.]

we’re coming up on that time guys

[thunderpot]

Macbeth moshang,

[petitprincess1]

Hell's Great Dad - Alastor and Lucifer being toddlers with Mimzy pizzazz at the end!

[br3adtoasty]

Oh silly Youssef…..

[twilightprince101]

Watched the third episode of Digital Circuis. And yeah, any concerns or doubts that I had about this show had been resolved

Folks, do not be swayed by online irony poisoning. This is a show with heart. It is not nonstop Lol Random humor, it allows you to sit in a moment and breathe in the tense mood of a scene. It is not a nihilist "Nothing Matters :D" type of show, it is absolutely genuine in its storytelling and has things to say. Not to mention some additional logistical questions I had have been answered about the setup which makes me even more invested

Trust me. Disregard any and all prior opinions you had about the show and watch the three episodes currently out. I'll admit that the first episode feels like it meanders a bit, sometimes feels it leans a bit too far into the Dark Humor Randomness, but it's necessary for setting up the rest of the series. Just ride it out. You won't regret it

Salute to you Gooseworx/Glitch. Can't wait to see where things go from here

[eg515]

I loved it when the Barbie movie was like.. "this Barbie is having an existential crisis right now and she's supposed to look kinda ugly to reflect that, but we hired Margot Robbie so.. y'know, use your imagination"

[clouvu]

Nothing in the world belongs to me But my love, mine, all mine

[chipinsolace]

So called “mental health advocates”: Mental health matters! You are loved!

People who have a psychotic disorder: oh thanks-

Same “mental health advocates”: LOL! Delulu is the solulu! I wanna dye my hair so bad THE VOICES are LITERALLY TALKING TO ME! Ugh I hate you I’m in your walls/j! It’s giving schizoposting! No girl this is spiritual psychosis, Hope this helps! I hate this guy he’s so psychotic.

:(

[ghost-bxrd]

I think we as a fandom need to have more talks about ✨dramatic✨ Jason running his own AO3 blog where he posts increasingly violent and heart wrenching stories about Robin. (The second Robin. Because he’s absolutely self inserting.)

And the Batfam find out about those fic that have a startlingly detailed layout of the batcave and accurate patrol routes that they choose to investigate (by reading the fics, duh) and growing increasingly upset about how the characters are portrayed.

Especially Robin.