Previously: Beautiful library with creepy flesh eating shadows and River Song.
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Forest of the Dead
Marines: We recap part one in the previouslies and then head straight to DOO WEE OOH.
After the opening credits, we pick up right where we left off, with Swarm in a Suit chasing our gang, cornering them in a dark hallway. River stands back and blasts a way out for them.
Little Girl is sitting on her couch and the chase sequence is playing out on her TV. She tells her father that the library is on TV, and he reminds her that the library is all in her imagination. Little Girl changes the channel, but right now her TV is all library, all the time.
Kirsti: It’s kind of like election night, where no matter what station you put on, there’s election coverage. Only less rage-inducing… Also, the changing the channel thing? That’s kind of genius, because it’s a lot like a real little kid watching a real episode of Doctor Who. What do you do when there’s a scary bit? Change the channel until it’s over.
Mari: When she finally does find a channel that is outside of the library, it’s of Donna being brought out of an ambulance on a stretcher. Little Girl recognizes Donna.
We cut to Donna looking mighty confused as she sits on a hospital bed. Dr. Moon enters her room. Donna asks who he is, but after he introduces himself, Donna seems to remember him. He suggests going for a walk and we cut outside. Dr. Moon asks if there haven’t been any more dreams of the Doctor and the blue box. Donna looks around and asks how they got down here. She seems to have experienced the cut in the same way we did. Dr. Moon says they walked down, and Donna agrees that they did.
Next, Dr. Moon suggests going down by the river, and they are suddenly there, feeding ducks. Donna questions this again, but they are distracted by a man walking up. Dr. Moon introduces him, Lee, to Donna and she lightly makes fun of his stammer (?).
We cut again to Donna walking back with Dr. Moon. She asks him how she left the conversation with Lee. Dr. Moon tells her that he was inviting her to go fishing the next day. Cut to Donna meeting Lee in a fancy dress. Cut to the two of them sitting under an umbrella while he fishes. He tries to say something but can’t get it out. Donna says he’s gorgeous but can’t get a word out. “What am I gonna do with you?” Cut to Lee carrying Donna across the threshold in a wedding dress. (I just hear POCKETS! in my head.) (K: SAME) Cut to Dr. Moon looking at a family album in Donna’s home while her two kids run around, screaming. Dr. Moon tells her she’s done so much in 7 years and he’s really happy to see her fully integrated.
K: This hurt my feels the first time I watched it. I mean, SEVEN YEARS.
Mari: Dr. Moon stands to leave but suddenly he goes hazy like a bad TV signal. The Doctor appears instead and he seems to see Donna. He calls out to her and Donna is shocked. Dr. Moon materializes again. Donna says she saw the Doctor. Dr. Moon says she did, but then she forgot. Donna forgets.
Library. The gang has found a safe spot for now, where the sun is coming in through a sun roof. River yells at everyone to get in the light while the Doctor uses his sonic on the shadows. River asks if anyone has a chicken leg (actual dialogue) and someone happens to have one in their pocket (actual plot point). River throws the chicken leg into the shadows and the Vashta Nerada insta-eat it. River goes back to her group while the Doctor keeps doing Important Things with his sonic.
The people in River’s group asks who the Doctor even is and why they are even trusting him. River says she trusts the Doctor to the ends of the universe and they’ve actually been. Her group is like, “yeah. He doesn’t even know you.” River shortly says that there is a tiny problem: He hasn’t met her yet (K: He hasn’t had the chance. Cos he’s been kickin’ ass as the ambassador to…Earth. Or something.).
River joins the Doctor again. He’s still struggling with his sonic so River pulls out his/her improved one. The Doctor asks again who the heck she is and why he would just give her his sonic. River tells him to stop being emotional and keep it together, and he’s like, “I’M NOT EVEN.” 40-something (the expedition funder) stands up and tells them they are all about to die and the Doctor and River are squabbling like an old married couple. The Doctor and River give each other a very significant and long look. River says that one day, she will be someone the Doctor can trust completely, and she’s going to prove that. She apologizes and then whispers something in the Doctor’s ear. Whatever she says is difficult for the Doctor to process but also makes him believe her.
1. I love that before she tells him, she echoes one of Ten’s most frequent lines – “I’m sorry. I’m really very sorry.” It’s a nice, if possibly unintentional, touch.
2. HIS FACE AS HE PROCESSES WHAT SHE TELLS HIM OMG. A+ acting, Tennant.
Mari: The Doctor processes this all for a second longer and then gets moving. He yells that not many things can disrupt the signal of his sonic screwdriver, but something currently is. He asks what’s changed and one of the group says it is getting dark outside. The Doctor snarks that his screwdriver works in the dark, but he’s an ass, because that dude is on to something. The moon is coming out. The Doctor asks about it and 40-something says it’s a manufactured moon and something something about the data core of the planet. The Doctor verifies that the moon is active, meaning someone on the planet is alive and communicating with the moon. As he’s tapping into it (or something) a hazy projection of Donna appears and the Doctor calls out to her in the way we already saw from Donna’s end. She disappears quickly.
Anita (she gets a name now because she’s about to die…) (spoilers) calls out to River and says it’s important. She’s got two shadows. She’s crying as she says this, and it’s rather heartbreaking. River tells everyone to back away, and she puts Anita’s helmet on for her. The Doctor tints Anita’s visor, thinking maybe it might fool the Vashta Nerada into thinking they are already in the suit.
K: This is a terrible plan, Doctor. Truly, truly terrible.
Mari: A for effort.
The Doctor ducks down suddenly and tells River to come join him on the floor. He thought she said there were five living people in the room. She says there are. The Doctor asks then why there are six. They look back and there is Swarm in a Suit. The Doctor yells at everybody to run.
We cut to Donna bringing out some tea for Dr. Moon, but he’s disappeared. Her cute ginger daughter shows Donna some clay that is supposed to be shaped like her, but it doesn’t have a face. Lee gets home from work and Donna’s all frazzled because Dr. Moon disappeared and her clay doll doesn’t have a face. She also sees some mysterious figure walking outside of their house. Lee asks if she’s alright. Donna says she’s just tired.
Cut to bed time. Donna and Lee hear the mail flap open, but it’s midnight. Donna sends Lee to go investigate. She looks out the window and sees the same hooded figure across the street. Lee comes back with a letter for Donna. It says that the world is wrong and asks Donna to meet her the next day at the park. Donna and Lee watch the hooded figure walk away.
Little Girl is talking to the TV, asking Donna not to go. (K: Again, such an IRL little kid thing to do, yelling at the TV as though the characters can hear you.) (M: Also a big kid thing to do…)
We join Donna again and she’s walking with her children to the park. She spots the hooded figure, sends her children off to play, and sits down on a park bench next to the woman. Donna says that she got the hooded figure’s note last night, and the woman says that isn’t true. She got it a few seconds ago, but having decided to come to the park, she suddenly found herself there. That’s how time works here, as if in a dream. Donna recognizes the woman’s voice and she confirms: they met once, in the library. Donna was kind to her, and the woman intends to repay that kindness. She is what remains of Miss Evangelista.
K: Man, Steven Moffat really loves a woman in a Victorian outfit, doesn’t he…
Mari: Library. Much running. The Doctor stops and tells River to take the others and find a safe spot. River tells the Doctor that he can’t reason with a swarm in a suit. The Doctor sure is gonna try. River tells Other Dave to stay with the Doctor and pull him out when he becomes too stupid to live. River runs off and Swarm in a Suit enters the room. The Doctor explains that the Swarm is replaying the last thoughts of a dead man. If they don’t have the decency to let him go, they can at least use the neural relay to speak to the Doctor. He asks why the Vashta Nerada are in the library when they normally hunt in forests. After a bit, Swarm figures how to speak and says that they didn’t come here. They were hatched here. The Doctor insists that this is not a forest and there are no trees here, but it dawns on him that he’s surrounded by paper.
K: I may have said “OH SHIT” really loudly at this reveal the first time I watched this episode.
Mari: The Doctor stands there and marvels at the idea of the forest of the Vashta Nerada being the books and he doesn’t immediately register that Other Dave is repeatedly saying that they should go. The Doctor finally twigs and we see that Other Dave is gone and ghosting. Swarm in a Suit and Swarm Dave corner the Doctor, but he happens to be standing on a kind of emergency hatch. He uses the sonic screwdriver to pop it open and falls through.
K: The face that goes along with his drop through the floor? Yeah, that’s pure Barty Crouch Jr.
Mari: Little Girl is smiling as she watches this scene. The Doctor is climbing under one of the bridges using a ton of upper body strength, which I always have to admire because I have none. I would die. (K: SAME. I tried to use the monkey bars at the playground with my niece last year and pretty much dislocated my shoulder…)
Playground. Miss Evangelista says she brought Donna here because it’s the best place to see the lie. Donna wants to know why she’s wearing a veil, covering her pretty face. Miss Evangelista asks if Donna remembers her, then. Her memories are all there, but she’s just been programmed not to look at them. Donna remembers that Miss Evangelista is meant to be dead. Miss E doesn’t make matters much better when she says they are all kind of dead right now. Donna says her children aren’t dead. Miss E says they were never alive. She insists that Donna look at where the children are playing. Donna looks and see that all of the children look the same. It’s the same girl and boy pair over and over. Donna freaks out and pulls off Miss Evangelista’s veil, revealing a melty face. Little Girl, watching all of this on her TV, screams and hides her face.
The Library. River says she keeps wishing the Doctor was there. Anita is confused because she thought the Doctor is here. River says that it’s kind of like looking like a photograph of someone before you knew them. The Doctor is here, he came when she called him as he always does, but it’s not her Doctor. Her Doctor sends entire armies running and opens the TARDIS doors with a snap of his fingers.
The Doctor is suddenly behind them and calls out “spoilers.” He comes downstairs and says that no one can open the TARDIS by snapping. It doesn’t work that way.
Mari: The Doctor asks Anita how she’s doing. River asks where Proper Dave is and they get the bad news that Proper Dave isn’t coming. Anita still has her two shadows and she asks the Doctor to maybe please work on saving her. She also asks what River whispered in his ear to make him trust her. She could use a word like that. The Doctor doesn’t look like he’s gonna answer, so Anita insists, “your secrets are safe with me.”
This gives the Doctor an a-ha! The computer kept saying that all those people in the library were SAVED not safe.
Miss Evangelist, veil back on, explains to Donna that her face was messed up by a transcription error. Donna asks where they even are and Miss Evangelista says they are in cyberspace. Little Girl yells at Miss Evangelista on her TV not to tell.
The Doctor explains to River and 40-Something that the planet tried to teleport all 4,022 people, but they had nowhere to go since the whole planet was swarming with Vashta Nerada. So, the planet, which basically has a large hard drive at its core, saved all those people.
Miss Evangelista is explaining more or less the same thing to Donna.
Mari: Donna teleported into the virtual reality, so she’s a perfect reproduction. Miss Evangelista was just a data ghost, so her face got messed up and her IQ got a boost. She says that she’s got the qualities required to see absolute truth: she’s brilliant and unloved. Donna ignores that weird little bit and asks if this is all a dream, who is dreaming it? Miss Evangelista doesn’t know. She doesn’t have full access to the data core, but she can see one word: CAL.
Donna’s daughter cries out because she’s fallen and hurt her knee. Donna runs over and Miss Evangelista reminds her that the children aren’t real. They are only being kept up by Donna’s belief in them. Donna grabs her fake kids and runs away.
Little Girl is watching all of this and crying. She yells at the TV that Miss Evangelista is ruining everything. Little Girl’s father rushes over and asks what’s wrong. Little Girl tells him to shut up and hits a button on her remote and her father blinks out. She freaks out and slams the remote in anger.
In the library, an alarm blares.
Donna’s kids ask if they are really fake, and Donna just says they are going home. They suddenly appear there. Everything is red, even the sky outside as the alarm keeps blaring.
The Doctor checks out a computer and says that in 20 minutes, the whole planet is going to crack like an egg. 40-Something says they shouldn’t worry because the doctor moon will protect CAL.
We cut to Little Girl, crying on the ground. Dr. Moon tells her to stop this. She’s forgotten that she saved all of those people, but now she remembers. Little Girl tells Dr. Moon to shut up and uses her remote on him too.
Back in the library, the computer blinks off as an electronic voice tells us that all library systems are permanently offline. 40-something says they need to save CAL. The Doctor asks what the heck CAL is and 40-Something says he’ll show them. River seems way excited about heading into the computer core of a planet. She goes over to a circular symbol on the floor, sonics it, and it reveals a platform. The Doctor is impressed and says, “I bet I like you.” River assures him that he does.
K: This was so, so horrific and heartbreaking to watch. But it’s a wonderful piece of acting from Catherine Tate.
Mari: Agreed.
Auto-destruct in 15 minutes.
Little Girl cries and begs for someone to help her.
The Doctor and gang have reached the main command frame. They hear a more computerized version of Little Girl’s voice asking for help. The Doctor bangs on the keyboard, trying to wake the computer up but nothing is happening. River draws the Doctor’s attention to the computer readings. It’s almost as if the computer is dreaming, but computers don’t dream. 40-Something says computers don’t, but girls do. He pulls down a lever and another room opens up.
The head over there and Little Girl’s face is on one of those creepy stone statues. The Doctor is outraged that CAL is a child hooked up to the computer’s mainframe. 40-Something explains that CAL is also family, his grandfather’s youngest daughter. She was dying so they built her a library and gave her a forever half life, with all the books ever to pass the time (K: I… would be 100% okay with this fate). 40-Something sadly strokes the face on the statue. The Lux family was protecting CAL and then the shadows came and she saved all those people. She probably forgot she did it too because now she’s got over 4000 people all chatting away inside her mind.
River asks what they do now and the Doctor runs back into action. He’s going to beam all those people back out again, but Charlotte doesn’t have enough memory space to beam the people back up. The Doctor says he’ll just hook himself up to the computer. River protests because this will kill him dead and burn out both his hearts. The Doctor says he’ll try real hard not to die. “Honestly, it’s my main thing.” River protests again but the Doctor tells her to shut up, take 40-Something back upstairs and prime some data cells for maximum download. River says she hates the Doctor sometimes and he yells back, “I know!”
Once River and 40-Something leave, Anita asks what about the Vashta Nerada. The Doctor says he’s going to seal Charlotte into her world and take everyone else away. The Vashta will be free to swarm to their hearts’ content. Anita asks if he thinks they will just let everyone go. The Doctor replies that it’s the best offer they are going to get. They better take it too because the Doctor liked Anita, and he knows that he’s not talking to her anymore. “She was brave, even when she was crying, and she never gave in.” I just got really sad over a one off character.
The Doctor sonics the visor and we see Anita’s skeleton within. Swarm Anita asks how long the Doctor knew. He counted the shadows and Swarm Anita only has one now. He sees the blinking green light of her neural relay and tells the Swarm to be kind. Swarm Anita replies that these are their forests and they are not kind. The Doctor is giving them back their forests, but the Swarm also wants their people meat. The Swarm starts coming at the Doctor via shadows on the ground. The Doctor repeats that they just killed someone he liked, so that is not a safe place to stand, so close to him. They keep closing in so he tries a different tactic: “I’m the Doctor and you’re in the biggest library in the universe. Look me up.”
K: Literally all I could think of when he said that last sentence? “Ask around! Look me up. Slayer comma the.” That said, it’s also a very Dark!Doctor moment.
Mari: The shadows pause and after some speed reading decide that yeah, they don’t want to mess with this guy. The Swarm gives the Doctor one day and then abandon Anita’s suit. Her skeleton crumples to the ground. River runs in and mourns for Anita. The Doctor apologizes because she’s been dead for a while, but then asks what River is doing back. She says that 40-something can handle it without her, but the Doctor can’t. She stands and punches him IN THE FACE.
When he comes to, the Doctor is handcuffed and River is getting ready to plug herself into the computer. The Doctor tells her that that is his job and she snarks, “Oh, and I’m not allowed to have a career, I suppose?” The Doctor asks why he’s handcuffed and why she even had handcuffs. She sassily tells him that’s a spoiler. This is not a joking matter, though. The Doctor says that this will kill her. At least he stands a chance. River snaps that he doesn’t stand a chance and neither does she. The Doctor begs her to stop, but she’s determined, and she’s got a heartfelt speech to make:
Funny thing is, this means you’ve always known how I was going to die. All the time we’ve been together, you knew I was coming here. The last time I saw you, the real you, the future you, I mean – you turned up on my doorstep, with a new haircut and a suit. You took me to Darillium to see the singing towers. Oh, what a night that was! The towers sang and you cried. You wouldn’t tell me why, but I suppose you knew it was time. My time. Time to come to the Library. You even gave me your screwdriver – that should’ve been a clue.
K: His face when she makes this speech is like a big ol’ stab to the feels.
Mari: The Doctor sees that River’s journal and the screwdrivers are nearby, but still out of reach. River tells him there is nothing he can do. If he dies here, that means she never gets to meet him. He tells her that time can be rewritten, but River tells him not to dare rewrite the times they spent together.
The computer starts counting down the last 10 seconds to auto-destruct. The Doctor says that River knows him name and there is only one way that’s possible. River tells him to hush and gives us one last, “spoilers.” She plugs in, she’s consumed by a blinding white light, and the Doctor looks away.
Donna is sitting on the stairs when Lee arrives home. He’s in a bit of a panic as he asks what’s happening. Donna tells him that none of this is real. White light also starts to engulf them as Lee asks if he’s real. Donna realizes that he must be. He’s real. She promises to come and find him. He tries to say something back, but stammers and can’t get it out.
In the library, 40-Something looks up from the computer and sees that all those people are now out of the computer. He hugs a few of them happily and then goes downstairs to see even more people standing about.
K: Every time I watch this episode, I think that they look like an orchestra. Seriously, they’re all wearing head to toe black.
Mari: The Doctor is still handcuffed. He’s basically forced to look at River’s dead body right now. I can’t even.
We cut to the end, with the saved people slowly being teleported out of the library. The Doctor is free. Donna stands next to him, having found no success locating Lee. There wasn’t anyone named Lee at the library that day. Donna says he may have had a different name in the computer or maybe she made up her perfect man: gorgeous, adores her and barely able to speak a word. She asks what that says about her and the Doctor says everything. She looks at him and after a beat he apologizes. He meant to say nothing and accidentally said everything.
Donna asks if he’s alright and with much furrow in his brow and sadness in his eyes, the Doctor says he’s always alright.
Mari: The Doctor grabs Donna’s hand and they walk away.
As they do, we see Lee step up on the transport platform. Lee sees Donna and tries to call out to her, but he stammers and can’t get it out before he’s teleported away. (K: WOMP.)
Donna and the Doctor are alone in one of the hallways they first visited. The Doctor puts River’s diary down on a banister. Donna says that River knew the Doctor in the future, but she didn’t know Donna. What happens to her? The Doctor says that River’s diary contains his future. They could look Donna up and peek at the end. Donna considers but decides that’s a no go on the spoilers. The Doctor lays River’s sonic screwdriver on her diary, looks at them sadly for another second, then tells Donna to come on.
As we watch Donna and the Doctor walk away, River’s voice over stars up:
When you run with The Doctor, it feels like it will never end. But however hard you try, you can’t run forever. Everybody knows that everybody dies, and nobody knows it like The Doctor. But I do think that all the skies of all the worlds might just turn dark, if he ever, for one moment accepts it.
The Doctor comes running back and picks up the screwdriver. He’s had all these years to think about River’s death and what he ended up giving her was a screwdriver. Why? He opens up part of it to reveal a neural relay. Donna asks what he did and he replies, “saved her.”
The neural relay is flashing, counting down to that last blip. The Doctor runs like hell all the way back to the gravity platform and jumps right down into it, like a flying squirrel. (Sorry. I know this is v. serious.)
K: He also hurdles over a book cart and HOLY SHIT HOW MANY TAKES DID THAT NEED AND HOW MANY TIMES DID DAVID TENNANT INJURE HIMSELF??? Because seriously: book carts are waist high. And they’re way wider than a standard hurdle. And they don’t tip over easily if you catch your foot on them. I cut my shin on a book cart when I was shelving books in January. I *still* have a mark there. I’m honestly surprised Tennant made it out alive.
Mari: Down in the mainframe, he plugs the screwdriver in and looks back. CAL gives him a smile and he smiles back as electricity zaps all over the place.
River materializes in the computer. CAL and Dr. Moon greet her and tell her this is a safe place now that the Doctor has fixed it. Plus, CAL says she thought River might be lonely, so she brought her some friends. River looks back and see Anita, Proper Dave, Other Dave and Miss Evangelista. They all hug happily.
K: I have mixed feelings about this moment. Like, yay they get to be happy together. Buuuuut they’re still dead. Also, they weren’t actually friends so being stuck together for all eternity is possibly not the best fate???
Mari: It’s a comparative thing.
The Doctor goes back to the TARDIS and looks at it very sternly. He holds up a hand and snaps.
As he heads into the TARDIS, joins Donna, and snaps the door shut again, we hear River’s voice over once more. “Now and then, every once in a very long while, every day in a million days, when the wind stands fair, and The Doctor comes to call… everybody lives.”
K: *headdesk*. Look, I know that line is meant to be feelsy and dramatic and shit. But GODDAMMIT, MOFFAT. “Everybody lives” is basically his schtick, and it drives me absolutely nuts because it gets really old really fast.
Mari: Shh, it’s not old for me at this time. Stop ruining it.
River is reading all this from her journal to CAL and Donna’s fake children. She smiles at them sweetly and wishes them sweet dreams before turning out the lights.
We talked about how much we love this two-parter last time and this time it strikes me how much this episode is made up of all these different griefs.
First, and at the forefront, is the sad story of the Doctor and River, two people living their story out of order. For whatever may be coming down the line, can we admire the brilliance of this concept? This is the first time the Doctor sees her and this is the last time River ever sees him. A lot of the heartbreak of the Doctor is that he outlives us all. He cycles through adventures and companions. Imagine what it must be to realize who River is and to lose her all in one episode. I think this worked better at some points in the episode. I wasn’t a huge fan of Kingston’s breathy acting in the last scene as she plugs herself into the computer, but overall, I liked the dynamics between Tennant and Kingston.
Next, we have Donna’s tragedy. She finds herself in this virtual life that is immediately comprised of the things that she’s tried to have but doesn’t have on the outside. We originally met Donna in a wedding dress, learning that her whole engagement is a sham. Here, she’s met her perfect guy and she literally jumps to married and babies in a couple of seconds. Things happen in the virtual reality as Donna decides it, so I think it’s telling that here, in this place of granted wishes, this is where she finds herself. She’s on a grand adventure, but I think Donna very much desires having a family and the kind of acceptance that comes with it. Even as she realizes that everything is fake, it’s hard for her to let go of the dream. And can we just talk about the sadness that is Lee also experiencing this? He’s also found Donna and he sees her walking away and he tries to call out and can’t.
Then, we have the tragedy of Charlotte and her well-meaning father who tried to keep her alive forever. The Doctor indignantly asked who would connect a child to a mainframe and by the end of the episode, he was running to upload someone he cared about too. There, Charlotte is joined by River’s team, whose deaths at the hands of the Vashta Nerada were all creepy and sad. Anita in particular, with her brave tears and sad acceptance, got to me.
Finally, how sad am I that the best library ever goes abandoned because flesh eating shadows? VERY.
K: For all my negativity towards the end there, I’m going to have to give a big fat +1 to everything that Mari said. I do really enjoy this two parter and everything that goes along with it. Except the fear that my books might contain Vashta Nerada that will eat me in my sleep…
Next time on Doctor Who: Aliens on a train in S04 E10 – Midnight.
I'm a 30-something south Floridan who loves the beach but cannot swim. Such is my life, full of small contradictions and little trivialities. My main life goals are never to take life too seriously, but to do everything I attempt seriously well. After that, my life goals devolve into things like not wearing pants and eating all of the Zebra Cakes in the world. THE WORLD.
I'm a 30-something librarian and I still live with my parents because I'm super broke. Leader of Team Heartless Cow. I have an inexplicable love for 90s television, eat too much chocolate, and read more than is good for me.