Episode 8.10: In the Forest of the Night
Written by: Frank Cottrell Boyce
Directed by: Sheree Folkson
Airdate: 25 October 2014
So... it was a good episode, though clearly not a great one, especially after the last two. Also, it sadly wasn't a very smart episode, I have to say. I'm not usually so good at guessing things but after hearing about the flame proof forest the plot suddenly got pretty obvious for me. And I was just waiting for the Doctor to figure it out. "Doctor Idiot" this time, yeah. First, the good things: we got to see more Danny this week which I definitely liked, also the Doctor's interactions with Maebh, a few character moments and the actors' performances. The bad things: the plot itself, the conclusion and the fact that it took so long for the Doctor to figure things out. And that's just the main points. The fact is the most important part of the episode ended up being a trailer for the next hour of the show and I can't wait to see it. But for now, here's what happened in "In the Forest of the Night".
A little girl, named Maebh, runs to the TARDIS to find the Doctor. She helps him discover the fact that he's in the middle of the forest-covered Trafalgar Square. Meanwhile, Clara and Danny with the group of Coal Hill students wake up from their overnight stay at a London National History Museum and find the London (and the rest of the planet) almost completely covered by forest. The Doctor calls Clara and checks the situation. Danny, realizing who she's talking to, starts to suspect that she lied about no longer staying in contact with the Time Lord. Then, Clara and Danny take the students to the Doctor, searching for Maebh who turns out to be a missing member of their group.
When the team finds the Doctor, Maebh leaves again, without anyone noticing at first. The rest is trying to figure out what happened to the trees and the Doctor theorizes it has something to do with manipulating time. Then Danny finds Maebh's drawings on board the TARDIS (left it there by Clara some days ago) and confirms his suspicions about her lying. The pictures show an angry sun attacking the trees. Clara explains to the Doctor that Maebh's in a fragile state since her sister disappeared a year ago and has to take her medications to stop the voices in her head. The Doctor, however, believes her to be an important part of the tree mystery and goes (with Clara) to look for her.
Maebh runs through the forest, leaving the clues (like her phone) behind to let the others follow her. While searching for the little girl, the Doctor and Clara stumble upon a team send by government to burn a path through the forest but the it proves to be flame proof. The Doctor also takes a moment to explain to Clara that there's a giant solar flare coming to destroy the Earth (like the one in the Bank of Karabraxos a few episodes earlier) and he didn't even know about it. But according to her drawings, Maebh did. And that's why it's extremely important to find her and learn what else she may know. Suddenly, the two hear the howling of the wolves which escaped the London Zoo. The animals go after Maebh but the Doctor and Clara get to her in time to save her. But it's Danny and the rest of the kids that save all three when the tiger (following the wolves) almost attacks them.
Soon after, Maebh runs off and the group finds her in what appears to be the centre of the forest. That's where she explains she had a dream about creating the all these trees and believes she's responsible for their sudden appearance. The Doctor adjusts the local gravity around her, using his sonic screwdriver, and it reveals the presence of the glowing bug-like creatures by her side. They speak through Maebh and tell the Doctor they're always here and they came when Maebh called them but they had nothing to do with her searching for the Time Lord. Then they leave little girl and the Doctor, scared, admits to Clara that it means the Earth is really going to be destroyed, along with all the possible futures of the planet that they've seen.
Clara asks the Doctor to at least save the children and they all go back to the TARDIS. That's where she tells the Doctor she lied and that even if he took the kids with him he wouldn't have the place to take them to and they would never stop missing their parents. And since Danny would never leave the kids and Clara doesn't want to be the last of her kind she says goodbye to the Doctor, trying to save him, even when he admits, using Clara's words from "Kill the Moon", that the Earth is his world too. The Time Lord apologizes to Maebh for not being able to help her but she tells him that she already feels better and hopes that he will get rid of the forest. Then he takes off in the TARDIS, like Clara asked him to.
He monitors the solar flare from space and suddenly realizes something and goes back to Clara, Danny and the kids. He tells them what he figured out. That the trees are actually trying to protect the planet from the flare, like they did before, in Tunguska event and the Curuçá impact. That's when Danny tells him they heard the news about the government's plans to use defoliating agents to burn the trees, no longer making them shield from the solar flare. So the kids prepare the message that Maebh reads over the world's cellular networks (thanks to the Doctor) and asks the world to leave the trees alone, and for her sister to come home. All the children want to go home to their parents and Danny promises to take them, but not before he talks to Clara and tells her he knows she's still secretly traveling with the Doctor. He asks her not to ever lie to him again and is forgives her for this time.
The Doctor and Clara watch in space how the flare reaches the Earth and the trees prevent damage to the planet. Missy is also watching the same thing, but on her tablet and appears to be surprised by the event. Back at Clara's home, the Doctor watches as the new trees disperse and tells Clara that the humans will forget about everything that happened on that day and, like before, will only save the parts of the story in their fairy tales. In the final scene of the episode, Maebh, after reuniting with her mom who was looking for her the entire episode, comes back home to find her sister Annebel waiting for her there. The end.
Whovian notes and questions:
1. What did you think about the episode? Any favorite moments? I would probably go with Clara asking the Doctor to save himself & Class Project: Save the Earth. The first of these two scenes was a beautifully acted, emotional moment with a great dialogue, though I'm not sure what I think about Clara here. I know that her actions may have been selfless but I keep thinking about Donna back in "The Fires of Pompeii", begging the Doctor to at least save one person from the eruption. And it just doesn't feel right to leave everyone behind like that in this episode.
2. Okay, the promo! What's wrong with Clara?! "Clara Oswald has never existed" - I have like a million questions and theories now. Clever lie to the enemy, a performance, did real Clara disappeared at one point (possibly "The Name of the Doctor") or something completely different? What's your best guess? Also, yay for the characters from "The Day of The Doctor" coming back next week. Already really excited to see the episode!
3. Missy, Missy, Missy. I'm really glad she's going to meet the Doctor next week, cause I would love to get some answers about her.
4. There are so many references this season! I absolutely adore that. Anything you noticed and would like to share?
Thank you for all the comments and for reading. Go ahead and share your thoughts about the episode below. Till the next time!
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