The Witchfinders is the second episode to be both written and directed by a woman in the history of Doctor Who. What’s even more shocking is that it’s the first episode with that combination since 1983. Now, in a perfect world, their genders wouldn't matter. We'd only be concerned about their ability to make a good episode of Doctor Who. However, if this combination is so rare, clearly more than just talent is at play. Series 11 has quite explicitly made it its mission to diversify both in front of and behind the camera. Inevitably, this means the series has more pressure to 'prove itself’ and demonstrate that white men aren't the only ones who can make good television. So far, arguably the two best episodes (Rosa and Demons of the Punjab) have had scripts penned by writers who don’t fit the ‘white male’ label. Obviously, their lack of white male-ness isn't the only reason they wrote good episodes, but their backgrounds certainly enriched their stories with a welcome fresh perspective.
So, I anticipated The Witchfinders with nervous excitement. Beyond the gender of its writer/director team, a Doctor Who episode set during the 17th-century witch-hunts had a lot of potential. On top of that, casting Alan Cumming as James I was a stroke of genius. However, I was still naturally dreading the episode would squander all this potential. Kerblam!, for example, started off fantastic but faltered at the third act by muddling its message. Similarly, Arachnids in the UK was almost there but couldn't quite land the point it was trying to make. On top of this, The Witchfinders has to live up to the lofty reputation the historical episodes have garnered this series. The aforementioned Rosa and Demons of the Punjab are by far series 11’s most powerful episodes with their thoughtful and affecting explorations of important political issues. Can The Witchfinders be nearly as good?
Fortunately, I needn't have worried. Writer Joy Wilkinson's script is absolutely masterful. More than anybody else this series, Wilkinson perfectly balances the numerous elements that make up an episode of Doctor Who. The comedy, horror and drama are juggled so deftly that they simply become organically intertwined. The writing (alongside Pete McTighe's script for Kerblam!) is also some of the series’ funniest; Graham's quip about putting the witchfinders into special measures is a particular highlight. This series has also tried introducing exclusively new aliens with mixed results. Wilkinson finally nails it with the Morax, an imprisoned alien race that resurrect the dead as mud spewing zombies. The makeup and special effects are wonderfully freaky, instilling the most genuine sense of threat all series. Sallie Aprahamian's pertinent direction, Tim Palmer's expressive cinematography and Segun Akinola's typically stunning score further enhance the episode's array of moods and atmospheres.
The Witchfinders also features some of the series best character explorations. Like in Kerblam! Team TARDIS are slightly sidelined, but they're not entirely forgotten. There's a particularly lovely moment when Yaz opens up about her struggles with bullying and anxiety as a teenager. Television trying to relate to young people can often seem forced and embarrassing, but Wilkinson's script does it naturally and tastefully. However, the episode's focus clearly lies on its side characters. Willa Twiston, the granddaughter of one of the witch-hunt’s victims, is an empathetic character facing struggles as a young woman many can identify with, despite her 17th-century setting. Her relationship with Becka Savage is also fascinating, initially shrouded in mystery before gradually revealing its complexities as events force them to reconcile their difficult history.
Naturally, Alan Cumming’s performance as James I is one of the greatest things to ever grace our television screens. He spectacularly elaborates on what we know about James I’s personality with delightful, flirtatious flamboyance. From one of the trailers, I was partially concerned his role was going to be reduced to a one-note pantomime villain. Fortunately, that’s not at all the case. Whilst Cumming certainly brings an air of that to the role, he doesn’t let it completely take over the performance and Wilkinson’s script frequently challenges his character with surprising depth. James I had an extremely broken childhood and this depiction of him is significantly haunted by it, resulting in a crippling inability to trust anybody around him. I don’t know how historically accurate that is, but as a way of presenting the figure as a television character, it’s a successfully nuanced approach.
Speaking of nuance, The Witchfinders - like the previous historical episodes - touches on issues of political relevance with impressive attentiveness. There’s a natural feminist subtext that can be drawn out of the witch-hunts, which Wilkinson manages to skilfully embed into the action of the episode. Most notably, Jodie Whittaker’s Doctor has her first experience of sexism, remarking grimly that, "If I was still a bloke I could just get stuff done and not have to waste time defending myself". Becka Savage is also an inherently thought-provoking character, thanks to her complicated position as a woman with moderate influence in early modern England. However, the most intriguing theme Wilkinson brings out of the witch-hunts has to be the fear of the unknown. An especially intense dialogue between the Doctor and James I challenges the tendency to blame those who are different from us for our fears and insecurities. These themes don't provide the backbone to the script in the way the politics did for the previous historical episodes. Instead, they're more implicit but no less insightful.
So, have the women proven themselves to be as good at making Doctor Who as the men? Is it absurd that anyone would ever think they couldn't be as good at making Doctor Who as the men? The answer to both of those questions is a resounding yes. The Witchfinders is just an utterly brilliant episode of Doctor Who. It brings together everything that makes Doctor Who such a unique and beloved show and it does so with such undeniable skill and care. It also marks a decisive hat-trick for the historical episodes this series and, most importantly, made me very very happy.
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