Review - Doctor Who: "The Magician's Apprentice"

Season 9 of Doctor Who starts off with a bang, as Planes are frozen in the air all over the world, The Doctor is nowhere to be seen and Missy is back on the scene!
The Magician's Apprentice is a great opening episode to Capaldi's second season as the Doctor, we
still don't fully know what the 12th doctor true personalty is, in his first season we saw him fighting between being a good guy and a bad guy, and this 2 part story (the second episode airing next week) will make The Doctor decide who he really is.


At the opening of this episode we are thrown into the middle of a battle between a technological advanced side against humans with bow and arrows, a human child runs away from the battle and is surrounded by muddy hands sticking out of the ground with eyes on them, obviously. Luckily the Doctor appears and tries to help the kid, he throws him his sonic screwdriver to talk to him and asks the child his name, to which he replies Davros. What a great start to the episode. Davros has never really been an appealing villain to me but with this interesting backstory it made me more interested, we also get explained in the episode of why Davros created the Daleks, to protect his people from war, a twisted way to save them, but what he thought needed to be done.

On Earth, Clara is teaching a class when she looks out of the window and sees a plane frozen in the air, this is happening all over the world, Clara goes to UNIT to find out what is happening because the Doctor is missing and Missy appears and reveals that it was her doing, to get Clara's attention, I liked how they didn't try to explain how Missy was back after her 'death' in the finale last series with a quick remark "Yeah i'm back, big deal' like she was talking to the fans. Missy reveals to Clara that the Doctor has given Missy his 'confession dial' which timelords' give their closest friend a day before they are going to die, its interesting that the Doctor would give it to Missy, they have a very complicated relationship that i hope will get explored this season, this leads to Clara and Missy teaming up to find the Doctor. Its great having Missy back, i don't know how long she'll be sticking around, but she adds a great edge to the companion theme that the Doctor has with his companions, Missy is so crazy and random you don't know if she's going to give you a helping hand or going to stab you in the back.

Missy and Clara in "The Magician's Apprentice"

They find him in the 12th Century hiding away, The Doctor has a grand entrance to a dual as he plays an electric guitar while standing on a tank, strangely he is acting nothing like the angry, strict self and is acting more like the 11th, busting terrible jokes and flirting with Clara, it really shows how nervous the Doctor is for his upcoming death.

The Doctor's Grand Entrance in "The Magician's Apprentice"

Near the end of the episode when the Doctor, Clara and Missy are taken to see Davros they are taken to a random world, while the Doctor is escorted to Davros, Missy and Clara are left behind and find out that they are on the home planet of the Daleks, Skaro! Daleks escort them to a room filled with more Daleks and exterminate the both of them while Davros makes the Doctor watch...
And then destroys the TARDIS?!
The episode ends with the child Davros from the start of the episode, with another version of the Doctor appearing and pointing a gun at young Davros, this will be the Doctor's test with his fight for good or evil.
This episode felt like the first part of a two part finale but it is only the first episode of the season! I can't wait to find out how the Doctor is going to resolve all of this next week in "The Witch's Familiar" 

8.5/10

What did you think of "The Magician's Apprentice?
Comment and let me know!