The Girl Who Died
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"The Girl Who Died" is the fifth episode of the ninth series of the British
science fiction television Science fiction first appeared in television programming in the late 1930s, during what is called the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Special effects and other production techniques allow creators to present a living visual image of an imaginary ...
series ''
Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...
''. It was first broadcast on
BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...
on 17 October 2015, and was written by
Jamie Mathieson Jamie Mathieson (born 1970) is a British television screenwriter. A former stand-up comedian, he has written for a number of UK science fiction TV shows, namely '' Being Human'', ''Dirk Gently'', and for series 8, 9 and 10 of '' Doctor Who''. ...
and
Steven Moffat Steven William Moffat (; born 18 November 1961) is a Scottish television writer, television producer and screenwriter. He is best known for his work as showrunner, writer and executive producer of the science fiction television series ''Doct ...
and directed by Ed Bazalgette. In the episode, the alien time traveller the
Twelfth Doctor The Twelfth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Scottish actor Peter Capaldi in three series as well as four specials. As with previous incar ...
(
Peter Capaldi Peter Dougan Capaldi (; born 14 April 1958) is a Scottish actor, director, writer and musician. He portrayed the Twelfth Doctor, twelfth incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in ''Doctor Who'' (2013–2017) and Malcolm Tucker in ' ...
) and his companion
Clara Clara may refer to: Organizations * CLARA, Latin American academic computer network organization * Clara.Net, a European ISP * Consolidated Land and Rail Australia, a property development consortium People * Clara (given name), a feminine giv ...
(
Jenna Coleman Jenna-Louise Coleman (born 27 April 1986), known professionally as Jenna Coleman, is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Jasmine Thomas in the soap opera ''Emmerdale'', Clara Oswald in the science-fiction series ''Doctor Who'', Qu ...
) have 24 hours to train a group of weak
Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...
villagers for a war against aliens called the Mire shortly after the Mire slaughtered all of the village's warriors and a woman called
Ashildr Ashildr (also known as Me) is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', portrayed by actress Maisie Williams. The character was introduced in the ninth series episode " The Girl Who Died", before ma ...
(
Maisie Williams Margaret Constance "Maisie" Williams (born 15 April 1997) is an English actress. Williams made her acting debut in 2011 as Arya Stark, a lead character in the HBO epic medieval fantasy television series '' Game of Thrones'' (2011–2019). She ...
) subsequently declared war.


Plot

The
Twelfth Doctor The Twelfth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Scottish actor Peter Capaldi in three series as well as four specials. As with previous incar ...
and
Clara Clara may refer to: Organizations * CLARA, Latin American academic computer network organization * Clara.Net, a European ISP * Consolidated Land and Rail Australia, a property development consortium People * Clara (given name), a feminine giv ...
are taken to a village by some
Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...
s. The Doctor claims to be
Odin Odin (; from non, Óðinn, ) is a widely revered Æsir, god in Germanic paganism. Norse mythology, the source of most surviving information about him, associates him with wisdom, healing, death, royalty, the gallows, knowledge, war, battle, v ...
, but the villagers are not fooled, as a figure also claiming to be Odin appears in the sky, offering to take the warriors to
Valhalla In Norse mythology Valhalla (;) is the anglicised name for non, Valhǫll ("hall of the slain").Orchard (1997:171–172) It is described as a majestic hall located in Asgard and presided over by the god Odin. Half of those who die in combat e ...
. A squad of warriors in armoured suits materialise, shooting the Vikings with weapons that appear to disintegrate them. Clara and
Ashildr Ashildr (also known as Me) is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', portrayed by actress Maisie Williams. The character was introduced in the ninth series episode " The Girl Who Died", before ma ...
, a woman from the village, are also struck. The squad soon disappears. Clara and Ashildr find themselves on a spacecraft with the other Vikings. The men are killed and drained of their
adrenaline Adrenaline, also known as epinephrine, is a hormone and medication which is involved in regulating visceral functions (e.g., respiration). It appears as a white microcrystalline granule. Adrenaline is normally produced by the adrenal glands and ...
and
testosterone Testosterone is the primary sex hormone and anabolic steroid in males. In humans, testosterone plays a key role in the development of Male reproductive system, male reproductive tissues such as testes and prostate, as well as promoting secondar ...
, while Clara and Ashildr meet Odin, the leader of the Mire species that pride themselves on their merciless conquests. Before Clara can stop her, Ashildr declares war on the Mire, and Odin grants them 24 hours to prepare. On Earth, Clara brings the Doctor up to speed. He recognises the villagers are too weak to fight, and devises a plan using Ashildr's storytelling skills and a supply of
electric eel The electric eels are a genus, ''Electrophorus'', of neotropical freshwater fish from South America in the family Gymnotidae. They are known for their ability to stun their prey by generating electricity, delivering shocks at up to 860 volt ...
s. When the Mire arrive, they find the villagers celebrating. The Mire's confusion gives the Doctor time to stun them with electricity and pull one of the helmets off with an
electromagnet An electromagnet is a type of magnet in which the magnetic field is produced by an electric current. Electromagnets usually consist of wire wound into a coil. A current through the wire creates a magnetic field which is concentrated in the ...
. The Doctor modifies this and has Ashildr wear it, allowing her to envision an articulated puppet as a dragon, which is broadcast to the other Mire and scares them off. Odin vows to attack again, but the Doctor threatens to send video footage of the
rout A rout is a panicked, disorderly and undisciplined retreat of troops from a battlefield, following a collapse in a given unit's command authority, unit cohesion and combat morale (''esprit de corps''). History Historically, lightly-equi ...
captured by Clara's phone to the universe unless they leave Earth. Odin and the Mire peacefully depart. The village celebrates its victory until they find Ashildr died from the helmet's use. The Doctor is frustrated until he remembers why he took the form of Caecilius: to always save someone, no matter what. He "breaks the rules" and modifies two chips from the Mire's helmets, one of which he implants in Ashildr, and the other he gives to her father for later use. The chip rapidly regenerates Ashildr's body and she regains consciousness. As they leave, the Doctor tells Clara he fears he gave Ashildr a fate worse than death as the chip will never fail, effectively making her immortal and alone. He provided the second chip in hope she would give it to one she cares for.


Continuity

After meeting the Vikings, the Doctor produces a
yo-yo A yo-yo (also spelled yoyo) is a toy consisting of an axle connected to two disks, and a string looped around the axle, similar to a spool. It is an ancient toy with proof of existence since 500 BCE. The yo-yo was also called a bandalore in ...
in an attempt to impress them with "magic". A former companion, Leela, believes a yo-yo is magical when the
Fourth Doctor The Fourth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Tom Baker. Within the series' narrative, the Doctor is a centuries-old alien Time Lord from the ...
provides her one to play with (''
The Robots of Death ''The Robots of Death'' is the fifth serial of the 14th season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 29 January to 19 February 1977. In the serial, the Four ...
'', 1977). The
Twelfth Doctor The Twelfth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Scottish actor Peter Capaldi in three series as well as four specials. As with previous incar ...
previously used one simply to test the gravity in 2014's "
Kill the Moon "Kill the Moon" is the seventh episode of the eighth series of the British science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 4 October 2014. The episode was written by Peter Harness and directed by Paul W ...
", as did the Fourth Doctor in ''
The Ark in Space ''The Ark in Space'' is the second serial of the 12th season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was first broadcast in four weekly parts on BBC1 from 25 January to 15 February 1975. The serial is set more tha ...
'' (1975). The Doctor is seen leafing through a book entitled "2000 Year Diary", an upgraded version of the 500 Year Diary belonging to the
Second Doctor The Second Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He was portrayed by actor Patrick Troughton. While the Troughton era of ''Doctor Who'' is well-remembered by fans an ...
(''
The Power of the Daleks ''The Power of the Daleks'' is the completely missing third serial of the fourth season of British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', and which was first broadcast in six weekly parts from 5 November to 10 December 1966. It is ...
'', 1966) and the
Fourth Doctor The Fourth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He is portrayed by Tom Baker. Within the series' narrative, the Doctor is a centuries-old alien Time Lord from the ...
in ''
The Sontaran Experiment ''The Sontaran Experiment'' is the third serial of the 12th season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', which was originally broadcast on BBC1 on 22 February and 1 March 1975. The serial is set on Earth more than 10 ...
'', and the 900 Year Diary of the
Seventh Doctor The Seventh Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', and the final incarnation of the original Doctor Who series. He is portrayed by Scottish actor Sylvester McCoy. W ...
(''
Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...
'', 1996). The Doctor's ability to "speak baby" is demonstrated again in this episode. It appeared previously in the
Eleventh Doctor The Eleventh Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. He is played by Matt Smith in three series as well as five specials. As with previous incarnations of the Docto ...
stories "
A Good Man Goes to War "A Good Man Goes to War" is the seventh episode of the sixth series of the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who'', and was first broadcast on BBC One on 4 June 2011. It served as a mid-series finale. The episode was written ...
" and " Closing Time". As he is adapting a Mire helmet, the Doctor claims he is " reversing the polarity of the neutron flow", a phrase said many times in various ways during ''Doctor Who'', beginning with the
Third Doctor The Third Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He was portrayed by actor Jon Pertwee. Within the series' narrative, the Doctor is a centuries-old alien Time Lord fro ...
.
David Tennant David John Tennant (''né'' McDonald; born 18 April 1971) is a Scottish actor. He rose to fame for his role as the tenth incarnation of the Doctor (2005–2010 and 2013) in the BBC science-fiction TV show '' Doctor Who'', reprising the rol ...
and
Catherine Tate Catherine Jane Ford (born 5 December 1969), known professionally as Catherine Tate, is an English actress, comedian and writer. She has won numerous awards for her work on the BBC sketch comedy series '' The Catherine Tate Show'' (2004–2007) ...
appear in flashbacks as the
Tenth Doctor The Tenth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the main protagonist of the BBC science fiction television franchise ''Doctor Who''. He is played by David Tennant in three series as well as nine specials. As with previous incarnations of the ...
and
Donna Noble Donna Noble (later Donna Temple-Noble) is a fictional character in the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Portrayed by British actress and comedian Catherine Tate, she is a former companion of the Tenth Docto ...
, respectively, in scenes from "
The Fires of Pompeii "The Fires of Pompeii" is the second episode of the fourth series of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It was broadcast on BBC One on 12 April 2008. Set shortly before and during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in AD ...
" (2008) in which
Peter Capaldi Peter Dougan Capaldi (; born 14 April 1958) is a Scottish actor, director, writer and musician. He portrayed the Twelfth Doctor, twelfth incarnation of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in ''Doctor Who'' (2013–2017) and Malcolm Tucker in ' ...
also starred. A flashback from " Deep Breath" (2014), the eighth series' opening episode, also appears as the Doctor finally understands why he chose his current face. The Doctor says Ashildr is now a "hybrid", echoing a prophecy related by
Davros Davros () is a character from the long-running British science fiction on television, science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He was created by screenwriter Terry Nation, originally for the 1975 serial ''Genesis of the Daleks''. Dav ...
in "
The Magician's Apprentice ''The Magician's Apprentice'' is a fantasy novel by author Trudi Canavan. It was published in February 2009, and is a stand-alone prequel telling a story occurring hundreds of years before her bestselling ''The Black Magician (novel series), Bla ...
" / "
The Witch's Familiar "The Witch's Familiar" is the second episode of the ninth series of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 26 September 2015. It was written by Steven Moffat and directed by Hettie MacD ...
" – two great warrior races, speculated to be the
Time Lord The Time Lords are a fictional ancient race of extraterrestrial life, extraterrestrial people in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', of which the series' main protagonist, The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor, is a memb ...
s and the
Dalek The Daleks ( ) are a fictional extraterrestrial race of mutants principally portrayed in the British science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who''. They were conceived by writer Terry Nation and first appeared in the 1963 ''Doctor Who'' ...
s, would merge to become a "hybrid". It now appears that, instead, it is a merger between Vikings and the Mire. At the end of the episode, the Doctor reflects on the potential consequences of his decision to save Ashildr, and possibly making her immortal, by saying "time will tell, it always does". This is a statement the Seventh Doctor uses at the end of ''
Remembrance of the Daleks ''Remembrance of the Daleks'' is the first serial of the 25th season of the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. The serial was first broadcast in four weekly episodes from 5 to 26 October 1988. It was written by Ben Aaronovi ...
'' (1988), referring to his decision to destroy Davros and
Skaro Skaro is a fictional planet in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It was created by the writer Terry Nation as the home planet of the Daleks. In ''The Daleks'' (1963–64), Skaro is described as being the twelfth pl ...
, and whether it was a 'good' decision.


Outside references

Odin's face appearing in the sky to talk to his disciples directly references a scene in ''
Monty Python and the Holy Grail ''Monty Python and the Holy Grail'' is a 1975 British comedy film satirizing the Arthurian legend, written and performed by the Monty Python comedy group (Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin) an ...
'' in which God does the same thing. Clara suggests, and the Doctor agrees, that ''
The Benny Hill Show ''The Benny Hill Show'' is a British comedy television show starring Benny Hill that aired on the BBC and ITV (from 1969) between 15 January 1955 and 1 May 1989. The show consisted mainly of sketches that were full of slapstick, mime, parody ...
s theme song ''
Yakety Sax "Yakety Sax" is a pop novelty instrumental jointly composed by James Q. "Spider" Rich and Boots Randolph. Saxophonist Randolph popularized the selection in his 1963 recording, which reached number 35 on the pop charts. Comedian Benny Hill later ...
'' be used as the soundtrack for the video of Odin and the other Mire retreating from the dragon puppet. She plays a few seconds' clip with ''Yakety Sax's'' opening notes added.


Production

Filming took place at
Margam Castle Margam Castle, Margam, Port Talbot, Wales, is a late Georgian country house built for Christopher Rice Mansel Talbot. Designed by Thomas Hopper, the castle was constructed in a Tudor Revival style over a five-year period, from 1830 to 1835. ...
, Castell Coch, Llanharan, and Marble Hall within
Cardiff Town Hall Cardiff Town Hall was the name given to four buildings which successively served as the centre of local government in Cardiff, the capital of Wales between the Middle Ages and Cardiff's elevation from ''town'' to ''city'' status in 1905. Upon the ...
.


Casting

Odin was originally to have been played by
Brian Blessed Brian Blessed (; born 9 October 1936) is an English actor, presenter, writer and mountaineer. Blessed is known for portraying PC "Fancy" Smith in ''Z-Cars'', Augustus in the 1976 BBC television production of ''I, Claudius'', King Richard IV i ...
, who had previously played King Yrcanos in 1986's ''
Mindwarp ''Mindwarp'' is the second serial of the larger narrative known as ''The Trial of a Time Lord'' which encompasses the whole of the 23rd season of the British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who''. It was first broadcast in four wee ...
'', and had been offered the role of the
Second Doctor The Second Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. He was portrayed by actor Patrick Troughton. While the Troughton era of ''Doctor Who'' is well-remembered by fans an ...
in 1966. Blessed, however, was forced to pull out, and was replaced by David Schofield.


Broadcast and reception

''Doctor Who'' came second for the day with 4.63 million viewers in overnight ratings, an increase from the previous episode. Overall the episode had 6.56 million viewers, the highest figure of the series thus far, with a 28.1% share. It received an
Appreciation Index The Audience Appreciation Index (AI) is an indicator measured from 0 to 100 of the public's appreciation for a television or radio programme, or broadcast service, in the United Kingdom. Until 2002, the AI of a programme was calculated by the B ...
score of 82.


Critical reception

The episode received very positive reviews from critics, with many praising the episode's humour, the resolution with regards to the Doctor's face, and the performances of Capaldi, Coleman and Williams. The episode also achieved a score of 95% on
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
based on 19 reviews, with an average score of 8.1. The site's consensus reads "With a stellar guest-star performance by Maisie Williams, "The Girl Who Died" sets thrillingly high stakes, while still maintaining the playful tone we've come to expect from Peter Capaldi's incarnation of Doctor Who". Patrick Mulkern of ''
Radio Times ''Radio Times'' (currently styled as ''RadioTimes'') is a British weekly listings magazine devoted to television and radio programme schedules, with other features such as interviews, film reviews and lifestyle items. Founded in May 1923 by J ...
'' awarded the episode a perfect five star rating, claiming that "Jamie Mathieson and Steven Moffat invest a traditional formula with a twist of unpredictability and immortality". He further went on to say that the episode "taps into a very traditional vein but again slyly transcends it, and achieves that holy grail of TV drama – unpredictability", also claiming that "everything that is meant to be funny is funny and the sad moments are sad", while praising the episode's direction as "impeccable". Scott Collura of
IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...
also lavished praise on the episode, awarding it a score of 8.8/10, deemed by the site as "great". He especially praised Capaldi's performance, labelling it "big and touching", while also enjoying "the introduction of Maisie Williams' character" and the episode's "big thematic touches". He summarised his review by stating "Doctor Who continues its strong season with the much-anticipated arrival of Maisie Williams as 'The Girl Who Died.' While the revelation of who her character actually is may come as something of a letdown for longtime fans, the episode itself and its bigger thematic touches more than make up for that". Catherine Gee of ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...
'' also enjoyed the episode, calling it "fast paced" and claiming that it "set up all the right ingredients for something big next week". She also said "The attack and battle sequence zipped through at speed. If it felt a little rushed it didn't hugely matter, as it was clearly setting up for a bigger second half". Alasdair Wilkins of ''
The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...
'' highly acclaimed the episode, awarding it a perfect "A" grade – the first of this series – and stated that "the writing, the acting, the directing combine to create what is quite possibly the best episode yet of this Doctor's tenure". He called the episode "fantastically funny whenever it wants to be", but also heavily praised the subplot of the Doctor's face, calling the reveal "wonderfully simple". He closed his review by labeling the episode "a damn triumph. More than that, it's a triumph because it feels so resolutely like a ''Doctor Who'' episode", and stated that the episode "remembers that what motivates the Doctor's decisions are fundamentally the same emotions that we all feel, and that's what makes this such a brilliant hour of television". Morgan Jeffery of
Digital Spy Digital Spy (DS) is a British-based entertainment, television and film website and brand and is the largest digital property at Hearst UK. Since its launch in 1999, Digital Spy has focused on entertainment news related to television programmes, ...
also praised the episode, calling it "unlike anything you've seen before". He called the episode "fast-paced, with sharp, funny dialogue and some great clowning from Peter Capaldi" and further praising Williams as "nicely ethereal in the part, without ever overplaying the character's enigmatic nature". He closed his review by saying "while Doctor Who shouldn't be like this every week, the show's boundless variety has always been its biggest selling point, and it's refreshing to see 'The Girl Who Died' break the mould and dare to be entirely unpredictable and different". Kaite Welsh of ''
IndieWire IndieWire (sometimes stylized as indieWIRE or Indiewire) is a film industry and review website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "to include all aspects of Hollyw ...
'' also acclaimed the episode, awarding it an A++ grade, the highest score available. She said that the episode marked the "fifth stellar episode in a row", and that it represented "the show doing historical episodes as they're meant to be done. It's like 'Fires of Pompeii', 'Robot of Sherwood' and classic Third Doctor adventure 'The Time Warrior' all mixed into one—literally—electrifying episode". Mark Rozeman of ''
Paste Magazine ''Paste'' is a monthly music and entertainment digital magazine, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with studios in Atlanta and Manhattan, and owned by Paste Media Group. The magazine began as a website in 1998. It ran as a print publication fro ...
'' also responded highly positively to the episode, awarding it a score of 9.6 and saying that it "stands up remarkably as its own story". They closed their review by stating "As with the best Who adventures, it explores more complexities of time travel, whilst never losing a sense of whimsy and fun. It's another home run in a season that, so far, has a pretty great batting average".


In print

Pearson Education Pearson Education is a British-owned education publishing and assessment service to schools and corporations, as well for students directly. Pearson owns educational media brands including Addison–Wesley, Peachpit, Prentice Hall, eCollege, ...
published a novelisation of this episode by Jane Rollason for students of English language reading on 19 July 2018.


Notes


References


External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Girl Who Died Twelfth Doctor episodes 2015 British television episodes Television episodes written by Steven Moffat Films with screenplays by Jamie Mathieson Doctor Who pseudohistorical serials Doctor Who stories set on Earth Viking Age in popular culture Fiction set in the 9th century