“Heaven Sent” Grade and Discussion Thread

[Haggis and tatties]

A very interesting idea, but it was a utter choir to get to the pay off, well it was for me personally.

 

[Guy Gardener]

A very interesting idea, but it was a utter choir to get to the pay off, well it was for me personally.

That typo is awesome.

 

[SeerSGB]

Haven't rewatched yet but is what the Doctor went through ever said

Spoiler: Heaven Sent

was the normal function or purpose or use of the Confession Dial?

 

[Hennessy Badger]

Meh. The Leftovers did the whole purgatory thing last week. And they did it better.

This was probably the least kid-friendly Doctor Who episode I've ever seen. I wonder if young viewers found Heaven Sent as engaging and profound as many in this thread did. 12 yr old me probably would have checked out about halfway into the episode.

 

[Haggis and tatties]

A very interesting idea, but it was a utter choir to get to the pay off, well it was for me personally.

That typo is awesome.

Lol, I would have swore blind I had typed chore.

Seems my primary school teachers comments on my old report cards were indeed true, " easily distracted, lacks concentration on tasks at hand".
How did they know all those years ago.

 

[Emperor-Tiberius]

If Listen had less Clara and less useless-retconned-significance-to-a-barn-we'd-never-seen-before material, it might've been as great as this one was.

And yeah, this is so easily Peter Capaldi's finest hour, I'm fairly sure its the finest episode since Day of the Doctor. One of the very best of this decade for sure.

 

[DWF]

I don't really see what the big deal is about this ep., in the end I can't see the statur quo changing at all.

 

[tomalak301]

I don't really see what the big deal is about this ep., in the end I can't see the statur quo changing at all.

I guess for me we finally got character development this season, when it was pretty much plot development prior to this.

 

[DWF]

I don't really see what the big deal is about this ep., in the end I can't see the statur quo changing at all.

I guess for me we finally got character development this season, when it was pretty much plot development prior to this.

This is the sad part of the last season, that kind of develpment should've happened last year. In Deep Breath the Doctor talked about righting the wrongs he created, but that didn't happen. And really he hasn't done that yet, he had to be teleported against his will to the castle, instead of finding Gallifrey by himself.

 

[Tom]

The music, at times, sounded like it was lifted from the classic series.

 

[Saul]

For the third time this season, I was briefly reminded of The Sandman. I know this tangetial at best, but when we first saw the Veil, I thought of Destiny, sans his chained book. Some people here and the previous episode thread have suggested Harry Potter influences, but I would say there have even stronger Neil Gaiman influences from at least The Sandman and Neverwhere.

Oh yes there's been a definite Gaiman vibe for the last three episodes now (was Sleep No More the third episode you meant?) without ever feeling like Neverwhere/Sandman has been ripped off.

This episode, "Sleep No More," "Face the Raven" and "The Woman Who Lived" (because of Hob). And I agree about having the vibe without feeling like anything is being ripped off.

I was also reminded of Christopher Nolan's The Prestige by this episode.

Yes! I meant to mention this but I was reminded of The Prestige when The Doctor began to duplicate himself. Who is the original?

Yeah, what happened the first time he went there? Was he running around naked half the time?

 

[RoJoHen]

Yeah, what happened the first time he went there? Was he running around naked half the time?

Yes. The entire first iteration of the loop was conducted naked after he left his clothes to dry.

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

So did time pass the same outside the confession dial? Who put it there in the sand on Galifrey? 2 billion years remember?

Also it's a stupid thing to bring up but it bugs me. How could just a punch even chip any of that wall ?

 

[JRoss]

Brilliant. Moffat's best by far.

 

[The Wormhole]

The music, at times, sounded like it was lifted from the classic series.

The episode certainly had some stand out music, that's for sure. But I got to complain, the reveal of the Citadel at the end should have had This is Gallifrey playing instead.

So did time pass the same outside the confession dial?

Probably not. One, I doubt even Time Lords have two billion years to wait for the Doctor to solve the puzzle, and two, the preview for next week shows no one has aged at all. Two billion years would take its toll even on a Time Lord.

Also it's a stupid thing to bring up but it bugs me. How could just a punch even chip any of that wall ?

The accumulative of punching in the same spot repeatedly every day or so (however long each cycle lasted) for two billion years is apparently enough to chip away through it. I wouldn't recommend trying this at home.

 

[Mr Light]

If every room in the castle reset back to default mode, why didn't the exit room erase the damage he did to the crystal each time?

 

[Guy Gardener]

The basement isn't a room.

Neither is the moat full of sculls.

 

[Gingerbread Demon]

OK so if I punch this wooden wall next to me in 1 billion years there'll be a hole.

 

[NCC1701MF]

I just noticed that the rerun of "Heaven Sent" next week runs 1 hr and 15 minutes. Also "Hell Bent" runs 1 hr and 20 minutes.

 

[RoJoHen]

If every room in the castle reset back to default mode, why didn't the exit room erase the damage he did to the crystal each time?

Certain rooms are obviously exempt...because of reasons.