The God Complex
Story 222, Episode 781, Series 6 Episode 11
Doctor: The Eleventh Doctor
Companions: Amy Pond, Rory Williams (River Song)
The Doctor confronts his own vanity in one of the best stories of the Matt Smith era.
The Review
First, a word on the mini-episodes First Night and Last Night which fit in here. They’re mainly silly little capers featuring multiple Rivers and Doctors. The Doctor picks up River for their first solo outing from her point of view, and Alex Kingston does a great job playing her more wide-eyed and younger. Things take a turn when a future Eleventh Doctor shows up saying he’s taking her to Darillium, the the last place River said she saw the Doctor before her death in the Library. We do learn later that the Doctor chickened out of it, and glad he did because that gave us The Husbands of River Song. Anyway, onto The God Complex where the Doctor again has to confront endings. It’s one of the best constructed sets in show history, an 80s hotel like The Shining but combined with the maze of the labyrinth in the Minotaur myth. It’s perfectly rendered, and Whithouse knows exactly what story he’s telling.
It’s a simple story at its heart, there are rooms that show everyone’s worst fears, and after seeing them people start to ‘praise’ the Minotaur which devours their souls. The turn comes when the Doctor realizes it’s not fear the monster is after, it’s the faith generated in a response to that fear. We have a gambling addict, a conspiracy theorist, and Rita, played beautifully by Amara Karan who falls back on her Islamic faith. Finally when it comes for Amy, her faith is in the Doctor, and the Doctor shatters it by telling her he always knew something bad would inevitably happen to her but he just wanted to be adored. Interestingly, Rory doesn’t have a fear, an impressive amount of character growth. The Doctor can no longer bear to keep risking the Ponds, so he gives them a house and pops off. Doing what? Saving them.
This is an episode that blows me away, but it is so smart and well-structured and envisioned with great consequences, I can’t fault it.
10/10 A pitch-perfect episode, and in another universe, a perfect departure for the Ponds
Reviewing Doctor Who from Start to Finish 