Day 125: The War Machines Episode 3

The third act of this episode is extraordinary, showing us something that we haven't seen before in Doctor Who, but we will see for the next several years: the army fighting a useless battle. It feels clichéd but here it's a shock to see the things that we rely and trust fail at the horrors of the future. Every action sequence before this has been grounded in the realms of fantasy, or history, showing us the stuff that dreams are made of. But again, in keeping with the modern tone of this episode, we get to see a vaguely gritty and realistic battle with an unstoppable force. But as the chaos ensues, the Doctor shines wonderfully. To the right, you will find one of the best cliffhangers in Doctor Who, as the Doctor stands firm against the War Machine. It works, not because we are afraid for the Doctor's safety, but because we want to know what will happen next. The Doctor has mainly been a background figure in this story, but here he is firmly in the foreground, taking full charge when others fail. That's the beauty of this, because he is a figure standing up against the otherworldy menace, and even though he's mildly out of place here, representing a television character who has visited the modern world for a change, he is still the protector and will still fight. And that is truly brilliant.