The God Complex

Another one of my favourites from Series Six, The God Complex has the air of an old Doctor Who story with its inexplicable opening, surreal environment and slowly unwound mystery. And it's the sort of mystery we rarely get to savour anymore: where has the TARDIS landed? These days, with trailers, Next Times, previews and prequels, we invariably know where the next story will be set. But long ago, back in misty 405-line black and white, finding out was the whole point of the show, as much for the Doctor and his companions as for the audience.

As such the hotel setting is inspired. An enclosed, artificial space, with endlessly repetitive corridors and hundreds of rooms, it could be anywhere. Even the awful music, wallpaper and carpet contribute to the unsettling effect, their oddness (and tastelessness) suggesting a cultural stumble, something alien trying to pass itself off as human. Add to this a great guest cast, superb direction and inventive from Nick Hurran, classical allusions, a monster roaming the hallways and a room for each of our personal nightmares, and we end up with a classic Doctor Who story.

The nightmares are an excellent addition, if only because they provide an insight into those trapped here, fleshing out characters with great economy. Howie's bullying girls, Rita's dad with his high expectations, Lucy's gorilla - each nightmare feels intimate and revealing. It's only Joe's ventriloquist dummies and Gibbis' Weeping Angels that feel a little 'off the peg', but then neither of them is quite as interesting as the others. Joe is there for mechanical reasons, to serve as an early example and to seed clues for the Doctor to use later on. Gibbis (a very controlled performance from David Walliams) is unreliable, and his shiftiness provides an edge to some of the intrigue in the middle of the episode, whilst the fact that he's an alien stops this being a completely Earth-centric environment.

Rory doesn't have any faith, but does that mean he doesn't have a room? Surely a lack of faith doesn't mean a lack of fear. The hotel does seem to want to show him the exit though - perhaps there's no point showing him his fear if he can't provide any nourishment. Amy's room, her fear of being left behind, is self-explanatory and fits beautifully with the other episodes of this series. But what's in the Doctor's room? "Ah," he says. "Who else?" It's obvious enough who he saw, and I think, now, we can even be fairly certain what face he was wearing as well.

But any mystery is only as good as its explanation. Luckily, The God Complex doesn't disappoint. Once again the Doctor shows his working, trying to explain the puzzle even has he's running around, but he only hits upon the answer when Amy herself comes under the beast's spell. The Minotaur - a fantastic costume - provokes his victims to draw upon their faith so he can feed upon it. In order to rescue Amy, the Doctor must convince her that he is unworthy of her. It's a wonderful moment, and none the worse for echoing a similar conversation between the Seventh Doctor and Ace in The Curse of Fenric. By forcing her to see herself, how she has outgrown him, the Doctor effectively shears the ties that bind her to him. It is a powerful emotional exchange and, not for the last time this series, we see that the Doctor will do and say whatever it takes to protect those around him, even if that means pushing them away.

We've seen, earlier in the episode, that Rory is already happy to move on. It's presented as a positive thing, evidence of his principles and strength of character ("I'd forgotten not all victories are about saving the Universe."), whereas the supposed altruism of the Doctor's lifestyle is called into question by Rita (the wonderful Amara Karan): "Why is it up to you to save us? That's quite a God complex you have there." The unexpected upshot of this adventure is that the Doctor decides to let Amy and Rory go. Strangely, Rory's the one that doesn't understand, while Amy get's it instantly ("He's saving us.")

It's an excellent goodbye for the Ponds, simple and satisfying. Best of all it makes perfect sense and I rather think I'd be happier if it had been left at that.


NEXT TIME...