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| Wary soldiers hold Aliss (Rose Alying-Ellis), the sole survivor of a disaster, at gunpoint. |
1 episode. Running Time: Approx. 48 minutes. Written by: Russell T. Davies, Sharma Angel-Walfall. Directed by: Amanda Brotchie. Produced by: Chris May.
THE PLOT:
The Doctor and Belinda find themselves on a mining planet in the distant future, in the midst of soldiers under the command of Shaya Costallion (Caoilfhionn Dunne). Contact was lost with the miners, and Shaya's mission is to find out why and rescue any survivors.
When they reach the facility, the workers are all dead - half of them shot and the other half physically assaulted. All mirrors have been shattered with deliberate efficiency, and there is only one survivor: Aliss (Rose Ayling-Ellis), the cook. Aliss indicates that the crew went mad, all except for her, and that she was forced to kill her best friend to defend herself.
Belinda does her best to treat Aliss's wounds with guidance from Mo (Bethany Antonia), a compassionate trooper who acts as the team medic. Meanwhile, the Doctor retrieves what he can from the facility's corrupted logs. He hears one of the dead miners moaning, "We don't know what it is!", which jogs his memory.
To his horror, he realizes that he's been on this planet before. He knows exactly what enemy he's facing - and he's not prepared for it...
CHARACTERS:
The Doctor: He behaves seriously and compassionately when they find Aliss - and except for that, he spends the first half at his most arrogant. He calls the second-in-command, Cassio (Christopher Chung), "babes" and, when he objects, switches to "hun." He crouches by the mine shaft and yells, "Hello," into it to hear the echo. Upon entering the facility, he removes his and Belinda's protective gear. Cassio calls this out as a bad idea, but the Doctor shrugs that he's just "not loving the look." This comes back to haunt him, the need to stop and put that gear back on slowing the escape at the end... which I love, because while arrogance is part of the Doctor's character, it should sometimes come with a price.
Belinda: She is the first to see the creature's shadow in the background, before it begins wreaking havoc among the troops, and she makes the mistake of dismissing it as "nothing" a couple of times more than is plausible. She gets the standard companion role of being compassionate toward Aliss, trying to reassure her while the Doctor investigates the base. She still wants to get home, and she wistfully recalls her parents' pleasantly mundane routines, but she's also starting to enjoy the adventure... though one wonders if the events of this episode will knock that right back out of her.
Shaya: The commander of the team, she initially comes across as single-minded and mission focused. She directs the squad to draw weapons on the Doctor and Belinda until they explain themselves, relenting after the Doctor uses his pyschic paper to pass himself off as a high-ranking official. When Mo notes that the lack of lifesigns doesn't mean anything given radiation interference and that there is still hope, Shaya instantly replies, "Hope is irrelevent." She defers to the Doctor's judgment when their enemy is unveiled, however, even when that creates tension with Cassio.
Aliss: The Doctor puts her survival down to her deafness, which saved her from hearing the creature's whispers. She is appropriately traumatized after seeing half of the people she worked with murder the other half. She just wants to get back to her daughter - even if that means concealing information to keep the soldiers from leaving her behind. Rose Ayling-Ellis is very good, managing to convey Aliss's fear without ever threatening to make her one-note. She's neither noble nor pathetic; she's just an ordinary person who desperately wants to go home.
THOUGHTS:
The Well benefits from a very strong script. Things are casually planted early that are remembered and utilized later. The Doctor removing protective gear, a seeming throwaway moment, ends up costing the characters precious time at the end. Elements of Shaya's backstory make her into a more rounded character, but they also figure into the resolution. In terms of sheer construction, this is the best script so far this season.
The episode is extremely well made. The first half focuses on building atmosphere and mystery, and shot choices lean into this. There are striking images: the Doctor and Belinda, surrounded by the squad; the squad shot from above as they approach the mining facility; the Doctor, standing at the edge of the vast mine shaft; and the soldiers gathered around Aliss in a semi-circle, seeming as frightened of this single, small woman as she is of them.
Shots are allowed to linger on screen for a second or two longer than most episodes would allow, which makes them register in the viewer's mind. Also, when cuts don't necessarily occur at the moments we're primed to expect, the extra seconds help to enhance the unsettling vibe of the piece.
Everything speeds up once the enemy is unveiled, and there is an action scene that is memorable in its chaos. As Aliss says of the incident with the mining crew, what happens ends up happening fast - only for it to end just as abruptly, with the characters left to process what just occurred. This is extremely effective, all the more so because it follows a clear logic without ever being overexplained.
I was fortunate enough to remain unspoiled about the episode's major reveal, and that unquestionably enhanced the viewing experience. If anyone's reading this who has yet to watch The Well... don’t read anything else about it before watching, because it is best viewed without extra information.
OVERALL:
A couple of moments near the end keep this shy of full marks. There's one moment that would have worked well with just action and music, but it gets slightly overegged with the addition of unnecessary voice-over. There's also an ending sting that I think the episode would have been stronger without. These are minor blemishes, but they're just enough to keep me from awarding a "10."
That said, The Well is an excellent episode: tightly constructed, well-acted, and extremely well made.
Overall Rating: 9/10.
Previous Episode: Lux
Next Episode: Lucky Day
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