DW: Robot of Sherwood - Doctoring History

As I made clear in my posts about the two previous episodes starring the Capaldi Doctor, I wasn't overly keen on him. He didn't feel quite right, he fell between a few cracks that made him seem not quite like the Doctor. This episode changes that for the better.

"Robot of Sherwood" will go down as the episode that really cemented Capaldi's Doctor. There's no dillydallying about past episodes or events, they just get on with it, much like in last week's "Into the Dalek". However, unlike "Into the Dalek" this episode didn't feel like it was written for a different Doctor. This felt completely like a normal Doctor Who episode tailored to this new man we got to meet last year.

The most interesting this about this episode is perhaps the relationship between Robin Hood and the Doctor himself. Robin Hood acts much like Smith's Doctor in this rendition of the character. He always laughs in the face of danger, believing it much more wise to live life in enjoyment rather than bitterness. But he also knows how to deal with seriousness and drama, feeling like the same character despite the contrasting emotions. This episode feels very much like Capaldi's Doctor squaring off against Smith's Doctor. From the get-go Clara is excited about Robin Hood, much in the same way as she was about Smith's Doctor. She looks at him like a hero, and loves how he stands for what he does, and how he acts to defend it. Capaldi's Doctor sees this as a kind of unwelcome memory. He knows he's not quite the same as when he first met Clara, but he is the same. It hurts to see her act with someone else like she used to do with him. He starts trying to impress her, show that he can still be the person that he used to be, but in the end he doesn't have to.

The episode itself is very fun and an interesting turn on the regular period pieces Doctor Who does. The Doctor is adamant in his belief that Robin Hood is just a fictional character, and spends the episode trying to figure out what exactly he is, and where he comes from. The way the Doctor hypothesises aliens, robots, amusement parks, and all kind of weird scenarios make the episode feel a lot more science fictiony than your typical period piece (yes, even the ones containing cyborgs and dinosaurs), which in my book is a big bonus. I really love the episodes when the Doctor go full sci-fi, travelling far into the future or to distant alien worlds.

Overall I really enjoyed this episode, a lot more than I thought I would. It's satisfying to finally see Capaldi's Doctor settle in as his own character, and have him face off against someone so much like himself. I wouldn't be surprised if this ends up being one of the episodes remembered as a classic Capaldi episode.