Doctor Who – Empress of Mars Review

Empress of Mars is one of the most Doctor Who-ish episodes of Doctor Who.

That opening sequence with the Doctor, Bill and Nardole wandering around NASA just felt like the perfect Doctor Who opening sequence. Right from the start of this episode I felt like I knew what I was in for and I really enjoyed it. Colonial Victorian soldiers fighting the militaristic Ice Warriors on Mars was a set up that could have fallen flat however I think it worked. The episode had the conversation that Mars is the Ice Warriors planet and the humans were the invaders in that situation. Empress of Mars pulled off an action packed episode that revelled in sci-fi fun and also had moral conversations.

If you read my post anticipating Series 10 you might remember that I was rather excited by the return of the Ice Warriors. They are definitely one of my all-time favourite Doctor Who monsters and I wasn’t disappointed by them. Empress of Mars actually marks the first time on screen that the Ice Warriors have actually been on Mars and it worked really well as a setting for them. This series was a little light on proper monsters for the first few weeks but a big Ice Warrior story with them en masse has certainly satisfied my wanting a proper monster story. However the Ice Warriors in this episode were not just another monster. They had an understandable motive which made them a compelling, interesting and redeemable threat. I liked the Empress of Mars herself, Iraxxa as a character. I thought the adapted design of the traditional Ice Warrior armour worked very well for her. Iraxxa was interesting because in some ways she was just another villain interested in destruction but she was also willing to negotiate and give peace a chance, something that we don’t usually see from the average Doctor Who monster.

This episode had a lot that felt familiar from previous Doctor Who stories, not in a stealing stuff sort of way but more an affection fan pleasing tribute to Doctor Who’s legacy. The Ice Warriors are obviously classic monsters and they’re arguably amongst the most iconic Doctor Who monsters of all time. The clash between humans and reptilian monsters based on ideologies reminded me of previous Silurian stories, particularly 1970’s The Silurians and 2010’s Cold Blood. The Ice Warrior tomb was fairly reminiscent of a certain tomb from 1967’s The Tomb of The Cybermen. At the very end of the episode we saw a glimpse of Alpha Centauri from the Peladon stories during the 3^rd Doctor era. Appropriately enough the Ice Warriors actually appeared in both The Curse of Peladon and The Monster of Peladon. This was definitely an episode crammed full of references to make a fan of classic Doctor Who smile.

I think this was a strong episode for Peter Capaldi. This episode combined the fun side of the Doctor with the man who has seen war and the hero who saves everyone. That’s the Doctor I want to see, that’s the Doctor I grew up believing in. I have previously said that the 12^th Doctor doesn’t always feel like he wants to be the Doctor or like he enjoys having adventures and saving people, however this was certainly an episode were he felt like the Doctor. There were moments in Capaldi’s performance that felt reminiscent of Matt Smith and Tom Baker.

My main disappointment with this episode was the Bill didn’t get as much to do as she has done in previous episodes. Given how she reacted in Thin Ice I feel that Bill should have had stronger opinions on the colonialist ideas of the Victorian soldiers. This was the first episode that I’ve felt like Bill’s potential was wasted. However as always Pearl Mackie absolutely shined with another excellent performance. Bill was definitely once again a highlight of the episode however she should have had more to do.

And what was up with Missy asking the Doctor if something is wrong at the very end of the episode? Something to do with the finale, I think.

In conclusion, the eagerly awaited return of the Ice Warriors did not disappoint me. Empress of Mars was a Doctor Who episode full of fan pleasing moments, monsters and an enjoyable story. I think it’s one of my favourites this series.

And if you’re wondering, of course the Doctor’s Frozen reference made me laugh!