Doctor Who - Recap: Bots N The Hood

Credit: BBC

"Robot of Sherwood" is a lot like those old episodes. Sure, it doesn't really focus on the "historical" Robin Hood (such as he allegedly existed), but it takes us away from traditional sci-fi into the realm of pure adventure, where you can almost forget that The Doctor (Peter Capaldi) is a centuries-old alien being with a spaceship that doubles as a time machine. Of course, you could be forgiven for forgetting about The Doctor altogether this week, since he has less of a role in "Robot of Sherwood" than Clara (Jenna Coleman), who takes center stage in the adventure. It's a risk to reduce The Doctor's screen time so much, but this is an unconventional episode in the recent era, more in line with what the show used to be when it first hit airwaves, than what it's been over the last ten years. Personally, I loved it simply for its light, adventurous spirit. There wasn't a lot of heavy, dramatic serialization, nor was there any of the somberness and sobriety of The Doctor's introspective personality. Instead, we get an episode that's funny, fast-paced, and downright zany, at times. The show probably couldn't get away with this sort of episode every week. But as a temporary detour? I thought this was note-perfect after last week's epic clash with the Daleks.

Credit: BBC

The story is catalyzed by Clara's desire to meet Robin Hood, the one legend of folklore she's always wanted to meet in real life. And so The Doctor obliges, leading them to Nottingham, where Robin Hood (Tom Riley) is doing his best Errol Flynn impression. He's every bit as dashing and roguish as Clara expected him to be, but The Doctor isn't entirely sold on the hero, spending the better part of the episode bickering with Robin back-and-forth. It helps that Capaldi and Riley play off of one another so well, to such a degree that I almost wished Robin Hood could have joined the group as a companion for an extra episode or two, since it's been so long since we've had a companion from a non-contemporary time period. That said, the main arc is adventurously compelling, as the Sheriff of Nottingham (Ben Miller) is in league with a race of robot knights who appear to have been stranded on Earth after their ship broke down en route to "The Promised Land" (which is as much of a reference as we get to Missy this week, since I assume the references are connected). The Sheriff has designs on the English throne, and Miller plays the villain's calculated sleaze brilliantly, attempting to seduce Clara and make her his Queen. It's a tale that practically leaps out of an old storybook. Case in point: caught in the middle of all this is Maid Marian, whom Robin is desperate to save. It's a fairly succinct adventure, with a pretty obvious reveal as to the half-man/half-machine nature of the Sheriff of Nottingham. But the terse nature of the story means that the plot doesn't overstay its welcome, as we hardly have time to catch our breath in all the action, whether it's The Doctor fighting Robin with a spoon, or Robin kicking the Sheriff into a molten vat in a scene that looks cribbed right out of Terminator 2.

Credit: BBC

Of course, what's interesting about all this is that the episode ignoring the serialized aspects of the season so far means that we don't get any real followup on Missy and "Heaven". We have no better idea of who she is, what her goals are, or why she's scooping up dead people who've encountered The Doctor in their final moments. It's a strange choice for the episode to make, although I understand it might not have fit the tone of the rest of the hour. But the absence of that backstory was still felt, and it was the one real misfire of the episode, in my opinion. Yet even that issue is offset by how delightful Coleman is this week, as Clara is positively starstruck by Robin Hood. And even when she isn't in a scene with the mythical hero, she's showing the kind of determination that's made her such a solid companion, standing toe-to-toe with the Sheriff of Nottingham and getting right up in his face. One of the biggest strengths of this script is that it paints Clara as someone who'd actually fit quite well into Nottingham if, for whatever reason, she'd decided to stay behind. Of course, there's the implication of a rift between her and The Doctor towards the end of the episode, as The Doctor learns that Clara has told Robin all about his backstory. From a thematic standpoint, this is interesting in that The Doctor is attempting to resist being categorized as the same sort of heroic legend as Robin Hood himself. They're both mythical figures that not everyone believes in, yet they both fight on anyway, intent on doing some measure of good in the world. But The Doctor doesn't want to be seen as a good man because, frankly, he's not entirely sure himself whether that's what he is or not. A bad man can do good things, and vice versa. While a person's actions can define them, The Doctor is hesitant to allow his good actions to wipe his slate clean of all the bad ones. This makes The Doctor a tortured figure, and Capaldi plays that internal conflict well. And seeing it possibly manifest as anger towards Clara for not safely guarding his secrets could be intriguing to watch in the coming weeks.

Credit: BBC

"Robot of Sherwood" is a story that delivers on adventure, light-heartedness, and fun, even if it doesn't really deliver on advancing the overarching mysteries of the season. Every season of Doctor Who needs an episode or two like this, and I'm glad we got it early in the season this time, as it helps us to get better acquainted with the range of Capaldi's interpretation of The Doctor.