Who Review: "The Pyramid at the End of the World" (Series 10, Episode 7)

WARNING: SPOILERS, sweetie.

And the award for longest episode title goes to…

Continuing from last week’s “To Be Continued”, a 5,000-year-old pyramid has shown up in a disputed area between the Chinese, Russian, and American armies. The Monks’ invasion plan has begun, but they need humanity’s consent in order to take over. The end of the world looms dangerously close overhead, and the Monks appear to be Earth’s only hope for survival. Oh, and the Doctor is still blind.

The Monks’ invasion plan is a fascinating concept to me. It’s not often where you see an alien invasion relying on welcoming the invaders as potential saviors. Very vampire-esque. But, as the episode points out, ruling with love is much more effective than ruling with fear.

Needless to say, the Monks continue to be scarily competent antagonists, specifically in their calm demeanor and confidence in their plan. Plus, they successfully predicted the end of the world based on humanity’s own ignorance. There’s nothing scarier than an enemy who knows your planet better than you. Double-plus, they apparently hold the ability to warp reality to their will. How much power do these guys really have? And we now know that they specifically chose their human-like appearance for this plan. So why do they look like corpses? According to them, humans are corpses in their eyes. Brr.

The Monks stay at a 3.5 on the Moffat Monster Scare-o-meter™.

The show also continues to throw us for a loop regarding predicting plot twists. Last week was Missy being in the vault. This week, after much speculation that the Doctor would regenerate to fix his blindness, Bill makes a deal with the Monks to fix the Doctor’s sight – thus saving his life – in exchange for the Earth’s freedom. I always like whenever the Doctor’s companions show how far they would go for the Doctor in return for how far he goes for the world. It really demonstrates just how important and impactful the Doctor is on everyone. Also, it’s a nice parallel from last season, where we saw how far the Doctor would go for his companions.

The B-plot with the disease lab I didn’t find particularly interesting, but I like how it tied all together into the Monks’ plan. But the most important thing I took from it was the casting of the main scientist, Erica, as a little person. I could be wrong, but I don’t remember there being that many little people actors on Doctor Who that aren’t just playing tiny aliens, with the exception of Warwick Davis back in Series 7. Last season had a deaf actress and a transgender actor, and this season continues to show why Doctor Who is one of the most inclusive shows out there.

Triangles: The evilest of shapes.

I like how it was revealed to Bill that the Doctor is blind: he finally needs his physical eyes for something, and confesses to Bill. I was really hoping this was how the Doctor would reveal his ailment, and I’m glad the show didn’t disappoint. Also, had the Doctor told Bill about his blindness from the get-go, the Monks wouldn’t have taken over the Earth. Whoops.

I do, however, have problems with the lead-up to the ending, specifically the rules of the killer disease that will end the world. When the Doctor and Nardole arrive in the disease lab, the Doctor tells Nardole to go back into the TARDIS so he won't be exposed to the virus. But then the Doctor goes running around by himself - in areas where Erica is in need of a hazmat suit, mind you - and seems perfectly fine. Shouldn't he be affected by the disease? And then, Nardole gets infected within the TARDIS, so does that mean that the Doctor was at risk even by landing? And if Nardole is infected now, why didn't he turn into gunk like the other guy did?

Also, a little nitpick: Where is UNIT? They'll get involved when corpses are being turned into Cybermen and shape-shifting squid monsters are rebelling, but not when the sudden appearance of a pyramid nearly triggers World War III? Or do they not have jurisdiction when the armies of China, Russia, and America are already involved?

No new stuff involving Missy or the vault in this episode. After last week, I was kind of expecting a follow-up of some kind, especially since the ending implied that the Doctor would release Missy to help against the Monks. But it looks like they’re saving that for next week’s episode. Also, looks like I’m to be proven wrong from my statement last week regarding one last rug-pulling moment from the vault storyline. Missy is definitely the one in the vault, and that’s final.

Speaking of the Master, somehow I was led to believe that the “Two Masters” story would happen within the Monks Trilogy, but apparently this meeting won’t happen until the season finale. Considering all the heavy stuff going on with the Monks’ plan and the Doctor’s blindness, I’m very grateful that they’re not trying to cram more stuff in. And with a Master/Missy team-up partnered with the return of the original Mondassian Cybermen after fifty-plus years, this is going to be one hell of a season finale.

Overall, "The Pyramid at the End of the World" is an okay episode. Nothing great, nothing spectacular, but good. The ending is without question the best part of the episode. If you ask me, the previous episode in the trilogy was better. But on the whole, I am greatly enjoying the Monks Trilogy for its compelling villains and interesting concepts. I truly hope that all of this hype lives up to the trilogy’s finale.

"Oh my god, THAT'S the poster for Spider-Man: Homecoming?!"

 Final verdict: 7/10.

NEXT WEEK: The final part of the Monks Trilogy! The Monks have taken over Earth and brainwashed everyone into thinking they’ve always been their rulers, and Bill is the only one who sees the truth.