TV Review: Doctor Who Series 10 Episode Seven - "The Pyramid at the End of the World"

"Do You Consent?"

Whilst the linchpin of Classic Doctor Who serials was a continual spread of episodes spread around the basis of one particular story, with the likes of "The War Games", "Trial of a Time Lord" and "The Dalek's Master Plan" each breaking the ten episode mark in order to completely fulfil their narrative wishes without any cause for constraint aside from a slight echo of inevitable bagginess. For contemporary Who audiences, the idea of one particular story playing over the course of months is a notion of indirect ignorance even if now and then we get an entire series which has a through-line of a narrative which attempts to link certain elements all together within stories which are primarily one-off and unrelated to the bigger picture, beginning with Bad Wolf all the way back in series one and carrying through with plot threads including the inclusion of Torchwood, the appearance of Harold Saxon and the cracks in time which cropped up across Matt Smith's debut series. With "Extremis" last week, the continuation of that particular tale carries on this week with "The Pyramid at the End of the World" in a supposed trilogy of stories which will seemingly conclude next week, and whilst "Extremis" was an interesting precursor to the story ahead, does this weeks episode continue its' groundwork success?

In a nutshell? Yes, and whilst the episode does include elements which are utterly preposterous and epic in stature, the bare bones of the story is rather straightforward and grounded, with The Doctor being at the centre of an impossible situation in which the separate parties around him each have differing points of view on survival. With the enemies once again being the creepy, robe wearing monks, their plan for world domination continues by using the one thing that forces any human being into rash decisions; fear, choosing the knowledge of foresight as the pawn in their domineering game of megalomania and control, whilst The Stand-esque subplot involving a mass outbreak of murderous biological material concludes with the Doctor's sight returning for the time being, but at what cost? Although the twists and turns regarding Bill's survival during her submission to the monks was rather obvious when it eventually occurred, the Doctor's predicament when locked in the airlock with a detonating explosive device was effectively played, using the element of his blindness to a nerve-wracking degree which in the end has set up the play for the final endgame which is set to conclude next week. If ever there was evidence for supplying fans with longer stories into the future, these past two weeks are a strong chip to play with, 

Overall Score: 8/10