The Orient Express in Space this time, whereas before it was the Titanic and various other shuttles in one form or another of import. An old woman, Mrs Pitt (Janet Henfry) sees a bandaged Mummy which no one else can see and demands it be removed from the compartment. However a clock starts running and she has 66 seconds to live. Just incase no one worked that out, cos as soon as the clock reaches zero, the countdown stops and she's died. It's put down to a heart attack and she was actually over a 100 years old. Though her daughter, Maisie (Daisy Beaumont) appears to be distraught over it, beware appearances can be deceptive especially in this show.
The Doctor (Peter Capaldi) brings Clara (Jenna Coleman) aboard and it appears they seem to have made up after their falling out last ep, at least after her telling him to leave. But as later revealed, this is only their "last hurrah," as she's adamant she is leaving him. So it was only fitting that he brought her here. They only just got here so they don't know what's happened and Captain (Quell (David Bamber) hasn't met them either. Since the Doctor shows them the psychic paper and has stated he's a mystery shopper. So he comments he hates their breakfast bar and he needs extra pillows, when the Captain calls head office and finds there is no mystery shopper on board. As Maisie is angry when she hears the Doctor talk about some train or another and states that he's lying cos he has to be really old to have been there. He calls him out on being a liar, which as later events will show she wasn't quite wrong there.
Clara calls Danny (Sam Anderson) and tells him where she is and he tells her to enjoy herself. Then as the Doctor sneaks out to be a "nosey Parker" as he calls himself, Clara does the same thing too, but he's not around. He talks to the chief engineer (Frank Skinner) who's being doing his own investigating. Whilst they ponder, one of the kitchen staff is next and he locks himself into the freezer, but of course there's no escaping Mummy. He has only 66 seconds to live also. The Doctor remarks on how Professor Moorhouse (Christopher Villiers) is an expert on the "Foretold." How people offer riches and other things as an enticement to it. But he knows about the 66 seconds. Offering the Professor jelly beans from a cigarette case was a stroke of genius, as was the Doctor mentioning he's also a genius again to Perkins. As well as a nosey Parker.
Clara follows Maisie as she wants to see her mother and thing is they won't let her see her and she can't get into the compartment either. So she uses her shoe to break the control panel and they find themselves locked inside. She's not really crazy, just upset over the death and apparently she disliked her, she was her grandmother really and made her call her mother. Clara tries to get hold of the Doctor and finally manages to get in a word shouting she's trapped. Which sends him running to help her out. But the Sonic is useless and can't open the door. In fact the Sonic does the opposite and activates the sarcophagus which contains nothing but bubblewrap.
The Doctor tells the Captain that he's a coward and he's not even bothering to investigate. Not until one of his guards is killed by the Mummy, does it urge him to take some action. Shortlived as that was. The Professor is next on the Mummy's list and the Doctor needs to know what he can see and describe the Mummy. But he can't save him. The guests disappear as they were all holograms, except for a select few who were intentionally brought here since they're experts in their field. Gus speaks to them and he wants them to catch the Mummy and that's what the sarcophagus is for. They're able to do X-rays and find that the Mummy is going after people who have something wrong with them, physically or mentally. The Captain admitting the kitchen hand was dying. The guard had synthetic lungs and the Captain suffers from some sort of post traumatic stress.
So he's next and says he might as well go out doing something useful. Maisie is also suffering over the death and the Doctor tells Clara to bring her here under false pretences, by telling her he can save her. When she does bring her, she finds out he lied, but when Maisie sees the Mummy, he steps in front of her and takes all her pain and injects it into himself. Thus being able to see the Mummy now, he is able to work out the Mummy is really a soldier, who was transported here when his ancient tech failed.
Funny line when the Doctor asks, "are you my mummy?" Not that it was meant to be cos this Doctor doesn't do humour, nor does he do emotion either. Clara referring to him as being the impossible man again. Seems there's no getting away from that word in this show. So it turns out the Doctor knows how to stop the Mummy after all, by discovering the piece of the scroll isn't a scroll or parchment, but a flag. The Mummy being a soldier and it needs to stop fighting the war. The Doctor saying he surrenders, they surrender, stopping the Mummy in its tracks as it disintegrates. And as it does so, it leaves behind the transporter that was inside. Gus thanking the Doctor but he now proceeds to knock everyone out and the Doctor has to save the day.
Once again they end up on a beach somewhere on another planet, just as last ep when they saved the moon, so to speak. He transported everyone onto the TARDIS and brought them here, to the nearest planet. Clara was sleeping so he left her asleep on the beach. She asks the Doctor if he really saved everyone and he says no he didn't, he only saved the two of them and he has to say that. He talks about lying and having to lie cos he didn't want Gus to know what he was thinking when he said she had to lie to Maisie to bring her to him. That he could save her. He wasn't sure if he could, but he needed to know what the Mummy looked like and see it for himself. Also that sometimes you have to lie to do what is needed.
Inside Perkins inspects the TARDIS saying some of the drives need work and it's a long job, the Doctor replying if he knows anyone. So Gus got away after he blew up the train, any thoughts on who Gus could be perhaps Perkins, the chief engineer himself. Especially the names of the ships that Clara and Maisie found info on, like the Gloriana. Maybe one reason why he blew up the train, so no one found what was on there. Clara calls Danny or he calls and asks if it's over. She says it is and has a change of heart telling him she doesn't want to leave him cos it was Danny who wanted her to leave, but now he's okay with it. Who's lying now? As well as the Doctor telling Clara at the beginning that she's sad and smiling all at once, "it's a smile, but it's sad, it's like two different emotions at once. It's like you're malfunctioning!" Well she was in a way wasn't she. She didn't really know if she wanted to stay or to leave him, especially since he said she wouldn't see him again. Thinking she may not go knocking around with him, but he'll be over for dinner! Yes dinner, can you picture him at dinner. Not likely with this Doctor. He didn't mean Clara was literally malfunctioning did he?
Though can't help but see there was a little bit of something going on between these two, in terms of him not wanting her to leave and how she was in two minds about leaving too. Thus the "two different emotions at once." Unless it was different emotions between those for Danny and those for the Doctor. Thought there wasn't going to be any of that this time round. You know flirtatious comments and the like. They just having them tip toe around each other as far as her feelings for the Doctor are concerned and boy did Clara have feelings for the Doctor. At least for Doctor Eleven (Matt Smith) and she can't just turn them off like that, even if he has a different face. Still same old Doctor. However think this is getting a bit digressive of me! ha.
Coincidence that the Mummy happened to be a soldier at that, after the Doctor going on about hating soldiers and how ancient technology kept the Mummy here. We've been coming across soldiers being mentioned for a while now and his dislike of them. Yet he manages to take this one down too. It just seemed so anti-climactic that the Mummy had to be a soldier. Is this why those marked for death couldn't bargain with it. He/It was on a mission and well, soldiers aren't meant to be 'bribed' by people for their lives or even save people, not when you really think about it. One reason why Danny didn't want to be a soldier anymore. Not to mention the misconception's that come with the territory.
Harkback here to The Unicorn and the Wasp of course, the Agatha Christie inspired ep but also the "are you my mummy" line was a throwback to The Empty Child ep, but still it sounded funny when the Doctor said it at that moment. As well as shades of Midnight here, when the Tenth Doctor (David Tennent) and Donna (Catherine Tate) found themselves on that shuttle.
Think this is the most I've written for an ep this series!
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