Doctor Who 10.10 "The Eaters of Light" Review

                                              
Present day Scotland: The Cairns
A boy tells a little girl to hurry up and come as she runs amongst some stone ruins.

The Doctor (Peter Capaldi) and the others land in Scotland of 2AD as Bill (Pearl Mackie) loved the Romans and has read every single book about them.  She wants to show that the Ninth Roman Army didn't go missing but are still here.  The Doctor is meant to be guarding the vault still and Nardole (Matt Lucas) says they shouldn't even be here.  He hasn't even changed from his pyjamas. She says the army is somewhere by the river cos that's the route they'd always take, by the river.  He tells her to search it out as he and Nardole go the other way.  There's a drawing of the TARDIS on one of the stones along with other drawings and markings and Nardole notices the crow on the stone as he calls out "Doctor."  The crow that is.  The Doctor tells him that crow used to speak and are just sulking.  Nardole replies they don't speak in the future and he says they do, all crows speak.  Yeah watch Alfred Hitchock's The Birds.  ha.

But being in Aberdeenshire he told Bill, "I lived in  Roman Britain, I've governed, farmed, juggled, been a Vestal Virgin second class."  Nardole questioning on only "second class."  To which he adds "it's along story."

Bill spots a girl saying goodbye to her mother and everyone who died by a fire and she chases Bill . Bill falling down another hole again.  Here she finds a Roman centurion (but that Roman centurion was so Rory and always will be, when he guarded the Pandorica!  Just like the doctor guarding the vault. Which I said before.)
She can communicate with the Roman who says she's peaking Latin, but she's peaking English and vice versa.  It must be the Doctor and some telepathic mind control thing.  He say they all died out underground as there's a creature out there.  With the Doctor and Nardole also coming across the dead body, which doesn't have any bones.  The Doctor explains it's a result of not enough sun, but the decay takes years, this was sudden.  Nardole had to get in, "death by Scotland."

Bill and the centurion climb out of the hole and he's taken by the creature, well he had to be token extra.  She sees a cave as it comes after her and finds the last of the surviving Ninth army.  She's been hit with black slime and faints.  When she wakes up, he tells her to sit in the sun as it wears off.  He's Lucius (Brian Vernel) and he puts his hand on her knee.  Giving her food.  She explains she doesn't like men in that way and though she's primitive, he says that some of them are like that too.  But he likes everyone, both men and women, so he's ordinary.  Cornelius (Billy Matthews) complains about the food being scarce.  Isn't it always.  They can be friends however.  Peter played a character also called Lucius in the 2008 Doctor Who episode, The Fires of Pompeii.

The Doctor and Nardole are taken prisoner by the tribe and Nardole offers them popcorn.  He can make some if they like and the Doctor takes the bag from him.  Said he should throw it in the fire.  As they make their escape.  Kar (Rebecca Benson) tells them she's the leader and there was a great battle with the Romans and everyone died.  She's the gatekeeper and must keep the creature away.  The Doctor goes into the cave and sees there are many more out there kept out only by the light.  They feed and are getting stronger and soon will invade the entire solar system.  He's been gone a short while but Nardole tells him it's been two days.  Nardole tells them stories of the Mary Celeste and has markings on his face now.

Bill tells them she must find her friend and he can help them.  Lucius is the eldest and is called 'Granddad' by the others even if he's only 18.  They can stay here and die or they can come with her even if she can't promise them they won't die.  As the creature takes another one of them, they uncover a trap door and meet with the Doctor and the others.  The Doctor tells them they need to grow up and cos of Kar protecting a muddy bit of hillside she caused all those people to die.  As she tells her sob story of the Romans invading and looting and killing.  As they prepare to fight each other again, Bill tells them to stop as they need to fight the creature.  In a repeat of last ep, she becomes the voice of reason to stop the fighting, along with the Doctor.  Who had fun calling them children just face painting.

As the creature approaches, they catch him and they fight him off with their so called prism type mirrors and hold it off until the sunlight, until they drive it into the cave.  The Doctor's the only one who can hold it off for years and not age.  Bill tells them it's not his fight and they must do it, as Kar says it's her fight as a gatekeeper.  Lucius tells her she's not alone and they will fight too, as will the other centurions, entering the cave.  Her brother tells her he'll draw about her an everyone will remember her name.  They head to the TARDIS and Bill tells him he can't fight for everyone, some fights he has to give up.

Inside they find Missy (Michelle Gomez) reading, she's been doing some work for him.  She can't access the TARDIS or get out so it's like being in the vault.  Bill's angry as is Nardole since she's doing chores for him now.  He talks about music and how that's all that lasts.  As Bill thought she could hear music but they're in the past.  Missy hears the music and cries and she asks why she's feeling like this.  She gets hold of his hand and he let's it go.  As she says that they're friends.  The Doctor being more realistic, "that's the trouble with hope, it's hard to resist."  Though he did mention regeneration since if he was hurt by the creatures in any way he's able to do that.  More hint dropping no doubt.  Next ep the Master returns.