In this day and age, there’s a question about truth that lives on in all of us. The idea of “fake news” and what it can do to people is truly terrifying. Which brings us to the “Lie of the Land” which continued the season of fear with the fear of being lied to on a grand scale, the fear of submitting to such lies, and the fear of not being able to know the truth again.
While relatively straightforward in some ways, “Lie of the Land’ really delivered in the fact that an idea, even a false one, can cause giant ripples throughout the world. How we can become engrained in an idea if it’s said enough, done enough, told it’s true. Including apparently believing that the Monks as they are called have been here since the beginning, and haven’t only just arrived. Adding to the cleverness of this fact was having The Doctor himself delivering the message of the Monks.
Then there’s Bill, who’s not only been living with the truth for eight months, but also trying to say sane and not submit to the falsehoods the Monks have been preaching. This episode was truly about Bill, as she had the best scenes throughout the episode. Especially when she is told by the Doctor himself that he has no plan to stop the Monks, and in fact, he’s joined them…yeah…it wasn’t really that way…but boy did Capaldi sell it! And they even had a fake regeneration! Love that!
Anyway, once Bill and the Doctor were reunited, it was off to find a way to stop the Monks, which lead to a fun meeting with Missy, who had a lot to say, even though not all of it was good. But, leave it to the Doctor and Bill to find a way that doesn’t lead to unnecessary death, and that they did! But doing it in a way that was very pure. Because the truth (the real truth) of the matter is, some things are pure, and some things are beautiful, and some things are incorruptible.
That ending scene is particularly curious, as Missy seems to be truly regretting the acts of her life. Is she faking it? Is there a twist in the tale coming? Well…we know there is (if you’ve been paying attention), but I’m interested to see how it’s pulled off.
In the end, “Lie of the Land” was a very poignant episode that doesn’t hold back from talking about truth. I hope people learn from it.
4.5 out of 5 nerds
Todd Black
Todd Black is reader of comics, a watch of TV (a LOT of TV), and a writer of many different mediums. He's written teleplays, fan-fictions, and currently writes a comic book called Guardians (guardians-comic.com). He dreams of working at Nintendo, writing a SHAZAM! TV series, and working on Guardians for a very long time!
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