Following the first episode of the eighth season of Doctor Who, reviews have finally surfaced online. Reviews are generally focused around two things: Peter Capaldi as the new doctor, and the extra amount of run time. Mike Hale from The New York Times says that “Mr. Capaldi is a consummate character actor, a quieter, more subtle performer”. Indeed, Capaldi is a much darker Doctor than his predecessor even from the very first episode. Hale goes on to say that “his Doctor is not just older but looks to be drier in his humor, more reticent, more coldblooded and dangerous”.
From Den of Geek, Simon Brew suggests that the episode “certainly makes use of its 76-minute running time too, taking its time, making space to allow people to talk and to comfortably fit the story”. On the contrary, people have found that the first half of the episode dragged somewhat, and was too slow, whereas the second half of the episode was much better.
Dan Martin from The Guardian suggests that this first episode gave us “almost everything we could have hoped for”. He says that “Deep Breath was a gothic period drama, true to promises of a show with a grittier tone and longer, more grounded scenes”. I surely would not be the only one who agrees that such a darker, more mature tone would be more than welcome after Smith’s happy-go-lucky demeanour. Indeed, there was much controversy over Capaldi’s age, but he has clearly proven to us already that his portrayal of the Doctor will be unforgettable.
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