By Owen Quinn author Photos copyright BBC/Disney
So, this is it. The climax to the war between humanity and the Sea Devils. And boy, am I feeling somewhat confused.
So, everything we have seen thus far was a distraction from the Sea Devils’ actual plan; to melt the ice caps and flood the world. Or was it the aqua amphibian’s plan? Or was it the fish thing we saw arrive at the delegation in the first episode? Who were they? Oh yes, it was never explained. Maybe some poor cast off from the last Star Wars project desperate for an unexplained cameo. Well, didn’t he come to the right place.
I am just bewildered. The resolution was very much in the style of Kate’s dad, Brigadier Gordon Lethbridge, in the original story introducing the Silurian’s, the Sea Devils’ cousins. If in doubt, kill any threat to humanity whether it be with bombs or biowarfare. Quick point here. The Silurians lived on land in a thriving civilisation yet they are not included in the Sea Devil flood the world plan. And we know they do exist aplenty as seen in the 11th and 12th Doctor era and a certain lady Victorian crime buster that ate Jack the Ripper. So where’s the thought about them in all this? There are still clusters of both species in hibernation all over the world as we saw in Warriors of the Deep.
Ultimately, this story was a love story between Barclay and Salt. But it feels so hollow and daft given the scale of the story and insular aspects at the same time. While I did enjpy Kate’s story and the lengths she would go to in order to get what she wants, I felt Barclay was left a pathetic figure in the end after his build up as the ordinary bloke thrown into a situation where he would rise or fall. But he fell. Badly. He will now inherit the Aquaman mantle as the man who fucked a fish. I use this because it is said to invoke laughs but given the collateral damage here, it’s not funny. If anything, it just shpws Barclay is nothing special and only concerned with what he wants.
This was just a lot of sitting around in between his sneaky night trips to the ocean to call for Salt. The man’s in love but given the events of the last four episodes it is really uncomfortable to have a happy ending. Faced with a life of UNIT protection, Barclay has gone from the great hope to great fool. This also means his daughter and ex-wife will also live like this. Yet the ending of both lovers reunited with Barclay’s new gills and swimming off to shag and spawn a new half human, half amphibian species, left me shaking my head in disbelief. While I suppose the now single Kate, following Christofer’s murder, watching them cavort of ,i s meant to be some sort of healing for her But no. It is a slap in the face.
Barclay and Salt are virtually man and wife now but at what cost?
The murder of the peace delegation at the end of episode three along side the present Sea Devils? The mass murder at the hands of humans of 90% of the Sea Devil population makes me ask how many amphibians died and how many of those fish things from episode one. As there is obviously three aspects to the underwater culture, how much of each trident was affected? Christofer was murdered because of this. Why would Tide warn man that they have five years left and then someone comment that they couldn’t clean a river in five years, never mind the ocean. So it’s an idle threat.
I hark back to the plastic storm in episode two. Are we to believe that the super powerful Sea Devils only vomited a portion of the pollution from the ocean and kept the reest for man to clear up? Doubt it very much. People have died here but the greatest sacrifice is a young girl, weeping for the loss of her dad while being cradled in the arms of her mother. How wonderful Barclay the wimp is swimming the depths of the ocean while his wife and daughter will have to , at the very least, be put into a witness protection programme. They will never be able to acknowledge any connection to Barclay after all this. Yet we are to celebrate the two lovers flapping off to God knows where. happily ever after. Barclay would have been better dying or someone murdering Salt to give him a new purpose.
I’ve so many questions here. I might remind you that the Doctor sacrificed another life for his fdaughter lost in reality. A world saved at the cost of one life, is no world at all. I can take downer endings any time but this is just a mess. Love across species is an old theme but it doesn’t for the horrors left in its wake. Delta and the Bannermen worked well in doing that with the Chimeron Queen so we know it can be done. If you want a really good Sea Devil/Silurian story, read the Final Genesis comic strip featuring the seventh Doctor or Blood Heat also featuring that Doctor.
The only thing stopping Russell Tovey going nude is the prewatershed time slot.
Who authorised the experiment on Barclay to turn him into a man with gills ala SeaQuest’s Tony Piccolo? What was the aim of that? The Sea Devils and amphibians giving themselves up to the rule of man seemed a bit quick, given the rust weapon, melting ice caps in six hours rather than decades and super storm technolgy. It simply doesn’t make sense at all.
Full scale murder is the only way out of this story (no, I haven’t forgotten about accord). i am bitterly disappointed by the way this has unfolded because it started so well. New writers needed now please and I’m first to volunteer. Try the Time Warriors book series to see what good storytelling really is. Unlike the War between the Land and the sea, you won’t be disappointed.
The Time Warriors and Beyond 