DOCTOR WHO (S11E4) “Arachnids In The UK”: Spider-filled Adventure Lacking Closure

Episode 4 of the new series of Doctor Who takes us back to Sheffield, where giant spiders are now on the rampage…

The episode opens at a new hotel resort in England, where its irritable American owner, Robertson (Chris Noth), is in the middle of arguing about the lack of safety of the repurposed land it has been built upon. The Doctor (Jodie Whittaker) and her gang, joined by Yaz’s mum (Shobna Gulati), uncover the true dangers of incorrect waste disposal through the attacks of giant, mutated, human-killing spiders.

Home Again

Arriving back in Sheffield a full 30 minutes after they were last there, the gang are briefly disorientated, before deciding on tea at Yaz’s place nearby. The normality of Yaz’s family life is an alien presence in the sci-fi show, and it is not long before the Doctor finds something strange to uncover.

While the Doctor investigates a missing neighbour, who is found suffocated in the webs of the arachnids, Graham (Bradley Walsh) goes home by himself and is alone with his grief in the house he shared with his recently deceased wife. Here the reality of her death hits home, and he imagines talking to her about their adventures through time and space. Upon discovering a giant dead spider in the attic, however, he is pulled back into the otherworldly action and again escapes the sadness of his empty house.

The episode is no easy watch for those of us with arachnophobic tendencies, with the webs framing the screen, and the overgrown eight-legged creatures filling it. Thankfully the Doctor does not share this phobia, and is able to herd them all into a locked safe room to live out the rest of their lives.

An American in Sheffield

Almost as alarming as the mutated spiders is the Robertson character. From the moment the hotel’s owner appears on our screens, he is an unlikeable figure – arrogant, angry, and overbearing. Channeling Trump vibes, Noth’s character creates more problems than he solves, and comes head-to-head with the Doctor over the ethics of the spider epidemic, which he had even had a hand in creating through his careless management style.

Firing Yaz’s mum seconds after meeting her, he then rages at the other people who work for him, deflecting blame for possible threats in the foundations of the hotel.

With a creepy smirk on his face, he later tells Yaz that he is enjoying a conversation she is having with her mother about her romantic exploits, and cannot seem to grasp that the Doctor – a woman – is the figure of authority within the group.

Noth’s character has clear similarities to the current US President, made obvious through his lack of respect for women, his arrogance when bragging about his professional success, and even his mannerisms in speaking, with elongated syllables and odd phrasing. Another example of his denseness comes when enthusiastically boasting about the safe room, how he would be able to survive for six months in there with just one book, and later when brandishing a gun, he storms into the grand hall to shoot dead the last free spider, not pausing to listen to reason before taking aim at the already dying creature.

Ecological Message?

After Robertson fires this deadly shot, much to the group’s disgust, the divide between the pro-gun mentality of the American and the anti-weapon rationality of the Doctor and the Brits mirrors opposing USA and UK gun laws. This gunfire ends their spider problem, and yet something about the situation feels unfinished. There is no resolution for how the toxic waste might be moved, leaving the pit underground to create an endless stream of mutating spiders.

In terms of Robertson, we also do not witness any repercussions for his part in the spider mutation, and this unfinished business lingers in the viewer’s mind long after we last witness his arrogance, while the Doctor and the gang move on to their next adventure.

Leaving us with loose ends in this way, the episode either has a bad ending as a result of lazy writing, or could have deeper implications, perhaps lacking closure in the same way we lack a resolution for real damage to our ecosystem. This underlying ecological message, with the overbearing Trump-like presence, represents ongoing current issues we are exposed to in our non-fiction version of 2018.

Conclusion

Episode 4 gave us mutated spiders and an outspoken American, while offering a reminder of the consequences of mismanaged waste and the resulting impact humans are having on the planet’s ecosystem. At the episode’s close, the gang reunite to board the TARDIS once again, opting to join the Doctor as a way to escape their everyday lives and the unnerving present-day reality.

Do you think the episode had closure? Let us know your thoughts below!

The next episode of Doctor Who will air on BBC One on Sunday 4th November 2018 at 6.55pm.