DOCTOR WHO (S11E6) “Demons of the Punjab”: Wartime Imagery Marks Armistice Centenary
Sunday’s episode, set near the freshly declared border between India and Pakistan in 1947, shows the gang agree to spend an hour there, for Yaz (Mandip Gill) to see her grandmother in her younger years. When they find her living in the countryside outside of Lahore on the eve of her wedding to a Muslim man, Yaz insists that they delve deeper into the secret past, and they watch from the sidelines as tragedy strikes in the Middle East.
Controversial Coupling
The union of Umbreen (Amita Suman) and Prem (Shane Zaza) comes just after the announcement of the Partition of India in 1947, dividing up land inhabited by Muslims, Hindus and Sikhs. While the country is to be pulled apart, Yaz’s grandmother and her first husband join together, much to the dismay of their onlooking family members as Umbreen is a Hindu woman, and her husband-to-be is Muslim.
Both Umbreen’s mother (Shaheen Khan) and Prem’s younger brother Manish (Hamza Jeetooa) are opposed to the marriage and vehemently voice their opinions during the wedding celebrations. When the women are gathered together in the evening, Umbreen dismisses her mother’s negativity and the couple overcome the adversity to wed the following day, with the support of the Doctor (Jodie Whittaker) and her gang, who are ensuring history remains on track, much to Yaz’s confusion.
Poppies in the Punjab
An otherworldly presence causes the Doctor to explore the surrounding area, and she discovers “demons” might have a plan to disrupt the wedding celebrations, so she carries out an investigation while the preparations for the union continue.
When running from the woodland area, where the supposed demons’ spaceship is concealed, back to the family home, the group find themselves passing by poppies in the field. Broadcast on the First World War armistice centenary, the symbolic presence of the flowers, alongside wartime imagery from Prem’s flashback to fighting in Singapore during WWII, make for a commemorative nod at the significance of the episode’s air date.
The Thijarians – the suspected assassin aliens – are interrogated by the Doctor, and insist they are changed beings since the massacre of their own people. Now only attending to those who die alone, they aim to address the loneliness of death and act as guardians of those dying by themselves. Having previously been spotted on a battlefield by Prem next to the body of his older brother, the implication is that these aliens seek to comfort soldiers lost in battle, while they also observe and remember the dead – the ultimate grieving aliens.
“Our moment in time”
When Prem gifts his new bride a wristwatch (later re-gifted to Yaz in 2018) the watch falls and its face smashes. As it stops working, the frame captures the couple gazing into each others’ eyes, pausing for their moment in history.
The moment quickly becomes fleeting and is interrupted by incoming danger, in the form of Muslim fighters, fronted by Prem’s younger brother. It becomes the newlyweds’ only moment in time, as Manish ends their marriage and his brother’s life in one sweeping act of brotherly betrayal as the union between the two religions is too much for him to bear. The Thijarians step in to provide Prem company in his final moments on Earth, as Yaz and the others leave history intact, ensuring Yaz’s timeline remains unchanged, much like they did in “Rosa” for the Civil Rights’ Movement, here on a much smaller scale.
Conclusion
In an episode that centres on Yaz and her family history, the time-travelling crew venture back to Partition-era India, providing us with an insight into Yaz’s grandmother’s background, with the perils of the era showcased through the violent ending to Umbreen’s first marriage. The Doctor and company leave history preserved, with Prem dying for Yaz’s future, and the Thijarians are left tasked with remembering the dead, in an episode honoring the soldiers sacrificed in the World Wars from further afield, fighting on Britain’s behalf from colonized countries.
The next episode of Doctor Who will air on BBC One on Sunday 18th November 2018 at 6.30pm.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WdUGkA1Ep8
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