'Doctor Who' Series 6, Episode 11: 'The God Complex' - Recap & Review

***WARNING CONTAINS SPOILERS***

The Doctor and his companions, Amy and Rory, arrive at a labyrinthine hotel. In fairly short order they are separated from the Tardis and there appear to be no doors or windows leading outside. There are only the usual hotel amenities and a seemingly endless number of rooms, each with a different event, person or creature inside. The trio encounters a small group who is also trapped in the hotel and from them they learn that inside every room is someone's fear. Deep, basic, primal irrational fears; and there is a room for everyone. Once a person finds their room they become possessed by euphoria and willingly give themselves over to the deadly minotaur like creature that dwells in the hotel.

The basic premise of endless hotel corridors filled with fears is a great horror story premise in and of itself, and it suits the current series of " Doctor Who " extremely well. As a whole the recent series has had many episodes rooted in fear and terror, rather than the more freewheeling and swashbuckling style of the David Tennant years. Having the fears be really deeply rooted ones also guarantees a wide variety, from monsters to clowns to being laughed at.

The premise naturally sets up a promise of showing the fears of the Doctor and his companions and this is handled in an interesting fashion. First there's Amy, who's the only member of the Tardis crew whose fear is actually shown. Given what happened back when she was a child, coupled with the events of the previous episode, having Amy's fear be waiting forever for the Doctor rings very true. The use of her image as a child helps reinforce how deeply this fear runs. It turns out there is no room for Rory, for reasons that don't become clear until later on. The Doctor does find his room, however what he sees is not shown to the audience. While it's possible that it may be revealed in the future it seems more likely that it will remain a mystery, like so many other aspects of the Doctor.

"The God Complex" has an extremely strong supporting cast, as all of the other occupants of the hotel are interesting and engaging. Even characters that seem very vaguely drawn, like a young blogger, are given great life and depth by the actors, Dimitri Leonidas in this case. David Williams as Gibbis has the most interesting character, playing an alien from a constantly invaded home world. This makes him surrender prone but also much more sympathetic and less underhanded than these sorts of characters usually are. The standout of the guest stars though is Amara Karan as the whip-smart Rita. In a very short period of time she's able to make the Doctor love her character, and the audience along with him.

The notions of fear and faith that run through the episode are very well handled. At first the Doctor believes that they must all fight their fears and take solace in their beliefs. Ultimately this turns out to be the exact wrong thing to do. By showing the occupants their fears the creature knows that they will then turn to whatever they have the most faith in. That faith is then redirected to the minotaur and they begin to chant "Praise him" and to see their imminent death as a form of salvation.

This forces the Doctor to break Amy of the thing she has the most faith in, which is himself, in order to save her. He paints himself as an infinitely selfish man who only ever brought her on his travels for his own reasons. What is interesting about the things he says to break her faith is that it is quite possible that it is true, at least in part. The Seventh Doctor had to perform a similar action and break his companion Ace of her faith in him during the classic series episode "Curse of Fenric." It's also interesting that Rory is revealed to have no particular faith, which is the reason he has no room. This is not played as being either a good or bad thing, simply a fact, which is the best way to play it.

The creature itself is a bit of a mixed bag. It is wisely shown mostly obscured in some way, as the practical effects are passable but not stellar. The idea is interesting though, since it is revealed that the creature isn't the master of the labyrinth hotel but rather a prisoner simply being provided with sustenance so that it can continue to life in prison. The sympathy given to the creature by the Doctor when they finally break the cycle and allow it to die is very well played. However the things they Doctor says about how a lonely traveler drifting through space may welcome death become a bit too on the nose. It might have worked if the Doctor hadn't unconvincingly added "I'm not talking about myself." The point was already made without this painfully blunt add-on.

Once they have escaped the Doctor returns Amy and Rory to Earth and politely kicks them out of the Tardis. The series has been building towards the departure of Amy and Rory for a couple of episodes now, and it's a very well developed conclusion. Even though the Doctor makes the choice to have them leave it's clear that they knew it was time for them to go. This marks on the third time in either the classic or current series that the Doctor has sent his companions away rather than holding onto them for as long as possible. It shows a certain resignation to the damage he's caused them and also his own impending fate. This is a very well done self contained episode that also serves to wrap up Amy and Rory's time in the Tardis is a very satisfying way.