Heaven Sent (Doctor Who)

As he walks down the corridor, the Doctor says to his unseen adversary "the Doctor will see you now". The Eleventh Doctor shouts this same line to the Atraxi in "The Eleventh Hour" (2010).[2]

The Doctor tells himself "Assume you're going to survive. Always assume that." This is what Clara says of the Doctor in "The Witch's Familiar": "he always assumes he's going to win. He always knows there's a way to survive".[3]

The Doctor confesses that he ran from Gallifrey because he was scared, and that the pretense of being bored was a lie. Originally, in The War Games (1969), the Second Doctor admitted to his companions that "Well, I was bored".[3]

Once he arrives on Gallifrey, the Doctor tells the young boy to announce that he "came the long way around", finally finishing the objective set by the Eleventh Doctor in "The Day of the Doctor" (2013) saying that he was going "home, the long way around".[3][4]

Throughout the episode, the Doctor mentions the "hybrid", echoing a prophecy related by Davros in "The Magician's Apprentice" / "The Witch's Familiar" – two great warrior races, speculated to be the Time Lords and the Daleks, would merge to become a "hybrid". "Hell Bent" clarifies that the Doctor's declaration that the hybrid is "Me" expresses his belief that it is Ashildr, who became a human-Mire hybrid in "The Girl Who Died" and later adopted the name Me.

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Rotten Tomatoes (Average Score)	9.81[13]
Rotten Tomatoes (Tomatometer)	89%[13]
Review scores
Source	Rating
The A.V. Club	A[14]
Paste Magazine	10.0[15]
SFX Magazine	[16]
TV Fanatic	[17]
IndieWire	A+[18]
IGN	9.5[19]
PopMatters	9/10[20]
New York Magazine	[21]
Radio Times	[22]

"Heaven Sent" received universal critical acclaim, with the majority of critics declaring it the greatest episode of the ninth series, and possibly one of the greatest episodes in the show's run. Many instances of extremely high praise were aimed towards Steven Moffat's script and Rachel Talalay's direction. Peter Capaldi's performance received universal widespread acclaim.[23][24][25] The episode currently holds a score of 89% on Rotten Tomatoes, with an average score of 9.8, by far the highest average score of the series. The site's consensus reads "Peter Capaldi turns in a one-man command performance in this episode's exploration of grief, and a surprise turn of events sets up an explosive season finale".[26]

Patrick Mulkern of Radio Times awarded the episode a perfect five star rating, saying that "Peter Capaldi's one-man show is an instant classic". He continued "This is Peter Capaldi's hour and he has earned it...but this brilliant, bold, extended episode is a one-man show – a tour de force from the magnificent Capaldi. This year he has made the role his own" and said that the episode's structure "works perfectly without ever seeming contrived". He further stated that "[Steven Moffat] has structured the narrative with his trademark intricacy. Capaldi plays it to perfection – in the moment, every moment. Rachel Talalay steeps the production in atmosphere and sustains the momentum right until the final revelations".[24] Calling the episode a "mind-bending masterpiece", Morgan Jeffery of Digital Spy stated that it was also "one of the most surreal episodes to date". He further stated "Writer Steven Moffat cleverly subverts the expectation that this'll be a low-budget escapade, with a surplus of Capaldi awkwardly expressing his inner thoughts aloud. There's plenty of the Doctor 'talking to himself', true enough, but there's always a reason", before closing his review by saying "'Heaven Sent' is brilliant, but it's also about as far from big, broad, family-friendly entertainment as you can get. The show's been obtuse and a little odd before, but nothing quite like this, and its rejection of the standard Doctor Who trappings might be too much for some. But if you're willing to see past that and embrace the weirdness, then you'll end up captivated. Because this is demanding and intelligent science-fiction, the likes of which BBC One should be commended for airing".[27]

Peter Capaldi received widespread critical acclaim for his performance in the episode.

Alasdair Wilkins of The A.V. Club gave the episode an 'A', for the fifth time this season, writing "This season has been a remarkable achievement for the show, and, pending next week's finale, it's got a real chance to go down as the best season of the revival, topping even Matt Smith's debut in season five. And hey, maybe "Hell Bent" will be the perfect capper to this season, or maybe it won't. But the genius of the construction of this season's endgame is that "Hell Bent" could be an unmitigated disaster and it still wouldn't really undo the genius of "Heaven Sent" or "Face The Raven" before it."[14] Mark Rozeman of Paste Magazine also awarded the episode a perfect score (10.0), labeling it "a masterpiece of the highest order", whilst Ian Berriman of SFX Magazine also awarded full marks, saying "Heaven Sent stands as the best episode of the season so far: madly surreal, ingeniously baffling, immensely creepy and downright gruelling in its latter stages, with a tremendously impactful payoff".[15][16]

Awarding the episode a score of 9.5, deemed "amazing" and the highest of the series, Scott Collura of IGN particularly praised the episode's conclusion by saying "It's a thrilling, brilliant twist to this episode that sends the whole affair cascading into a barrage of images and sounds that won't soon be forgotten. The realization that the sea of skulls is actually a sea of Doctor skulls while the gentle guitar-driven score picks up and broadens beautifully is amazing". He further praised the "hybrid reveal" as well as Capaldi's performance, and closed his review by saying "A great episode of Doctor Who that serves to bring this mostly excellent season towards its finale, "Heaven Sent" features a breathtaking one-man show from Peter Capaldi and a twist-ending that makes this one of the best episodes of the modern series' run".[28] Referring to it as "an epic one man show", Tim Liew of Metro also acclaimed the episode, saying that he "loved it". He particularly praised Steven Moffat and Peter Capaldi, saying "Steven Moffat takes a bold step by stripping his story back to its bare bones and putting the burden squarely on Peter Capaldi's shoulders. And Capaldi delivers 100%, carrying every scene and showing every facet of his Doctor. It's a beautifully textured performance, underpinned by a superb new musical score from series composer Murray Gold. Many fans, myself included, had initial doubts over whether Capaldi could succeed as the Doctor. If there were any remaining concerns, this episode surely puts them to rest". He also praised the episode's structure, saying "As a story, the episode builds slowly, making a virtue of the Veil's slow-moving gait with a knowing wink about all those enemies who the Doctor is always outrunning. But it's only in the closing minutes that the pieces of the puzzle fall into place and the episode's epic scale is finally revealed".[23]

In 2016 "Heaven Sent" received a nomination for Hugo Award for Best Dramatic Presentation (Short Form)[29] but lost to Jessica Jones "AKA Smile". "Heaven Sent" is also the first episode of Doctor Who to be submitted for nomination for a Primetime Emmy Award, due to BBC America being one of the series' co-producers. The episode was submitted to support Capaldi for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, Moffat for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series, and Talalay for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series, in addition to several other Creative Arts Emmys.[30][31][32] However, the episode was not selected by the Emmy committee for any of these award categories.[33]