Starring: Matt Smith, Jenna-Louise Coleman.
Writer: Neil Cross.
Director: Jamie Payne.
I’m going to come right out and say it to begin this review, just so you know what you’re in for. This is definitively my favourite episode of Series 7 thus far. This is, in fact, one of my overall favourite episodes of Matt Smith’s entire run thus far (and I really like Matt Smith’s episodes in general). So there you go. This is good. This is very, very good. Anyway, back to usual business. The dark, eerie setting of last week’s ‘Cold War‘ is gone, replaced by the…dark, eerie setting of this week! That’s right, ‘Doctor Who does ghost story’ is the name of the game with this one!
So here we go, then. ‘Hide’.
STANDARD INCREASINGLY-WORN-OUT WARNING: There may be (read: will probably be) slight spoilers!
It’s 1974, and there’s a ghost-hunting operation afoot. The episode opens by introducing us to our setting, the appropriately-ominous Caliburn House, an old abode rumoured to be haunted by the alleged “Witch of the Well”, a ghostly apparition who has appeared there throughout the house’s history. Currently, the house is being investigated by the duo of Alec Palmer, a former spy during World War II and current ghost hunter, and Emma Grayling, an empathetic psychic who can communicate with the ghost. We see right away that this ghost is no mere story, as it appears for a brief second and then vanishes again. Of course, it doesn’t take long for the Doctor and Clara to show their faces, the Doctor more than eager to hunt this particular ghost. This being Doctor Who, of course, all is not what it seems at first glance. There are secrets to be unravelled, and something else is lurking in Caliburn House…
A rollicking start to the episode, and it just continues on from there. The second episode this series from writer Neil Cross, also responsible for ‘The Rings of Akhaten‘. Whilst that episode was quite divisive for the fanbase, and justifiably so, anyone who’s read my review of it knows that I loved it, and ‘Hide‘ surpasses it completely. The plot is extremely and noticeably well-paced, taking time to give appropriate characterisation to everyone and everything involved (and I do mean ‘everything‘). It’s wonderfully tense, definitely one of the scariest Doctor Who episodes we’ve seen in a while. Indeed, it carries a faint overtone of fan-favourite ‘Blink‘ to it, in several ways. It’s scary but oh-so-funny in that unique way that Doctor Who does so well, and both sides of it are balanced perfectly well. It’s a very low-scale episode, there are only seven characters in the whole thing, and that works very well for it, it gives it a much more intimate feel and lets us see more of each of them. The episode is written fantastically, with great lines and a plot that takes more twists and turns than a very twisty and turny thing.
As ever, Matt Smith and Jenna-Louise Coleman are on top form, and continue to prove their brilliance as a duo again and again. This is a great episode for the two, they get a lot of fun interaction and we can see how the relationship between the Doctor and Clara is developing. There’s a lot of high-fiving and cheerful teasing, and it’s quite plain to see that the two have settled fully into the roles of Doctor and Companion. Smith is brilliant as ever. He plays the Doctor’s initial fascination with the ghost and the house hilariously, running around and messing with the equipment whilst still merrily deducing things. 
Later on, however, we get to see him play something we don’t see very often: a scared Doctor. It’s interesting to see, and Smith pulls it off with aplomb. Meanwhile, Coleman shows us yet more of Clara in this episode. She’s still extremely confident, but we see her more scared than before in this episode, and at first, she is very unnerved. Later, however, Clara takes charge of the situation in an extremely cool way, and it’s marvellous to watch. We also get to see a bit more of the burgeoning dislike between Clara and the TARDIS, which has been implied up until this point but is now out in the open. The TARDIS’ voice interface makes a reappearance, taking the form of Coleman herself (yes, two Jenna-Louise Colemans. A certain slightly-modified phrase from Captain Jack Harkness springs to mind for some reason…), and seeing her play off against herself as two different characters is great fun to watch.
Of course, with this episode, we must also address the supporting cast, that being Dougray Scott and Jessica Raine as Palmer and Emma, respectively. The two do a truly fantastic job with their characters, and both make a very compelling story out of them. The two are, naturally, in love with the other and blind to it, which is interesting, considering one of them is a psychic empath. It’s played very well, however, the two interact with each other marvellously. Indeed, through some very clever writing, there are several comments made about the duo in the episode that could just as easily be regarding the Doctor and Clara’s…unique situation. As for the villain…well, I won’t say here, lest I take away from the scariness of the episode, but all I will say is this: Creepiest-looking Doctor Who monster in a LONG time. It will give you shivers, no doubt.
All in all, ‘Hide‘ is a marvellous episode, through and through. It looks great, with the eerie house, cool-looking ghost-hunting machinery (and an excellent-looking set-piece later on that I won’t spoil). It’s tense, and very scary. It’s funny, and it’s very clever. It continues the series’ trend of including several nods to the past, referencing several past Doctors in this episode alone. It feels quintessentially Doctor Who, and there’s not much more you can ask for.
Overall, I’ve gotta give ‘Hide‘ a 10/10. I appreciate that’s a strong claim to make, so for anyone who’s wondering about my review process (what little there is beyond ‘I LIKE EVERYTHING OKAY’), I take each episode on its own merit, without comparing it to anything else in the show, or at least I try my very hardest to, and I simply can’t criticize ‘Hide‘. Not my favourite episode, but a solid contender for one of the best.
So roll on next week, for my most eagerly-awaited episode of this series: ‘Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS‘.
