This is one of Moffat's weakest episodes, mainly because its political satire, while amusing and thoughtful, is just a bit too simplistic and on-the-nose. However, it's held together by decent characterisation that continues from The Eleventh Hour.
I do like the core idea of the UK on a spaceship. British flags and memorabilia everywhere, the idea of nationalism being used to distract people from the harsh reality of their lives: they're living in a dark, dirty, rather depressing spaceship without any sunlight. All these things we see that are quintessentially British reflect a nostalgia-inflected idea of what Britain is, a Britain that doesn't really exist. They're a kitsch attempt to use a rose-tinted national memory to distract from the unpleasant reality. It isn't hard to see how this is an attempt of the episode to comment on contemporary British politics, and it's remarkably foresighted considering it came out half a decade before the Brexit referendum. Most literally, the idea of this starship bearing the British flag, claiming to still be the Britain it once was, remarkably brings to mind the idea of a Britain sailing away from the EU while imagining the British Empire.
As well as a commentary on nationalism, the episode works fairly well as a commentary on the inability of a country to deal with its colonial legacy, and even more so how its colonial legacy impacts its standing now. The idea of something 'below' that you're not supposed to talk about does bring to mind things that we'd rather not talk about as a nation: how our success in large part depended on the exploitation and suffering of colonies, and how we continue to benefit from the historic global inequality this caused. How we continue to benefit from the suffering that still exists in the Global South.
When people are given a choice to vote on the situation of exploitation, it's revealing that to accept is to forget; there is no acceptance without forgetting. Having in memory the suffering our success caused is too unnerving, so it's easier to just accept it, move on and not talk about it. That is why this core idea of the Star Whale is so good. It works not just on a metaphorical level, but on a psychological level too. In our collective mind, colonialism is the beast below.
There is some simple but cutting commentary on class here too. The idea that those without the skills required to 'succeed' are fed to the Star Whale as fuel for the rest of society is obviously similar to the way the people without the high skills in a capitalist society must take the 'undesirable' jobs, in order to keep the rest of society afloat. The fact that the Star Whale fuel fall far below is a neat way to emphasise the astronomical difference in status between the classes.
One of the episode's failings is its limited ability to show Starship UK as a real place rather than as a collection of ideas, of thinly veiled symbols. The Doctor tells us it's a police state instead of letting us discover this naturally through his interactions with its inhabitants. The only regular inhabitant we come across is the girl. Sure, the cold open does tell us something's wrong so we already know, but we really don't get a sense of this world's dark nature before we learn what it's like. It's also the case that while much of the political commentary is amusing and hits the mark, it doesn't necessarily come together into a cohesive whole. The political elements don't really get a chance to connect into one blistering take on colonialism. It certainly shows that although Moffat can manage a political commentary episode, it's not one of his strongest points. The episode definitely comes across as more hastily put together and less tight than The Eleventh Hour, where every scene was delightful and memorable. It's all less sharp, more fillery. Liz 10 as a supporting character is a bit meh. While I like how she is used as a commentary on the monarchy, she is pretty bland and one-note.
However, one of the things The Beast Below does well is integrate the story into the Doctor and Amy's character development. Just as the Doctor is willing to effectively commit euthanasia, or murder, Amy offers a solution that spares the lives of the Star Whale and everyone on the ship as well by ending the regime. It plays well into the idea that she is still the fairy-tale girl, Amelia Pond. Crucially, it suggests that she is healthy for the Doctor to keep around him. It also gives her a nice arc, making clear her choice to forget was wrong and rectifying it. The comparison between the Star Whale and the Doctor is also interesting. He points out they are both the last of their species, which must make his choice harder for him as he can relate to it.
It's a middling episode. Not without flaws, and a bit overly sentimental at times without really deserving it, but decent.
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