Peter Capaldi Absolutely Terrified Me In The Devil's Hour — Why He Needs To Play More Serial Killers

Peter Capaldi co-stars in The Devil's Hour, and it's the type of role I wish the Academy Award-winning British actor would take on more often. Premiering in October 2022, The Devil's Hour is a British crime drama that has flown under the radar. The series stars Jessica Raine as Lucy Chambers, a social worker who begins waking up at 3:33 AM every night, experiencing terrifying visions. Unsure of what to make of these, she confronts a serial killer named Gideon Shepherd (Capaldi) who has an unbelievable secret of his own.

Most viewers will know Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor in Doctor Who, but he's had a varied career both before and after appearing in that cult-favorite science fiction series. Before Doctor Who, he had some roles in movies like Dangerous Liaisons and World War Z, and in TV shows like The Thick of It, in which he starred as Malcolm Tucker. Since Doctor Who, he's notably appeared in the cast of The Suicide Squad and Black Mirror. He's not often had a role, however, like the one he has in The Devil's Hour.

Peter Capaldi Plays Gideon Shepherd In The Devil's Hour

Gideon Is A Serial Killer With A Secret

Gideon Shepherd is an anti-hero and the co-star of The Devil's Hour. A known, incarcerated serial killer, Gideon, is approached by Lucy Chambers after her name comes to be associated with several murders. As it turns out, the world of The Devil's Hour is a little different from ours. In this one, people live their lives over and over again. Most people go through these repeated lives unaware of the previous one. Gideon is different. He remembers bits and pieces of his previous lives and begins to use what he knows in order to succeed in the next life.

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This occasionally results in him preemptively killing people in order to prevent an even greater catastrophe. It makes for a unique worldview. The people that Gideon kills are ostensibly innocent at the time of their deaths, but Gideon knows they will do something worse, so he takes matters into his own hands. However, he's not an all-powerful figure, and in every timeline, he's foiled from averting a terrible future by DI Lucy Chambers, so he resolves to stop her from ever becoming a DI, though that decision has reverberations of its own.

He's a TV anti-hero in the truest sense, because to everyone but him, Gideon is a mass-murdering monster, who seemingly has no reason for what he's doing. It's only Gideon and the audience who know why he kills, and Gideon has become jaded from all this foreknowledge; he has little patience for others. Because he knows each life repeats, he doesn't have many qualms about killing people who get in his way, he knows they will simply return.

It's a sinister performance by Capaldi, who can flip on a dime.

He's a frightening character because he knows the worst things about everyone. It's a sinister performance by Capaldi, who can flip on a dime. What comes to be revealed is that Gideon is an incredibly lonely man. Because he knows what's going to happen, he lives a life that only he will remember, and that makes for a very solitary life. He has little remorse and little patience, and it's very hard to know what he's thinking.

Gideon Is A Great Pivot Away From The Twelfth Doctor

Capaldi Should Take On More Menacing Roles

Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor looking concerned in the Doctor Who episode Heaven Sent. — Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor in the *Doctor Who* episode Heaven Sent.

Gideon Shepherd is a far different character from the other role Peter Capaldi is best known for, which is the Twelfth Doctor in Doctor Who. The Twelfth Doctor was a sharp and honest doctor, but he was also haunted and determined to right the wrongs he had seen in his life. This version of the doctor is much more alien than the ones who have come before him and often struggles to connect. In this way, his character is quite similar to Gideon Shepherd. Both are tasked with defending humanity, but their power and knowledge make them unknowable.

Peter Capaldi won an Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film in 1995 for Franz Kafka's It's a Wonderful Life.

However, Gideon is a much more violent and sinister force in The Devil's Hour. After so many lifetimes doing the same thing, rescuing the same people, and killing others, Gideon's heart has hardened, and he's developed a cynical outlook on people. It's hard to blame him when every time he dies, everything just resets. It's a much less wholesome character than the Twelfth Doctor. Capaldi has the glowing menace perfect for such a role. What I would like to see is the actor take on a similar performance but with no turn. He needs to be completely evil.

Capaldi Empathizes With Gideon In The Devil's Hour

Gideon Is Driven By A Desire To Keep People Safe

Gideon (Peter Capaldi) with his hands raised while people shine lights at him in The Devil's Hour.

Peter Capaldi has plenty of thoughts on Gideon Shepherd and has described the lifetime-jumping serial killer as someone deserving of empathy. He said (via RadioTimes),

"I think I do empathise with him. What's driving him is a desire to keep people, ironically, safe - and he's trapped."

Despite all the violence Gideon inflicts in The Devil's Hour, it is hard not to empathize with his position. This is a character who, through no fault of his own, has been forced to relive every single one of his lifetimes. While some may envy that knowledge, Gideon reveals how much of a burden it is. He can't connect because he knows too much, and his moral code won't allow for a terrible future to come to pass. Capaldi also says about Gideon,

"He's troubled by the world as a conscious conscience, ironically, because he is always killing people, but he would like the world to be better – but actually, he can't control it, even though he tries to."

Gideon is someone who is doing his best to make the world a better place, but at the same time, he's causing chaos wherever he goes. It's a terrifying reality for those who are unclear of his intentions and goals. Essentially, as he's a time-traveling being, he doesn't have to make his goals and intentions clear. There's no benefit to that from his point of view. He may be a benevolent god as he sees himself, but he's still a cold one, and that's a frightening reality to deal with.

What's Next For Gideon Shepherd In The Devil's Hour Season 3

Gideon Killed Lucy To Protect The Future

Lucy (Jessica Raine) staring at Gideon (Peter Capaldi) through a window in The Devil's Hour.

At the end of season 2, Gideon kills Lucy and himself so that the time loop can restart, and the police don't catch them. If they do, they'll both be drugged and lose all the memories of their past lives, which means they can't protect the future. The season ends with Gideon once again in prison. He is visited by an older Isaac (Joel Harper-Jackson). In season 3, Gideon will have to help Lucy's son as they weave their way through time, and Gideon will likely be taking on a mentor role, maybe softening for once in The Devil's Hour.