This is your public service announcement that SPOILERS ABOUND. You have been warned.
Henry VIII's legs were in Doctor Who. I can die happy now. No, seriously, ever since I got into Doctor Who I have been waiting for something with Tudor England (Shakespeare doesn't count). RTD was supposed to give us an episode, but it never happened. Last week we got a reference and this week we got A SCENE. And Henry's LEGS. Yeah, I could be pathetic, or I could just have been really obsessed with Tudor England for the past 12 years. (Take a look at my bookshelf if you doubt my devotion.)
But more than a Tudor Geek's dream come true, this scene proved an internet fan theory that has become pretty popular since Pond Life - that the Doctor has not been visiting the Ponds in the order that the Ponds and we are going through the adventures. How do we know this? Because in last week's episode the Doctor told us about the phone charger in Henry VIII's suite. Something that didn't happen for Amy and Rory until this week. Plus every time the Doctor and Amy talk, he seems to have some knowledge of her fate... as though he has already experienced it, and is now moving back in her timeline to see her as much as possible.
They just want to break our hearts thoroughly.
Anyhow, I really enjoyed the whole Anniversary montage. I love that the Doctor just can't give them a good trip no matter how hard he tries. I love that Brian realized what had happened, and kind of gave the Doctor a talking too.
Brian could have been my favorite part of the episode. He was so adorable. I think all of us Harry Potter fans see shades of Arthur Weasley's obsession with Muggles when Brian gets all enthusiastic about the timey-wimey space travel stuff. It's adorable.
The theme of the episode was the 'double' life, which was an important one... I need to watch it again to solidify my feelings on it though. I was taking care of a two-month-old fussy (but very adorable) baby when I was watching it, so I had to take several breaks from it and I don't want to judge that emotional arc until I can see it continuously.
Having Kate be the Brigadier's daughter was awesome. Many fans were hoping for it, and I'm glad that's the move they made. Fantastic tribute.
But... the boxes? The lead up was good, but the ending, to me, felt anticlimatic. Maybe I was too distracted and need to give it another try, but the motivation was not very well explained and the solution seemed way too easy for stakes that high. So I felt a bit cheated out of that. Is that just me?
Next week River is back... Who else is looking forwards to having her on screen again?
5 comments:
I"m looking forward to seeing River again!!!!
Absolutely adored this episode. Not a Tudor geek, but I'm a geek over all things 1850-1900, so I was also squeeing over the anniversary scene.
Definitely looking forward to River! Didn't realize how much I missed her until she didn't show up in "Asylum of the Daleks." Just didn't feel complete without her.
Mmm, definitely rewatch it. I absolutely loved this episode. The villain motivation may have seemed a bit unextraordinary (basically, aliens aiming to cull humanity, which they claim is a plague on the universe), but there was a lot of greatness here.
The scene between the Doctor and Amy was absolutely fantastic...and oh so sad... :'(
"I'm running to you, before you fade..."
"Doctor? I don't want you to be nice."
"Oh...yes you do."
(Dialogue done to the best of my memory.)
Brian was awesome, seeing the Doctor paralyzed by inaction was incredible...I really liked the exploration of his character in this regard. And again...simply loved the dynamic between he and Amy. I think this episode may have firmly established her as my favorite companion thus far.
Oh, and UNIT. That made me smile.
But you see, Andy, I loved all those elements. It's the overall flow I had trouble with.
Elena: that's true. I suppose I was pleased enough with those elements that it didn't bug me so much that other parts fell flat.
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