|
|
Post by Claire Voyant on Jun 5, 2011 2:48:34 GMT
Hmmm, how should a put this? WOW!
Very touching. We finally find out who River is. I almost cried.
|
|
|
|
Post by Oldmankrondas on Jun 5, 2011 22:52:59 GMT
Where do I begin?
Think I'll just fire off with my favourite things about the episode, scattershot, in no particular order. BEWARE SPOILERS!
The fact we don't actually see the Doctor until about 17 minutes into the episode was a beautiful touch, especially given River's damning words toward the end. And when he is revealed it's silly and daft and reassuring amidst the grimness of the Headless Monks.
Karen Gillan hasn't wowed me much this series but my goodness me, her face when Melody is revealed to be flesh broke my heart. Harrowing stuff.
Rory really coming into his own, his confrontation with the Cybermen was, for want of a better word, badass. 'Oh don't give me those blank looks.'
The rather mysterious Silurian lady detective and her female 'companion' were a lot of fun.
The Sontaran nurse provided some wonderful parallels with Rory.
I could go on, needless to say I really enjoyed this episode. It shows that you don't need to set everything in a contemporary setting for a big finale, (something the RTD years fell into the habit of) if you ramp the jeopardy right up for our leads then it shouldn't matter if it's set on Demons Run or Derbyshire.
A fantastic episode, and the River reveal was touching and funny. (If not blatantly signposted throughout this episode, or maybe because I'd already worked it out by reading an interview with Gillan where she stated Amy's daughter would be named Melody.)
Stupendous stuff...Let's Kill Hitler!
|
|
|
|
Post by Slagathor on Jun 6, 2011 12:20:33 GMT
Great stuff.
All season the Doctor had been asking River "who are you"? This made her identity very important. Who? Romana? His Wife? (Still could be.) I had noted the "only water in the forest is the river" remark. Obviously River was the river. Although didn't pick up on the River/Pond connection, which leads me to a question: how long ago did Stephen Moffat decide to make River Amy Pond's daughter?
|
|
|
|
Post by Fitz Kreiner on Jun 6, 2011 19:38:30 GMT
Amazing stuff, and how evil is the Moff for making us wait for a few months before we can have the next episode! I can't believe I missed the fact that River was Amy's daughter, especially as it was put in plain view from the beginning of the episode. It twigged to me just before the reveal. At first, when she mentioned not having seen the Doctor's crib for a long time, I thought she was the Doctor's mother, and Moffers making a sly nod to the TVM and the half human on his mothers side, before I remembered the kiss and thought incest was probably a little too taboo for Who to cover. Shame that we didn't get more of the Cybermen, but the Doctor blowing up half their fleet just to make a point was a really good touch, and rather shocking in a way. Hopefully one day, we'll have some old style Cybermen make an appearance, rather than the Cybus style, even if they didn't have the brand "C" on their chests. Loved the Silurian detective and Jenny, her companion, like OMK, and the nice little touch about Jack the Ripper made me chuckle. And how sexy was Jenny in the waistcoat, shirt and tie with the gung-ho swordstyles?  Little wonder about Magorian or whatever the big blue blokes name is, as River went to him for a vortex manipulator in her future, unless her future was also the fat one from the blue man group's past. Great teaser for the next part of the series too, let's kill Hitler. Makes you wonder what is going to happen next, Melody has been taken and the Doc has left Amy and Rory and River at Demon's Run. |
|
|
|
Post by John Darnacan on Jun 7, 2011 13:21:58 GMT
Various comments on a generally 9.5/10 episode...
Liked the roaring Rory opening. Glad to see him growing.
For someone who is so creative and imaginative, why did Moffat try to recreate his gathering of monsters finale from last year, even down to the dialog: "Hello! Guess Who?"
I thought bringing Captain Avery and the Spitfires were particularly unnecessary. Although, Sontaran Nurse/Commander Strax was an interesting touch. It was touching parallel with Rory. And I really liked Silurian/Victorian Detective Vastra. And she has a very sexy voice. [Sorry was that last part out loud?]
By the way, did Stephen Moffat promise to continue RTD's gay agenda in exchange for getting control of the show? This episode had two gay references: the "Thin/Fat Married Anglican Marines" as well as the less overt Vastra's "Oh, she's definitely a girl" lesbian relationship with a Victorian servant Jenny.
Sad to see Dorium Maldavar killed (or Mr. Giant Blueberry as I like to think of him). Quite unnecessary. I liked the dialog between Vastra, Dorium and the Doctor. Would have loved to have seen Vastra and Dorium as companions. I heard a rumour he might be back in a future episode.
Alex Kingston gave a fantastic performance both in the StormCage scene, but especially in the final scene, switching emotions so effortlessly. And of course Matt Smith kept up quite well.
Another interesting concept dealt with is, that to some, the Doctor is becoming a monster, the very thing he fights. Although, they never really explained why the Clerics think him an enemy. It also seems to contradict his relationship with the Clerics in The Time of the Angels. What happened in between? Perhaps this will be explained in the upcoming episode, The God Complex. Perhaps it is a reference to the Papal Mainframe mentioned by Major Manton.
Are these just plot holes? Or things Moffat has yet to explain? He has certainly has left a great many loose ends.
The ending reveal was fantastic. I dare anyone to disagree. I actually thought it might be a possibility earlier in the series, when River said she met the Doctor as a young girl, but I dismissed it later.
River's identity, it was a masterstroke reveal, bringing even more questions. It's obvious that the girl in the spacesuit is a young River. (Or are we being misled?) Will Amy and Rory even get to raise their daughter? If so, how will she go to become a future-era archeologist, kill someone, and end up in the StormCage? Will Rory and Amy become the Doctor's in-laws?
So many questions. So many months until the next episode.
|
|
|
|
Post by Slagathor on Jun 7, 2011 20:46:29 GMT
Some brilliant commentary above. I couldn't really do any better.
However,...
If the Doctor were raising an army, where was Captain Jack? UNIT? Wouldn't they be more effective than an 18th century pirate?
BTW, what does "you're so Scottish" mean?
|
|
|
|
Post by Oldmankrondas on Jun 7, 2011 20:56:50 GMT
Good point r.e. Captain Jack. Moffat recently said in an interview that he recently though 'Jack should be around here' but Barrowman was too busy filming Miracle Day.
|
|
|
|
Post by Claire Voyant on Jun 8, 2011 18:25:01 GMT
BTW, what does "you're so Scottish" mean? I was wonder that myself. Can anyone explain? |
|
|
|
Post by Oldmankrondas on Jun 8, 2011 22:41:11 GMT
As a Scotsman myself I always prefer that others die first. In truth though, I'm not sure....
|
|
|
|
Post by McOod on Jun 10, 2011 2:30:31 GMT
Jaw-dropping episode.
I found it interesting that Rory and Amy have switched places. In the Curse of the Black Spot, Amy was the one wielding the sword. Now, Rory has manned up. Great. I was getting a little weary of his wimpiness.
And while we're at it, why is Melody Pond a superhero, but Melody Williams is a geography teacher? Although strangely enough, Melody Pond/River Song did turn out to be a superhero.
Could River Williams have been a superhero?
Could Schnarkus Elab MacQwertymeyer III have been a superhero?
|
|
