Another disappointing episode, but at least it wasn't as rage-worthy as the last three. Let's get on with it.
The writers have no interest whatsoever in dealing with motherhood.
Once again, the woman leaves at the beginning of the episode and returns in the end. Although, this didn't trouble me as much this time around because it's clear that Sophie has done the parenting and Craig hasn't quite connected with his child in the same way. Methinks the Moff has serious daddy issues.
At least this one's emotionally grounded
The friendship between Craig and the Doctor feels remarkably real to me, with so much genuine affection. He accepts their friendship for what it is, with a splash of hero worship.
The Doctor's doing another victory lap
But at least this time it isn't just because he's regenerating. He thinks he might actually die (and it's fascinating how accepting he is of his fate. The best stuff in this episode involved him facing up to who he is and how others see him and how nothing is quite so simple as he imagines).
Just when you thought Amy Pond couldn't get worse, she does
Cosmetics model? Blech. Nice to know that her adult emotional journey has gone from brainless adult sexpot to brainless adult sexpot, turning into an actual doll along the way.
And really, "The Girl Who Was Tired of Waiting"? She has literally learned nothing from God Complex, and as she doth protest too much, that only means she is still waiting.
The Cybermen have officially been Dalekked
The writers have taken a formerly terrifying villain and reduced it to something weak and silly, which not only undermines any feeling of danger within the episode, it undermines every encounter with the Cybermen before or after. Mechanical engineering can be defeated with love!
River Song has been out-camped
The actress who plays Madame Kovarian seems to have escaped from the set of Animaniacs, she's such a ridiculous cartoon. Complete with eye-patch and evil laughter. God.
Also, we learned that Let's Kill Hitler now makes no sense whatsoever. If River doesn't know she's a weapon, why did she try to kill the Doctor? Though it now makes sense why she would call him "The Greatest Man Who Ever Lived". He's her historical obsession!
If you're going to make a merely so-so episode, don't make call backs to widely beloved episodes
Just as God Complex called back to a classic Sylvester McCoy episode, this time we called back to a beloved Peter Davison episode.
Lynda Baron, the old lady in the shop, played one of my favorite Who villains ever, a campy space pirate on a quest for Enlightenment, in the Peter Davison episode Enlightenment (which is easily one of my top three Who episodes of all time, and frequently sits at #1 depending on my mood).
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