Doctor Who 5x08 & 5x09 Thoughts
Jun. 13th, 2010 01:39 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
iaria5x08 ‘The Hungry Earth’
• I really liked Nasreen and she very much came off as a potential Companion – her adventurousness and desire to go unexplained places, her joy in the unknown and the TARDIS, how moved and inspired she was by the Doctor – and as such I’m pretty much sure that she is dead by the end of the two parter. I’m really hoping she survives though.
• I felt some heavy foreshadowing with the Doctor’s “You have to be the best of humanity.” (and then shortly later “You are decent, brilliant people. Nobody dies today. Understand?”) especially when after that little bit of ‘be the best you can’ Tony starts talking about dissecting the creature they’re holding prisoner (and even though he’s just been told that it’s a sentient person, sigh). Oh, poor Doctor. He is once again going to be completely disappointed by his favourite species. I think it’s going to be Ambrose who kills Alaya – her son and husband taken, her father possibly dying, and then there was that scene earlier with the weapons she salvaged.
• While the Doctor loves and finds beauty in all sorts of creatures, even those we might not and it’s an aspect of him I like, his “Oh, you’re beautiful.” after he took Alaya’s mask off did not work for me and in fact creeped me out. It came off to me like him appreciating an object or even a non-sentient being both of which she is very much not, which he knows, and the fact that she’s his prisoner and knows what he’s saying just gives the whole thing this tone I really don’t think was meant. I mean... it wasn’t him telling her that she was beautiful but rather him musing to himself that he found her so.
• It appears that TPTB really are emphasising the Doctor’s age – this episode with his “good lad.” to Tony who looks far older but really isn’t. I like it.
• More Doctor lines I liked or found interesting:
- “No weapons, that’s not how I do things.” (still with his dislike of not just guns but apparently all weapons now)
- “I’m asking nicely. Put them away.” (his tone was actually kind of scary, my first thought was that it was going to go badly)
- on whether he misses his home – “So much.” (Oh, Doctor)
- “No, they’re scared of me.” (another army to run from him)
- “Oi, don’t dis the sonic!” (Oi always makes me think of Donna and Ten II, sniff)
- “I hate a monologue.” (ha!)
- “I’m the last of my species and I know how it sits in the heart. So don’t insult me!”
• It’s interesting how wrong and/or how much the Doctor screwed up this episode. He once again got the time/location wrong, lost Amy to the Earth, got pwnd by the Silurian’s as far as his plan went, let Eliot go off, was very wrong about how many Silurian’s there were. I just thought it was interesting.
• I loved Amy’s reaction to waking to find herself in the glass coffin. The whole thing worked really well. Also: “Did you just shush me?” Hee.
• I don’t entirely buy how the whole thing played out as far as the lead up to Amy being taken. I buy her risking her life to help stranger Tony... but this is the Doctor, and he was standing right there too, and he made no move to help Tony and that doesn’t work for me.
5x09 ‘Cold Blood’
• I can’t believe that they killed Rory. Not only did TPTB kill Rory but they also erased his existence! Now the Doctor clearly remembers him but they had better let Amy remember at some point as well – I think the engagement ring will prove to have a role in that – and I hope they find a way to bring him back as well. The cracks in reality, all through time – they can take but perhaps they can also give back? His death... on one hand it’s great that he died saving the Doctor and being heroic but on the other hand was it really necessary? I’ve read people comparing him and his role to Mickey, with Rory winning out, but if this truly is his fate than he’s definitely the loser here. A part of me just doesn't believe this is permanent.
• The most disturbing part of the episode is definitely the Doctor having pulled a piece of the TARDIS from the crack and thus the implication that at some point the TARDIS is destroyed. That’s just wrong. Even more than the Doctor, the TARDIS just seems so eternal.
• I am so happy that Nasreen survived because I was sure that she was going to die. I also really liked that her decision to stay underground wasn’t all about staying with Tony, that that was only a small part of her decision, and that having found what she was digging for, her goal, she was unwilling to leave it after just finding it. I loved the Doctor/Nasreen hug.
• I loved Amy picking Malohkeh’s pocket and escaping.
• I do feel like female characters should be treated simply like characters who can be both the good guys and the bad, right and wrong and everything in between but that said I wasn’t very pleased that it was two female characters – Ambrose and Restac – who were the, hmm, villains of the episode. Ambrose being the very worst of humanity both in killing Alaya and then by starting the drill and then Restac being so unwilling to see humans as anything other than vermin. Both these characters are fine in themselves but them together in this episode, with basically all the male characters being so much more sensible than the emotional females. Even though they weren’t entirely; these two women just eclipsed them in crazy: Tony who first brought up dissection and interrogation being appalled by Alaya’s murder but also giving in and starting the drill, Mo going for the weapons (but he’s background) and even Malohkeh who was so ‘good’ and got the Doctor’s approval started the episode planning to dissect Amy while she was awake. I suppose Amy and Nasreen off set them. And in the end there is a good representation across the board but it just rubbed me the wrong way.
• I loved the Doctor’s glee over the meeting between humans and the Silurians.
• I really liked Nasreen and she very much came off as a potential Companion – her adventurousness and desire to go unexplained places, her joy in the unknown and the TARDIS, how moved and inspired she was by the Doctor – and as such I’m pretty much sure that she is dead by the end of the two parter. I’m really hoping she survives though.
• I felt some heavy foreshadowing with the Doctor’s “You have to be the best of humanity.” (and then shortly later “You are decent, brilliant people. Nobody dies today. Understand?”) especially when after that little bit of ‘be the best you can’ Tony starts talking about dissecting the creature they’re holding prisoner (and even though he’s just been told that it’s a sentient person, sigh). Oh, poor Doctor. He is once again going to be completely disappointed by his favourite species. I think it’s going to be Ambrose who kills Alaya – her son and husband taken, her father possibly dying, and then there was that scene earlier with the weapons she salvaged.
• While the Doctor loves and finds beauty in all sorts of creatures, even those we might not and it’s an aspect of him I like, his “Oh, you’re beautiful.” after he took Alaya’s mask off did not work for me and in fact creeped me out. It came off to me like him appreciating an object or even a non-sentient being both of which she is very much not, which he knows, and the fact that she’s his prisoner and knows what he’s saying just gives the whole thing this tone I really don’t think was meant. I mean... it wasn’t him telling her that she was beautiful but rather him musing to himself that he found her so.
• It appears that TPTB really are emphasising the Doctor’s age – this episode with his “good lad.” to Tony who looks far older but really isn’t. I like it.
• More Doctor lines I liked or found interesting:
- “No weapons, that’s not how I do things.” (still with his dislike of not just guns but apparently all weapons now)
- “I’m asking nicely. Put them away.” (his tone was actually kind of scary, my first thought was that it was going to go badly)
- on whether he misses his home – “So much.” (Oh, Doctor)
- “No, they’re scared of me.” (another army to run from him)
- “Oi, don’t dis the sonic!” (Oi always makes me think of Donna and Ten II, sniff)
- “I hate a monologue.” (ha!)
- “I’m the last of my species and I know how it sits in the heart. So don’t insult me!”
• It’s interesting how wrong and/or how much the Doctor screwed up this episode. He once again got the time/location wrong, lost Amy to the Earth, got pwnd by the Silurian’s as far as his plan went, let Eliot go off, was very wrong about how many Silurian’s there were. I just thought it was interesting.
• I loved Amy’s reaction to waking to find herself in the glass coffin. The whole thing worked really well. Also: “Did you just shush me?” Hee.
• I don’t entirely buy how the whole thing played out as far as the lead up to Amy being taken. I buy her risking her life to help stranger Tony... but this is the Doctor, and he was standing right there too, and he made no move to help Tony and that doesn’t work for me.
5x09 ‘Cold Blood’
• I can’t believe that they killed Rory. Not only did TPTB kill Rory but they also erased his existence! Now the Doctor clearly remembers him but they had better let Amy remember at some point as well – I think the engagement ring will prove to have a role in that – and I hope they find a way to bring him back as well. The cracks in reality, all through time – they can take but perhaps they can also give back? His death... on one hand it’s great that he died saving the Doctor and being heroic but on the other hand was it really necessary? I’ve read people comparing him and his role to Mickey, with Rory winning out, but if this truly is his fate than he’s definitely the loser here. A part of me just doesn't believe this is permanent.
• The most disturbing part of the episode is definitely the Doctor having pulled a piece of the TARDIS from the crack and thus the implication that at some point the TARDIS is destroyed. That’s just wrong. Even more than the Doctor, the TARDIS just seems so eternal.
• I am so happy that Nasreen survived because I was sure that she was going to die. I also really liked that her decision to stay underground wasn’t all about staying with Tony, that that was only a small part of her decision, and that having found what she was digging for, her goal, she was unwilling to leave it after just finding it. I loved the Doctor/Nasreen hug.
• I loved Amy picking Malohkeh’s pocket and escaping.
• I do feel like female characters should be treated simply like characters who can be both the good guys and the bad, right and wrong and everything in between but that said I wasn’t very pleased that it was two female characters – Ambrose and Restac – who were the, hmm, villains of the episode. Ambrose being the very worst of humanity both in killing Alaya and then by starting the drill and then Restac being so unwilling to see humans as anything other than vermin. Both these characters are fine in themselves but them together in this episode, with basically all the male characters being so much more sensible than the emotional females. Even though they weren’t entirely; these two women just eclipsed them in crazy: Tony who first brought up dissection and interrogation being appalled by Alaya’s murder but also giving in and starting the drill, Mo going for the weapons (but he’s background) and even Malohkeh who was so ‘good’ and got the Doctor’s approval started the episode planning to dissect Amy while she was awake. I suppose Amy and Nasreen off set them. And in the end there is a good representation across the board but it just rubbed me the wrong way.
• I loved the Doctor’s glee over the meeting between humans and the Silurians.
