Doctor Who 7x07 Thoughts
Dec. 2nd, 2013 07:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
iariaThe Rings of Akhatenn
I liked it except for the resolution which was confusing and didn't work for me.
• I loved the Merry/Doctor and Merry/Clara scenes. Eleven is so wonderful with kids and those are some of my favourite scenes of him. Clara was also wonderful with her. I loved their scene behind the TARDIS.
- It's interesting that in every episode thus far (well, except the first) you have Clara either taking care of children or helping them, or both.
• I continue to really like Clara. We really got to see her compassion and kindness. Plus her willingness to self-sacrifice to help others - the ring to save Merry and then the leaf to save everyone.
• The Doctor's speech was excellent. What really stuck out though was that it felt like something the Dream Lord would have said about the Doctor himself. The fact that the sun was called 'grandfather' by the inhabitants and the Doctor mentions Susan for the first time in a long while ("I came here a long time ago with my grand-daughter.") makes me think that that parallel was meant.
• The moment with Clara giving up the leaf was beautiful and it would have worked if we hadn't just had the Doctor offering up himself - and being found wanting. Clara's explanation for the leaf is thus:
"It's full of stories, full of history. And full of a future that never got lived. ...This leaf isn't just the past, it's a whole future that never happened. There are billions and millions of unlived days for every day we live. An infinity. All the days that never came."
Um, so is the Doctor. All the Doctor's history, his stories, the effect he's had on billions of lives, his memories and secrets, and all his future potential including his regenerations - and a leaf is better? No, that doesn't work for me. I really don't understand how the potential of her mother/parents equals more than the Doctor's past and future. It doesn't work. If the Doctor hadn't offered himself up, or if something about the Doctor disagreed with it and it rejected him (which could have been interesting) then it could have worked. As is it, no.
- The Doctor tells 'grandfather' to take his memories (and knowledge and secrets)... so did it? The Doctor seemed fine but did he end up losing memories? And if not - why? Why did it reject him?
- Did the sun go supernova? But then that would have killed all life. Even if it just disappeared it would have meant the end to life there because no sun so did it go back to 'sleep' instead? It wasn't very clear.
• "I'm not a bargain basement stand-in. I won't compete with a ghost." - Clara. I loved that. Good for Clara. At the same time it felt pretty pointed. Like Moffat commenting on Martha.
• I liked the location - visually it was stunning (the shots of the sun were beautiful) and I loved all the alien species.
• The singing was lovely.
• "I don't think it likes me." - Clara. Huh. I wonder what that's about. Is it just that she knew Clara wasn't in danger? Or could Clara be right? The only Companion I can remember the TARDIS not liking was Jack post-Immortality.
I liked it except for the resolution which was confusing and didn't work for me.
• I loved the Merry/Doctor and Merry/Clara scenes. Eleven is so wonderful with kids and those are some of my favourite scenes of him. Clara was also wonderful with her. I loved their scene behind the TARDIS.
- It's interesting that in every episode thus far (well, except the first) you have Clara either taking care of children or helping them, or both.
• I continue to really like Clara. We really got to see her compassion and kindness. Plus her willingness to self-sacrifice to help others - the ring to save Merry and then the leaf to save everyone.
• The Doctor's speech was excellent. What really stuck out though was that it felt like something the Dream Lord would have said about the Doctor himself. The fact that the sun was called 'grandfather' by the inhabitants and the Doctor mentions Susan for the first time in a long while ("I came here a long time ago with my grand-daughter.") makes me think that that parallel was meant.
• The moment with Clara giving up the leaf was beautiful and it would have worked if we hadn't just had the Doctor offering up himself - and being found wanting. Clara's explanation for the leaf is thus:
"It's full of stories, full of history. And full of a future that never got lived. ...This leaf isn't just the past, it's a whole future that never happened. There are billions and millions of unlived days for every day we live. An infinity. All the days that never came."
Um, so is the Doctor. All the Doctor's history, his stories, the effect he's had on billions of lives, his memories and secrets, and all his future potential including his regenerations - and a leaf is better? No, that doesn't work for me. I really don't understand how the potential of her mother/parents equals more than the Doctor's past and future. It doesn't work. If the Doctor hadn't offered himself up, or if something about the Doctor disagreed with it and it rejected him (which could have been interesting) then it could have worked. As is it, no.
- The Doctor tells 'grandfather' to take his memories (and knowledge and secrets)... so did it? The Doctor seemed fine but did he end up losing memories? And if not - why? Why did it reject him?
- Did the sun go supernova? But then that would have killed all life. Even if it just disappeared it would have meant the end to life there because no sun so did it go back to 'sleep' instead? It wasn't very clear.
• "I'm not a bargain basement stand-in. I won't compete with a ghost." - Clara. I loved that. Good for Clara. At the same time it felt pretty pointed. Like Moffat commenting on Martha.
• I liked the location - visually it was stunning (the shots of the sun were beautiful) and I loved all the alien species.
• The singing was lovely.
• "I don't think it likes me." - Clara. Huh. I wonder what that's about. Is it just that she knew Clara wasn't in danger? Or could Clara be right? The only Companion I can remember the TARDIS not liking was Jack post-Immortality.
