Doctor Who 11x11 Thoughts
Jan. 6th, 2019 12:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
iariaResolution
This was a pretty good episode. I think my favourite of this season.
+ This was one of my favourite Dalek episodes. I thought the use of the Dalek was one of the best. They managed to make them feel scary and threatening again.
+ "I always think I'm rid of them. Never am." I LOVED how the Doctor said this. For a short moment I saw in her some of that anger and darkness and harshness that I keep missing with this version. And then we kept getting glimpses in her reactions to the Dalek and it was great. More of this!
"I learned to think like a Dalek a long time ago." Loved this line too. And how she then precedes to take the Dalek to a supernova to destroy it.
+ I liked the bit where the Doctor tells the Dalek she's giving him a chance 'because I'm kind', and when rejected immediately turns to her Companions and is all "you saw! I tried!" about it. It kind of makes it feel like she's purposefully trying to be kinder (in an active way) this regeneration... which, actually, makes sense to me. I like her friendliness but I have to admit I've also been a little annoyed by how they've softened the Doctor's arrogance and the lack of her anger/harshness and couldn't help but feel like part of it was because the Doctor is female this go around, and they didn't want to take the chance of people finding her too unlikable. I can understand that because women are held to a different standard but it's still been this low irritant this season. So if the show wants to explore this change, acknowledge it's purposefully post-Twelve that would make me happy.
+ The bodysnatching was super creepy. Lin's fight against the Dalek was really engaging to watch.
+ That short scene between Aaron and Graham was one of my favourites and the most emotionally affecting of the episode. Aaron ended up being more sympathetic than I was expecting. When he explains not showing up for his mom's funeral as "maybe I thought that if I wasn't there, she wasn't gone" it was genuinely moving for me and his "I wish I was better at life" was both very relatable and sympathetic. I really liked Graham comforting and supporting him. (Exactly as Grace would have wanted.) In general I liked what we saw of their relationship a lot.
+ Graham's "no" and immediately shutting the door in Aaron's face and calling him "a wrong number" when he was asked about it amused me a lot.
+ I loved Ryan calling Graham "Gramps" as he left. I love how awkward but pleased Graham was about it. Then later "grandad", aw.
+ I'm not a big fan of how the Ryan/Aaron relationship was resolved at the end. It felt too neat and easy (and expected) for Ryan to forgive him because he almost died. I'd rather it had been something more along the lines of Ryan wanting the chance to get to know his father again. So just more open as to where they stand than we got.
+ I liked Lin and Mitch. They were cute, and Lin was great.
+ I liked the Doctor calling UNIT, and then her reaction to learning it's operations had been suspended because international funding had been withdrawn made me laugh. Of course there is no way that Kate Stewart is sitting around twiddling her thumbs so fingers crossed we get to see her next season.
+ I like that the Doctor now leaves a little alarm on for Earth. Possibly they should have done that sooner.
+ I was a tiny bit annoyed by how the Doctor kept being ineffective during all her confrontations with the Dalek. First, it escapes, second, it takes Aaron, and then third, it almost pulls Aaron into space with it. All while the Doctor was helpless.
+ The showdown between the soldiers and the Dalek was pointless and completely unnecessary. Why did it land there, and why were there even soldiers there? Also it annoyed me because the soldiers didn't recognise what it was and at this point, after 11 seasons of them, that's nonsense.
This was a pretty good episode. I think my favourite of this season.
+ This was one of my favourite Dalek episodes. I thought the use of the Dalek was one of the best. They managed to make them feel scary and threatening again.
+ "I always think I'm rid of them. Never am." I LOVED how the Doctor said this. For a short moment I saw in her some of that anger and darkness and harshness that I keep missing with this version. And then we kept getting glimpses in her reactions to the Dalek and it was great. More of this!
"I learned to think like a Dalek a long time ago." Loved this line too. And how she then precedes to take the Dalek to a supernova to destroy it.
+ I liked the bit where the Doctor tells the Dalek she's giving him a chance 'because I'm kind', and when rejected immediately turns to her Companions and is all "you saw! I tried!" about it. It kind of makes it feel like she's purposefully trying to be kinder (in an active way) this regeneration... which, actually, makes sense to me. I like her friendliness but I have to admit I've also been a little annoyed by how they've softened the Doctor's arrogance and the lack of her anger/harshness and couldn't help but feel like part of it was because the Doctor is female this go around, and they didn't want to take the chance of people finding her too unlikable. I can understand that because women are held to a different standard but it's still been this low irritant this season. So if the show wants to explore this change, acknowledge it's purposefully post-Twelve that would make me happy.
+ The bodysnatching was super creepy. Lin's fight against the Dalek was really engaging to watch.
+ That short scene between Aaron and Graham was one of my favourites and the most emotionally affecting of the episode. Aaron ended up being more sympathetic than I was expecting. When he explains not showing up for his mom's funeral as "maybe I thought that if I wasn't there, she wasn't gone" it was genuinely moving for me and his "I wish I was better at life" was both very relatable and sympathetic. I really liked Graham comforting and supporting him. (Exactly as Grace would have wanted.) In general I liked what we saw of their relationship a lot.
+ Graham's "no" and immediately shutting the door in Aaron's face and calling him "a wrong number" when he was asked about it amused me a lot.
+ I loved Ryan calling Graham "Gramps" as he left. I love how awkward but pleased Graham was about it. Then later "grandad", aw.
+ I'm not a big fan of how the Ryan/Aaron relationship was resolved at the end. It felt too neat and easy (and expected) for Ryan to forgive him because he almost died. I'd rather it had been something more along the lines of Ryan wanting the chance to get to know his father again. So just more open as to where they stand than we got.
+ I liked Lin and Mitch. They were cute, and Lin was great.
+ I liked the Doctor calling UNIT, and then her reaction to learning it's operations had been suspended because international funding had been withdrawn made me laugh. Of course there is no way that Kate Stewart is sitting around twiddling her thumbs so fingers crossed we get to see her next season.
+ I like that the Doctor now leaves a little alarm on for Earth. Possibly they should have done that sooner.
+ I was a tiny bit annoyed by how the Doctor kept being ineffective during all her confrontations with the Dalek. First, it escapes, second, it takes Aaron, and then third, it almost pulls Aaron into space with it. All while the Doctor was helpless.
+ The showdown between the soldiers and the Dalek was pointless and completely unnecessary. Why did it land there, and why were there even soldiers there? Also it annoyed me because the soldiers didn't recognise what it was and at this point, after 11 seasons of them, that's nonsense.
