The Power of Three Review
Review for 7x04: The Power of Three. There will of course be spoilers.
Overview
“The year of the Slow Invasion. The time the Doctor came to stay.”
Written by Chris Chibnall - he of Dinosaurs on a Spaceship - this episode took a slightly different tack, taking a look at how the Doctor and the Doctor’s appearances, affect and disrupt the lives of his companions and how the Doctor is seen, from their perspective.
Episode Summery
I’m loath to talk about the actual alien invasion b-plot of this episode, because while it was the catalyst for the overall story, the actual plot was about something completely different.
That said the idea of a “slow invasion” is an interesting one. Most invasions are big and flashy, a show of force. Powerful and obvious and thus easy to stop. But putting the entire planet at ease, letting the instrument of their destruction, become something familiar, the invasion nearly succeeded. Though I can’t be the only one who thought that a Gallifreyan bogey man being defeated by a few waves of the sonic was a bit disappointing.
But this episode was really about the Doctor, Amy and Rory. The TARDIS three. How much the Doctor depends on them and how despite their best efforts to build a normal life, the Ponds can’t as they are always waiting for the Doctor to come back and whisk them away again.
We rarely if ever get to see the affect that the Doctor has on his companions everyday lives, which maybe something to do with the fact that before the Ponds we’ve never really seen “part time companions”. People travel with the Doctor and then they leave. They don’t tend to leave and then come back and then leave again.
Fans often consider the idea of running away with the Doctor a brilliant one. But this episode, more than any other showed us what the downside fo that lifestyle would be.
The Doctor
“You were the first. The first face this face saw. And you’re seared on my hearts.”
It was nice to see a difference facet of the Doctor’s emotional side this week. After the Time War angst and anger of A Town Called Mercy, this week we got to see his lonely side.
In one of the deleted scenes from season five, the Doctor confirmed that one of the reasons he keeps picking up companions is he “can’t see it (the universe) anymore” and that he sees it through the eyes of his companions. But here we saw that with the Ponds it’s something else as well. They were the first people that the Eleventh Doctor met and thus they are special to him. He doesn’t want to let them go.
But at the same time, he is starting to realise that he is going to have to let them go sooner or later. He began that process when he got them a house, but now the time is coming where they will have to leave for good.
The Companion
Over the past couple of episodes I’ve commented that it seems the Ponds themselves are preparing for the time when they will have to leave the Doctor for good. But if this episode is anything to go by they aren’t ready for that time to be just yet.
It was interesting seeming them attempting to balance their two lives, their “Doctor lives” and their “homes lives,” and interesting to note that they both had jobs that allowed them to disappear for months at a time without anyone noticing. But it was also good to see them starting to carve out proper lives for themselves, putting their jobs and friends in front of their desire to see the universe.
I have a feeling that when the time comes for the Ponds to stop travelling, it will affect Amy more than it affects Rory. That is not to say that Rory won’t miss it, but he has always been the more grounded of the pair. Though seeing the joy with which they left with the Doctor at the end, I think they will both miss it immensely.
I loved that we got to see Brian again, a Brian changed by his experiences in Dinosaurs on a Spaceship. He is taking on an almost Wilf role in these episodes, caring for his family and keeping an eye on the Doctor.
As for Kate Lethbridge-Stewart. There’s a LETHBRIDGE-STEWART still running UNIT. This makes me very happy.
The Bad Guy
What is there to be said about the Shakri that hasn’t already been said? Nice plan, interesting concept, dodgy motivation, amazingly easy to beat.
A lot more could have been made of them than was. But as I said above, they weren’t the point of the episode.
Conclusion
A slower episode, taking a sideways look at life with the Doctor. While it certainly wasn’t action packed, I liked it anyway. And it was a nice tribute to the Ponds before their final episode next week.
Next Week: The Angels Take Manhattan.
Overview
“The year of the Slow Invasion. The time the Doctor came to stay.”
Written by Chris Chibnall - he of Dinosaurs on a Spaceship - this episode took a slightly different tack, taking a look at how the Doctor and the Doctor’s appearances, affect and disrupt the lives of his companions and how the Doctor is seen, from their perspective.
Episode Summery
I’m loath to talk about the actual alien invasion b-plot of this episode, because while it was the catalyst for the overall story, the actual plot was about something completely different.
That said the idea of a “slow invasion” is an interesting one. Most invasions are big and flashy, a show of force. Powerful and obvious and thus easy to stop. But putting the entire planet at ease, letting the instrument of their destruction, become something familiar, the invasion nearly succeeded. Though I can’t be the only one who thought that a Gallifreyan bogey man being defeated by a few waves of the sonic was a bit disappointing.
But this episode was really about the Doctor, Amy and Rory. The TARDIS three. How much the Doctor depends on them and how despite their best efforts to build a normal life, the Ponds can’t as they are always waiting for the Doctor to come back and whisk them away again.
We rarely if ever get to see the affect that the Doctor has on his companions everyday lives, which maybe something to do with the fact that before the Ponds we’ve never really seen “part time companions”. People travel with the Doctor and then they leave. They don’t tend to leave and then come back and then leave again.
Fans often consider the idea of running away with the Doctor a brilliant one. But this episode, more than any other showed us what the downside fo that lifestyle would be.
The Doctor
“You were the first. The first face this face saw. And you’re seared on my hearts.”
It was nice to see a difference facet of the Doctor’s emotional side this week. After the Time War angst and anger of A Town Called Mercy, this week we got to see his lonely side.
In one of the deleted scenes from season five, the Doctor confirmed that one of the reasons he keeps picking up companions is he “can’t see it (the universe) anymore” and that he sees it through the eyes of his companions. But here we saw that with the Ponds it’s something else as well. They were the first people that the Eleventh Doctor met and thus they are special to him. He doesn’t want to let them go.
But at the same time, he is starting to realise that he is going to have to let them go sooner or later. He began that process when he got them a house, but now the time is coming where they will have to leave for good.
The Companion
Over the past couple of episodes I’ve commented that it seems the Ponds themselves are preparing for the time when they will have to leave the Doctor for good. But if this episode is anything to go by they aren’t ready for that time to be just yet.
It was interesting seeming them attempting to balance their two lives, their “Doctor lives” and their “homes lives,” and interesting to note that they both had jobs that allowed them to disappear for months at a time without anyone noticing. But it was also good to see them starting to carve out proper lives for themselves, putting their jobs and friends in front of their desire to see the universe.
I have a feeling that when the time comes for the Ponds to stop travelling, it will affect Amy more than it affects Rory. That is not to say that Rory won’t miss it, but he has always been the more grounded of the pair. Though seeing the joy with which they left with the Doctor at the end, I think they will both miss it immensely.
I loved that we got to see Brian again, a Brian changed by his experiences in Dinosaurs on a Spaceship. He is taking on an almost Wilf role in these episodes, caring for his family and keeping an eye on the Doctor.
As for Kate Lethbridge-Stewart. There’s a LETHBRIDGE-STEWART still running UNIT. This makes me very happy.
The Bad Guy
What is there to be said about the Shakri that hasn’t already been said? Nice plan, interesting concept, dodgy motivation, amazingly easy to beat.
A lot more could have been made of them than was. But as I said above, they weren’t the point of the episode.
Conclusion
A slower episode, taking a sideways look at life with the Doctor. While it certainly wasn’t action packed, I liked it anyway. And it was a nice tribute to the Ponds before their final episode next week.
Next Week: The Angels Take Manhattan.