"Let's Kill Hitler" -- Thoughts
So, I TOTALLY LOVED THAT. There were issues with it, right? The most glaring of which to me personally was why Amy just didn't use the sonic screwdriver to make her and Rory authorized (because then we wouldn't get the dramatic River-rescue moment). But other than that I pretty much adored this episode. I even liked Amy in this episode, and I think the last time that happened was..."The Eleventh Hour." Here we go, things I loved:
- This episode was incredibly over the top, and I love that it embraced that. I mean, the best thing about this episode is that THERE WAS NO REASON TO HAVE HITLER IN IT HE HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH ANYTHING. I love that that's the kind of episode this is, that there's a throwaway thing about Hitler in it. I feel like this episode doesn't take itself all that seriously, and I enjoyed that. It felt like a wild, flaily romp. It was a wild, flaily romp. And I had a blast watching it. I had forgotten how much I missed having this show on my viewing schedule each week. No other show I watch quite matches its level of sheer fun for me.
- When I first saw that the episode was going to be called "Let's Kill Hitler," at the end of "A Good Man Goes to War," I thought it was going to be this metaphorical thing. Like, you know, the reason time travel can never happen is because the first thing we'd do is go back and kill Hitler and that would make a mess of everything. I thought the Doctor was going to do something crazy and make a mess of everything. And, instead, it literally meant LET'S KILL HITLER. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.
- Loved the ridiculous crop circle opening. I love how it set the tone of the episode right away, which was "completely ridiculous in an adorable way that EGT would find charming."
- So, this ridiculous red car skids into the crop circle and I think, "That's got to be River." Then Mels steps out, and I'm like, "Huh. Who is this chick? Maybe a new companion?" NO. IT WAS RIVER. I WAS RIGHT THE FIRST TIME. HER NAME WAS MELS AND I STILL DIDN'T MAKE THE CONNECTION. I love that her sudden appearance as "best mate" was dismissed by me as being like, "Ah, well, maybe it's just Moffat being messy." Ha! No! He had a plan. I was really impressed by how much of this episode actually started to feel to me like there'd been a plan all along and it was starting to come together. I felt like I learned a lot and that it all made the sort of nonsensical sense that the Seussian world of Eleven's era of DW makes.
- Matt Smith's hurt "You didn't tell her I was hot?" made me laugh and laugh and laugh. I really do think Matt Smith has gotten better and better at delivering those one-liners.
- I loved the scene where the Doctor shouts at Mels that his ridiculous babble about "temporal grace" on the TARDIS was "a clever lie." Every author who has ever tried to write anything about the TARDIS knows that every single thing you put on paper about it is nothing more than a clever lie, and I loved that open acknowledgment of it. Everything goes! And it all sounds ridiculous! Don't think too hard about it! Ha!
- I loved the robot with the tiny people in it. I loved the effect when the robot changed how it looked. I loved the way that the crew had to work to put the robot's disguise on. I loved that the killing things in the body robot were antibodies. And I loved how wonderfully polite the antibodies were. I want to incorporate their lines into my everyday life. "You will feel a slight tingling sensation and then death." AWESOME.
- Arthur Darvill rocked in this episode. This was my favorite Rory episode ever. First of all, his delivery on the line, "Right. Putting Hitler in the cupboard," sold that line SO MUCH. It was just brilliant. And then that little scene where he's like, "Is anybody else finding this day a little bit difficult?" Loved him in that scene. Loved when he does the "heil" and punches the guy out. Loved when he jumped on the motorbike and was like, "I expect I can drive it, seems like that sort of day." I love how Doctor-y Rory is gradually starting to seem, like he's coming into his own in a way and being as brilliant as he always has been but just hadn't been all the time. Which is what the Doctor does when the Doctor's at his best.
- I loved the background we got on Rory and Amy getting together. That was just adorable. It went a long way to my liking Amy in this episode. I felt like I finally thought she loved her husband, and that was nice. Plus, she did a lot less shrieking this episode.
- So, the Doctor's new coat. We should talk about that. First of all, it was hot. Much hotter than I expect this Doctor to be. Second of all, it was a great coat. Why does the BBC never exhaust its inventory of great coats? arctacuda said it was as if Ten's coat and Sherlock's coat had a baby that hadn't yet grown up. Yes, that's what it was like. And CLEARLY it's supposed to mean something, right? There is some weird timestream stuff going on, I think. But, well, even if I'm wrong about that, I approve of the sudden appearance of the coat. Let's just keep the coat and never explain it, I'm fine with that.
- "You named your daughter after your daughter..." Oh, Matt Smith and those line deliveries, seriously. I did not see Mels being River coming, so I greatly enjoyed when she regenerated. And I thought Alex Kingston rocked this episode. What I love is how Matt Smith seems to relish sharing the screen with Alex Kingston. The way he perks up when he's in a scene with her is lovely to see. (Oh, arctacuda looked up the "Hello, Benjamin" line. It's a "Graduate" reference. Totally missed that.)
- I enjoyed the bit of misdirection when the justice people were like, "The biggest war criminal of all," and you're all like, "Oooh, the Doctor, of course," and then they're like, "We've found her," and you realize they're talking about River Song. I like that this war being fought is so complicated, that it's so hard to see anyone as "right" or "wrong." Some people clearly would have seen the Doctor as the big war criminal and River as the savior, as AGMGTW made clear. I like that it's messy, because war often *is* messy. (Not, though, Hitler, which I find interesting actually, that I felt like this big point was being made about the messy incomprehensibility of some wars on the eve of arguably the most horrifyingly necessary of all wars fought.)
- I adored the "I know" / "I know you know" exchange between the Doctor and River, even if the way it was shot was a bit too Sherlockian for my taste. But, anyway, the Doctor and River and their weird relationship crack me up, and I enjoyed them together. And, when she kissed him, I should have known that she was poisoning him, we have PRECEDENT for River using her lips to do things like that, and I was still caught by surprise. Still. Nice precedent-setting. And nice use of River-jumping-off-of-buildings again. I also enjoyed River's ridiculous "I was on my way to a gay bar mitzvah for the disabled." Hahahahaha!
- I loved the entire voice interface scene so much, I cannot even put it into words. When the Doctor's like, "Give me someone I like" (instead of himself! Which I thought was so spot-on), and the TARDIS gives him Rose. WIN, TARDIS. WIN FOREVER. And then the Doctor's like, "Guilt! Guilt! Guilt!" through every single companion. "Isn't there anyone in the universe whose life I haven't ruined yet?" OMG, Doctor. I loved that scene so much, seriously. And then he gets Amelia, who I adore beyond reason, and the voice interface is such a hilarious jerk. And then the Doctor thinks, "Fish sticks and custard," and GOES SOMEWHERE AND COMES BACK DRESSED IN HIS TUX WHAT HAPPENS THERE. I can't wait to find out what happened in that missing time period, I really can't.
- So the sonic has a psychic interface? In a way, this makes sense in the context of "The Doctor's Wife," where the security codes are psychic. But the sonic has settings! We've seen that! So, I got why it had to be a psychic interface, and I even get that it makes sense, but that was a moment when I wrinkled my nose a bit.
- I really like the "River as a baby of the TARDIS" thing. I like that it sounds like she's not really a Time Lord, she's just a baby conceived in the Vortex, or whatever. And I like that it nicely explains why she can fly the TARDIS better than the Doctor.
- The Doctor whispers in River's ear, and meralee82 on Twitter said, "He's telling her his name, isn't he?" OMG. This hadn't occurred to me, but I so hope that's it! That would make me so happy!
- I'm growing so tired of regeneration shenanigans, but I kind of don't mind River's here because it so neatly explains why she's River for the rest of our acquaintance with her and why she dies in the S4 two-parter.
- "Rule 1, the Doctor lies." I loved all of the Doctor's rules ("Never knowingly be serious."), but this one was my favorite one. The Doctor lies. Does he ever. Always. And that's rule number 1 now. Not "Don't wander off." But "the Doctor lies." In the middle of everything, sometimes I think Eleven hates himself more than Nine or Ten ever did.
- He gives her her little blue book. And the story begins. I will never be able to fully untangle River's timeline, but a part of me just loves the craziness of it so much that I don't care. (Maybe a part of me thinks that, well, time travel *should* be this confusing.)
- So now the Doctor knows how he's going to die, huh? I felt like the Doctor learned a lot this episode. And the Doctor is back in his regular coat by the end of the episode. WHAT IS THE DEAL WITH THE COAT CHANGING?? And River is looking for "a good man." Who is or isn't the Doctor, because I honestly don't know at this point. Seriously, you guys, this show makes me feel like I'm going crazy in the very best way. I'm just along for the ride at this point.