Please Joan/Nurse Redfern/Matron..
There were a few plot devices that worked for me, and a few that were just far too convenient. The Chameleon Arch didn't bother me, as so far, there hasn't truly been any reason to the Doctor to use it. There hasn't ever been something chasing after him across time and space that didn't know what he looked like, and wasn't going to stop. That's really a rather specific combination. Latimer's clairvoyancy was a bit contrived, but I was able to chalk that one up to 'Life with the Doctor', seeing as he's randomly run into clairvoyants before. Plus, I liked Latimer's character in contrast to some of the others.
The pull-my-guts-out-and-I'll-kill-you-but-shoot-me-and-I-die scarecrows were a bit too much for me - aside from the fact that they were made of straw and couldn't really hurt anyone anyway was the 'massacre' where bullets that really shouldn't have done anything were able to destroy them. I didn't like that at all, but the way they built it up, the only other thing they could have done was light them on fire, and that may have been seen as too much for the wee'uns. And also, I don't think the school had a flame-thrower..
I LOVED the John Smith character. He was so normal, and goofy and shy, and really very interestingly rational and grounded in a way that the Doctor is most definitely not. I loved the way they showed Smith's gradual descent and breakdown, and I liked how Nurse Redfern helped that along by playing the companion that she was to Smith. I didn't like how the Doctor came in and swooped down on Redfern just after she had said goodbye to the only person she'd begun opening up to after her husband died. I realise that he was looking to keep that happiness he had as John Smith, and that he had the same mentality he does after he regenerates - I'm the same person, all that is in me, etc., etc. - but it was a very cheap thing to do to Redfern. Especially in light of what had happened. I was really not liking him at that moment.
And I was deifnitely wondering where Martha was in the montage. That was dark like we haven't quite seen the Doctor yet. Not a man to piss off. And while I always love to see how far characters can go, I'm no seeing Martha as having come into her own at all yet. She's still learning, and acclimatising. She thinks quickly on her feet, which gives the impression that she already knows a lot, but she's really only been travelling for a short while now. I actually like Martha, in a few aspects moreso than I did Rose, but I don't think she knows what to do with the Doctor sometimes. Her crush isn't helping things either. Until she can get around it a bit better, I don't see anytihng moving forward there.
I didn't think he was mocking his own memory as John Smith; it seemed as though he was just doing what needed to be done, and that was the only way to do it. I was, and still am, very perplexed as to why the Family thought him still human. He definitely acts far more Time Lord than human, and if they could sense him across time and space, surely they would've been able to tell if he was in the same room. I haven't come up with a decent enough explanation for that one. It just seems too plot-device-y.
I really liked the episodes though. I can squirm and scootch my way around the conveniences, however glaring they may be, because the heart of the story was so good. John Smith and his sudden duty to die at his own hands so someone else could have his body, or the entire world would die. His crumbling world was beautiful, and hard to watch. That's what made the whole thing work for me. I've not had too many problems with the entire series thus far though, so I may be coming from a slightly more positive perspective. I've been having a lot of fun with this series, and the last three episodes in particular have been magnificent in their story telling
And was anyone else suddenly having flashes to Fred and Wesley when John was hiding behind the bushes going, 'Why can't I stay?'
I mean, major flashes. I nearly had to pause the show.
Doctor Who 'Human Nature/The Family of Blood' reaction post under the cut.