Good Man Goes to War - Thoughts and Picspam
So, second of so far two picspams. I might go back and make one for the Doctor's Wife. As it is, I really seem to only want to take the time to make these when I have stuff about the episode I want to talk about.
The pirate episode was fun, but not in a super-fun-times-analysis kind of way... and the Gangers episodes... Don't get me started on them. Most of what I didn't like about this episode can be traced back to those two episodes. Or rather, "Pacing. How Does It Work?" I go into slightly more detail below the cut.
Also, other stuff I didn't like I tended not to include in the picspam since I didn't want to waste time on stuff I didn't like. So it's pretty much all weighted towards the positive incase you're wondering.
Definitely not my favorite Moffat episode, but still pretty good.
Filling the Holes
So, first thing. One of my favorite things about the River being Amy's daughter thing is that it explains the whole remembering part of the season five finale. I said it in a comment on doctorwho and I'll say it again. I don't mind if the reveals are somewhat expected. Heck, based on all the amount of guessing we did, for River to be someone completely unexpected, it would've had to come out of complete and utter nowhere. And honestly? I'd rather have a nicely foreshadowed, mellow surprise than a complete shocker.
But yeah, season five finale. A lot of people asked why Amy was able to remember stuff after seeing River and why River was even there to begin with if the Doctor never existed. I asked it myself. And now we know it's because River was literally created that day on the TARDIS. She was probably fading out of existence, just like the Doctor had, going back through time to her last (and first) day. But even that was enough.
River was Amy's final link to the TARDIS, to the timeline that had been erased. And ultimately together they were able to bring both the TARDIS and the Doctor back.
River's Birthday
Wee! This scene definitely gets better on the second time through, once you realize that River knows Rory is her father and for her it's plain old birthday story time with Daddy.
She is totally a Daddy's Girl. I really hope they have a lot more interactions together after this, but the joy River gets out of seeing him just once almost makes me think that their time will be cut short. And I really, really hope that Rory isn't the "great man" that River kills and eventually gets put in prison for... although it would explain why she continues to stay there instead of breaking out permanently. That would definitely be something she'd never forgive herself for.
Lorna Bucket
Okay. I'll be honest. At first I thought she was young!River, mostly because I didn't catch her name at first and I have this aversion to the name "Melody" as I used to name all of my original characters that after seeing both the Little Mermaid 2 and Pokemon the Movie 2000. So I heard "Melody" and my brain turned off to her and I didn't hear "Lorna Bucket" and I was like "Secret name could be River Song? Why not."
And then she got shot and I was still holding out hope and then they said her name again and that time I caught it and I was still like "maybe that's not her real name" and then she died and I was like "okay... maybe she's not River Song after all."
She would have been awesome as young!River Song. That's all I'm saying. Though she technically was the one who gave River Song her name, so... yeah. Counts for something.
Vastra and Jenny
NEEDS MORE LESBIAN SUBTEXT, KTHXBAI.
But seriously, why did we have two episodes of Ganger stuff when this could've been a two parter with everything less rushed and more built up? Not to mention basic character vs screen time ratio. The Ganger episodes had essentially five new characters and of those only the two girls really had a bunch character development... maybe the grey haired dude with the kid too, but even that was just "he's my son! no, he's my son! oh, I've fallen in acid he can be your son."
This episode introduced a bunch of awesome characters, but only had enough time to show the surface of the awesome (if that makes any sense). I can only hope Vastra and Jenny are there when the series resumes because they could really work the screen time.
Hugs For Everyone!
Going to say it now. This was my favorite scene in the episode.
It was actually a bit odd, looking back. Normally Moffat is better with the plot while emotional moments get sidelined, but for this episode it was the exact opposite. It probably goes back to the rushed pace. Everything seemed so condensed that I found it hard to care about the epicness of the Doctor "rising so high", but what they didn't have time for in terms of set up and actual rushing-in-to-save-the-day conflict they were able to use to fully pad out the... well, emotional moments.
And for the most part, I think it worked as well as it could've. After all, it's River's birthday. Given the choice, I think it's better to look back at episode and remember the emotional moments rather than any great special effects or awesome battle. Plus, there's still the actual season finale, so hopefully that will be better planned.
The Doctor's First Stars
One question I have after this: how did the Doctor get his cradle back? I mean, it wasn't in Sexy the TARDIS when he stole and after that he was an outcast. And then what about his mother? Did she save it for him? Would she have been one of those hoarders that saves everything?
Just all around a little detail that raises so many questions about the Doctor's past and for that - among everything else - I love it.
A Kiss Goodbye
I honestly thought Rory was going to die for real after this. I thought Lorna was River and then she was going to shoot Rory by accident or something and then I would have cried. The moment was totally right for it. But it turns out the whole drama was to set up that the baby was a Ganger instead and Rory lives to be awesome another day, and I am totally okay with that.
He Didn't Remember Her
I really hope this was just a case of the Doctor from her past is just another future!Doctor because if not the Doctor is a total dick. Though another part of me actually hopes that he already met her and just forgot about it; it'd really drive home the fact that he runs into a bunch of people and to him it's the most casual thing ever, but to those people they're huge life-changing events.
And I don't know. I almost like it better when the Doctor gets knocked down a peg and has to face the fact that he's so far from perfect.
Raised to Be a Warrior
So... yeah. After thinking for most of the episode that Lorna was River, when River popped up and was like, "OH HAI, THEY TOTALLY TURNED THE GIRL INTO A WARRIOR," I was immediately like, "Goddammit. Girl into a warrior. Melody Pond, River Song. Why did it take me that long? Oh yeah, Lorna."
Anyways, I'm glad they revealed it like this first and then eased their way into River having to spell it out for Amy. It's like an unspoken confirmation for the up-to-date Who fan and then an actual in-your-face explanation for the casual viewer. And realizing it at one doesn't ruin the other, and - as I said - emotional moments were really the best part of this episode. Go figure.
Also, Matt Smith's kissy face? Priceless. He's all like, "Yeah, I'm totally going to be banging the daughter of my companion soon and she's a Time Lady as well. Did I mention bow ties are cool?" I'm almost glad Tennant left when he did since Kingston's and Smith's chemistry is really special.
Let's Go Shoot My Daughter Twice
Oh Amy. You two are totally going to have a bunch of mother/daughter issues. Leave it to Rory to take the gun away.
Originally I thought the "the only water in the forest is the river" was going to be a reference to Amy's eventual departure from the series. They'd be in a location that had "forest" in the title, and then since "Pond" was a type of water, something would happen that'd make her eventually have to leave the TARDIS/the show. So in that sense, I definitely thought it'd be a reference to something super ominous, a warning if you will.
As it was, it just ended up being another one of Idris' phrases out of order time. Which is slightly disappointing, but hey, I'll forgive it. Lorna made up for it and it's still a beautiful scene.
And speaking of leaving things on a poignant, emotional note...
Subtlety
Oh Doctor Who. Never change.
The pirate episode was fun, but not in a super-fun-times-analysis kind of way... and the Gangers episodes... Don't get me started on them. Most of what I didn't like about this episode can be traced back to those two episodes. Or rather, "Pacing. How Does It Work?" I go into slightly more detail below the cut.
Also, other stuff I didn't like I tended not to include in the picspam since I didn't want to waste time on stuff I didn't like. So it's pretty much all weighted towards the positive incase you're wondering.
Definitely not my favorite Moffat episode, but still pretty good.
Filling the Holes
So, first thing. One of my favorite things about the River being Amy's daughter thing is that it explains the whole remembering part of the season five finale. I said it in a comment on doctorwho and I'll say it again. I don't mind if the reveals are somewhat expected. Heck, based on all the amount of guessing we did, for River to be someone completely unexpected, it would've had to come out of complete and utter nowhere. And honestly? I'd rather have a nicely foreshadowed, mellow surprise than a complete shocker.
But yeah, season five finale. A lot of people asked why Amy was able to remember stuff after seeing River and why River was even there to begin with if the Doctor never existed. I asked it myself. And now we know it's because River was literally created that day on the TARDIS. She was probably fading out of existence, just like the Doctor had, going back through time to her last (and first) day. But even that was enough.
River was Amy's final link to the TARDIS, to the timeline that had been erased. And ultimately together they were able to bring both the TARDIS and the Doctor back.
River's Birthday
Wee! This scene definitely gets better on the second time through, once you realize that River knows Rory is her father and for her it's plain old birthday story time with Daddy.
She is totally a Daddy's Girl. I really hope they have a lot more interactions together after this, but the joy River gets out of seeing him just once almost makes me think that their time will be cut short. And I really, really hope that Rory isn't the "great man" that River kills and eventually gets put in prison for... although it would explain why she continues to stay there instead of breaking out permanently. That would definitely be something she'd never forgive herself for.
Lorna Bucket
Okay. I'll be honest. At first I thought she was young!River, mostly because I didn't catch her name at first and I have this aversion to the name "Melody" as I used to name all of my original characters that after seeing both the Little Mermaid 2 and Pokemon the Movie 2000. So I heard "Melody" and my brain turned off to her and I didn't hear "Lorna Bucket" and I was like "Secret name could be River Song? Why not."
And then she got shot and I was still holding out hope and then they said her name again and that time I caught it and I was still like "maybe that's not her real name" and then she died and I was like "okay... maybe she's not River Song after all."
She would have been awesome as young!River Song. That's all I'm saying. Though she technically was the one who gave River Song her name, so... yeah. Counts for something.
Vastra and Jenny
NEEDS MORE LESBIAN SUBTEXT, KTHXBAI.
But seriously, why did we have two episodes of Ganger stuff when this could've been a two parter with everything less rushed and more built up? Not to mention basic character vs screen time ratio. The Ganger episodes had essentially five new characters and of those only the two girls really had a bunch character development... maybe the grey haired dude with the kid too, but even that was just "he's my son! no, he's my son! oh, I've fallen in acid he can be your son."
This episode introduced a bunch of awesome characters, but only had enough time to show the surface of the awesome (if that makes any sense). I can only hope Vastra and Jenny are there when the series resumes because they could really work the screen time.
Hugs For Everyone!
Going to say it now. This was my favorite scene in the episode.
It was actually a bit odd, looking back. Normally Moffat is better with the plot while emotional moments get sidelined, but for this episode it was the exact opposite. It probably goes back to the rushed pace. Everything seemed so condensed that I found it hard to care about the epicness of the Doctor "rising so high", but what they didn't have time for in terms of set up and actual rushing-in-to-save-the-day conflict they were able to use to fully pad out the... well, emotional moments.
And for the most part, I think it worked as well as it could've. After all, it's River's birthday. Given the choice, I think it's better to look back at episode and remember the emotional moments rather than any great special effects or awesome battle. Plus, there's still the actual season finale, so hopefully that will be better planned.
The Doctor's First Stars
One question I have after this: how did the Doctor get his cradle back? I mean, it wasn't in Sexy the TARDIS when he stole and after that he was an outcast. And then what about his mother? Did she save it for him? Would she have been one of those hoarders that saves everything?
Just all around a little detail that raises so many questions about the Doctor's past and for that - among everything else - I love it.
A Kiss Goodbye
I honestly thought Rory was going to die for real after this. I thought Lorna was River and then she was going to shoot Rory by accident or something and then I would have cried. The moment was totally right for it. But it turns out the whole drama was to set up that the baby was a Ganger instead and Rory lives to be awesome another day, and I am totally okay with that.
He Didn't Remember Her
I really hope this was just a case of the Doctor from her past is just another future!Doctor because if not the Doctor is a total dick. Though another part of me actually hopes that he already met her and just forgot about it; it'd really drive home the fact that he runs into a bunch of people and to him it's the most casual thing ever, but to those people they're huge life-changing events.
And I don't know. I almost like it better when the Doctor gets knocked down a peg and has to face the fact that he's so far from perfect.
Raised to Be a Warrior
So... yeah. After thinking for most of the episode that Lorna was River, when River popped up and was like, "OH HAI, THEY TOTALLY TURNED THE GIRL INTO A WARRIOR," I was immediately like, "Goddammit. Girl into a warrior. Melody Pond, River Song. Why did it take me that long? Oh yeah, Lorna."
Anyways, I'm glad they revealed it like this first and then eased their way into River having to spell it out for Amy. It's like an unspoken confirmation for the up-to-date Who fan and then an actual in-your-face explanation for the casual viewer. And realizing it at one doesn't ruin the other, and - as I said - emotional moments were really the best part of this episode. Go figure.
Also, Matt Smith's kissy face? Priceless. He's all like, "Yeah, I'm totally going to be banging the daughter of my companion soon and she's a Time Lady as well. Did I mention bow ties are cool?" I'm almost glad Tennant left when he did since Kingston's and Smith's chemistry is really special.
Let's Go Shoot My Daughter Twice
Oh Amy. You two are totally going to have a bunch of mother/daughter issues. Leave it to Rory to take the gun away.
Originally I thought the "the only water in the forest is the river" was going to be a reference to Amy's eventual departure from the series. They'd be in a location that had "forest" in the title, and then since "Pond" was a type of water, something would happen that'd make her eventually have to leave the TARDIS/the show. So in that sense, I definitely thought it'd be a reference to something super ominous, a warning if you will.
As it was, it just ended up being another one of Idris' phrases out of order time. Which is slightly disappointing, but hey, I'll forgive it. Lorna made up for it and it's still a beautiful scene.
And speaking of leaving things on a poignant, emotional note...
Subtlety
Oh Doctor Who. Never change.