*SPOILERS ABOUND!*
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I thought about doing a more formal review, but I don't think I have enough to say to constitute a full review. Instead I'm just going to jot down some thoughts I had about the episode.
Overall I really enjoyed the episode, it was definitely... unique, I think. I liked how Amy and Rory got pulled back into helping the Doctor, though I'm not sure how they wind up back with him the next episode. My hope is that after that episode they decide to stay with him so we don't have to waste time getting them to the TARDIS in later episodes. And while it was nice to see Amy again, I think her and Rory got back together way too quickly. I thought that the failure of their marriage (so to speak) was going to last several episodes, possibly the entire season. Granted it could be that things aren't as fixed as well as we're led to believe, but everything looked fine and dandy by the end of the episode.
The Daleks are an interesting beast. They're one of the Doctor's oldest foes, meaning he's fought them for centuries. Yet after all this time he gets caught rather easily by them. I figured there'd be a more elaborate plot in place for them to snatch the Doctor, but perhaps time constraints got in the way and the writers simply wanted to get to the meat of things. If that's the case then fair enough, I can certainly understand not wanting to waste time.
The concept of the episode was pretty interesting. The Daleks are scary creatures when they're "normal" but the lost causes or the insane by even Dalek standards are even more interesting. This made the Daleks scary for a change, something I never really saw them as before. I rather enjoyed the scene where the Doctor comes across the worst, or most "mentally damaged" Daleks only to find out that he's the one who made them like this.
Of course one of the most fascinating aspects of this episode was Oswin Oswald, the Dalek who thought she was human. I'm extremely impressed with Moffat's ability to keep this fun twist a secret because of course Oswin Oswald is none other than the Doctor's next companion. My assumption is that she will join the Doctor before she even boards the Alaska. All the mentions of wanting to see the stars and remembering her, that's the only way I can see it happening. What's nice is she's different from all the other companions (of the 2005 series) in that she's not from our time. She's from the future (I don't really count Jack as a companion), and the Doctor has a reason to bring her aboard the TARDIS.
I do wonder though why, if the Daleks needed genius, Oswin was in the asylum in the first place? I get not being able to handle the "reality" of being a Dalek, but shouldn't the conversion taken care of that? Other puppets had their memories wiped and stored away. Why was she different? Also what made her so dangerous that she was literally kept in the core of the asylum? Wouldn't the Daleks in the asylum use her as a way to escape? That seems like what they were trying to do, but then why was she locked up? It's weird and confuising. These are questions I wished were answered because I doubt we'll get them as the season continues on.
That said the emotional implications of Oswin as a Dalek were fascinating. There's this weird disconnect you see when the Doctor realizes the truth about Oswin. He's disgusted at the sight of her. This goes back to something I wish the show would explore more often and it's that the Doctor is not a good person. He's just as insane and potentially evil as the villains he faces. There's a line in beginning of the episode when the Doctor is talking to the Dalek Prime Minister about the beauty of hatred and the PM wonders if that's why they've never been able to kill the Doctor. While they oppose him, he is the embodiment of everything they worship: hatred. How about the fact that all the Daleks in ICU were the ones who fought him in wars? Or when Oswin asks him, "Why do they hate you so much?"
What a strange and fascinating scene that last one is, no? It's weird to feel almost sympathetic for Oswin (considering what she is).
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| Remember me. |
What did you guys think about the episode? Maybe YOU have the answers to my questions!
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