“The Pandorica will open, Silence will fall”
That was the chilling line given in Episode 1 which would see the beginning of the slowest burning story arc that I can remember in Doctor Who since it returned. The pre-title sequence showed that this series finale wasn’t going to be like previous finale’s. There was a surprise appearance from Vincent Van Gogh (from Vincent and the Doctor) who has done a painting that is tormenting him. It is then found in Winston Churchill and Bracewell (Victory of the Daleks). Then River Song returns and she goes to the 50th Century where she meets Liz 10 (Sophie Okeonedo from The Beast Below). The Doctor and Amy go to the oldest planet where a message is left for the Doctor from River. They travel to 102 AD to a Roman Camp where they encounter River dressed as Cleopatra where she shows them the painting.
What follows is 45 minutes of pure drama. The action takes place underneath Stonehenge where there is a box (The Pandorica) and it is opening. They find a Cyberman arm which it turns out was a guard. There is a good 5-6 minutes of action with the Cyberman and the arm that is firing randomly. That is what is so good about this season of Doctor Who. At no point did I get bored and want to look at my watch. Even when watching Mr Unfunny (James Corden) last week I found that time went very quickly. The return of Rory was always on the cards and wasn’t really a surprise but what was a surprise was the explanation. In Flesh and Blood, Rory was killed and was erased from time but somehow got planted back in Roman times. Sadly he was just a dummy and was in fact an Auton sleeper figure. All the things with the Romans and surprise return of Rory comes from a book in Amy’s house. The idea that the Pandorica is a prison and also a trap for the Doctor is something quite smart. We’re told that it’s a box that holds all the fears and terrible things and that applies to the Daleks and Cybermen. Their biggest fear (whilst they wont admit it) is the Doctor, and with him in the Pandorica, they will be able to carry on with their plans. The idea that they have all formed an alliance seems a bit odd but you don’t think about it for long.
Matt Smith and Karen Gillan deserve special praise because they have always put in good performances in every single episode in this series but this episode was the best. Especially Smith who showed genuine terror at the thought of being locked up. There’s no trick way out and no obvious way out and Smith portrays that brilliantly. Arthur Darvill was also very good as Rory, before and after its revealed he’s an Auton. It was nice to have Rory back, the best bit came at the end for him when he fights himself in not shooting Amy which of course he does. Alex Kingston was great as River Song. I am starting to warm to her. Her journey through this episode was long and eventful. She was the one that put all the pieces together and her ending was curious. The TARDIS has appeared by a wall and the console seems to be about to blow up. What could this mean? Spoilers!!
The image of Daleks, Cybermen, Autons, Judoon, Sontaran, Slitheen, Sycorax and pretty much ever monster that they could fit in there looking at the Doctor was one of the best sights I have ever seen. In fact the ending was one of the most enjoyable and emotional since the show returned. The Doctor is trapped in the Pandorica and Amy has been ‘killed’ by the Auton Rory. There is no real obvious way out. The fear when the Doctor was being trapped in the Pandorica Box was totally outstanding and that’s the word I can use for this episode. Hopefully when the Big Bang airs then the story will be able to unfold and we won’t be left with 10-15 minutes of emotional drivel like we had to endure under the RTD era.
Fingers crossed that next week is the finest episode of Doctor Who since the show returned. PLEASE OMEGA!!
That was the chilling line given in Episode 1 which would see the beginning of the slowest burning story arc that I can remember in Doctor Who since it returned. The pre-title sequence showed that this series finale wasn’t going to be like previous finale’s. There was a surprise appearance from Vincent Van Gogh (from Vincent and the Doctor) who has done a painting that is tormenting him. It is then found in Winston Churchill and Bracewell (Victory of the Daleks). Then River Song returns and she goes to the 50th Century where she meets Liz 10 (Sophie Okeonedo from The Beast Below). The Doctor and Amy go to the oldest planet where a message is left for the Doctor from River. They travel to 102 AD to a Roman Camp where they encounter River dressed as Cleopatra where she shows them the painting.
What follows is 45 minutes of pure drama. The action takes place underneath Stonehenge where there is a box (The Pandorica) and it is opening. They find a Cyberman arm which it turns out was a guard. There is a good 5-6 minutes of action with the Cyberman and the arm that is firing randomly. That is what is so good about this season of Doctor Who. At no point did I get bored and want to look at my watch. Even when watching Mr Unfunny (James Corden) last week I found that time went very quickly. The return of Rory was always on the cards and wasn’t really a surprise but what was a surprise was the explanation. In Flesh and Blood, Rory was killed and was erased from time but somehow got planted back in Roman times. Sadly he was just a dummy and was in fact an Auton sleeper figure. All the things with the Romans and surprise return of Rory comes from a book in Amy’s house. The idea that the Pandorica is a prison and also a trap for the Doctor is something quite smart. We’re told that it’s a box that holds all the fears and terrible things and that applies to the Daleks and Cybermen. Their biggest fear (whilst they wont admit it) is the Doctor, and with him in the Pandorica, they will be able to carry on with their plans. The idea that they have all formed an alliance seems a bit odd but you don’t think about it for long.
Matt Smith and Karen Gillan deserve special praise because they have always put in good performances in every single episode in this series but this episode was the best. Especially Smith who showed genuine terror at the thought of being locked up. There’s no trick way out and no obvious way out and Smith portrays that brilliantly. Arthur Darvill was also very good as Rory, before and after its revealed he’s an Auton. It was nice to have Rory back, the best bit came at the end for him when he fights himself in not shooting Amy which of course he does. Alex Kingston was great as River Song. I am starting to warm to her. Her journey through this episode was long and eventful. She was the one that put all the pieces together and her ending was curious. The TARDIS has appeared by a wall and the console seems to be about to blow up. What could this mean? Spoilers!!
The image of Daleks, Cybermen, Autons, Judoon, Sontaran, Slitheen, Sycorax and pretty much ever monster that they could fit in there looking at the Doctor was one of the best sights I have ever seen. In fact the ending was one of the most enjoyable and emotional since the show returned. The Doctor is trapped in the Pandorica and Amy has been ‘killed’ by the Auton Rory. There is no real obvious way out. The fear when the Doctor was being trapped in the Pandorica Box was totally outstanding and that’s the word I can use for this episode. Hopefully when the Big Bang airs then the story will be able to unfold and we won’t be left with 10-15 minutes of emotional drivel like we had to endure under the RTD era.
Fingers crossed that next week is the finest episode of Doctor Who since the show returned. PLEASE OMEGA!!
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