Doctor Who 5/31.05 Flesh and Stone

[selenak]

First of all, kalypso_v has superior theory-fu, because she speculated last week that the reason why River knows the Doctor's name might be because the only time he can say it is while dying, and the very first time they meet, from River's pov, will be the last time from the Doctor's (mirroring that the first time they met from the Doctor's pov being the last time from River's). Now, since as she also pointed out I doubt the BBC will ever kill off the Doctor for good, and given the new information from this episode, I would modify this to the following theory: when meet for the first time from River's pov, it will be Eleven's, but not the Doctor's general death. Also, River killing the Doctor, which was quite heavily hinted at this episode, will presumably have a twist (i.e. like River's own eventual death, it will be something to save the universe/world/people at stake at the event in question) that the clerics aren't aware of. Given that Matt Smith has signed on for another season and I think the Moff will keep Eleven around for the traditional three years at least, that event won't happen on screen for a while yet, and we'll see River again repeatedly before that happens, but my guess is this is how Eleven will die.

By now, I'm really sold on their screwed-up non-linear relationship, and I like the progression we see, from the Doctor being initially first bewildered, distrustful and disturbed to shocked by River sacrificing herself to uneasy and wanting to run while also intrigued and pleased to see her again to, by the end of this episode, actively looking forward to seeing her again, no longer running from her (or his future).

Angels: the Moff can't pull another trick like the emerging-from-a-screen sequence last episode again (Angels en masse really are like the aliens in Aliens, no longer as frightening as a single Alien), and I do regret the whole "we're gonna rule the universe" retcon thing which makes them just like any other villain, but this being said, Amy's temporary blindness was a genuinenly creepy and scary situation, not because of the Angels but because of the time energy around her and because the fear of being unable to see is something I can identify with very much. Also, the Angels in the forest around Amy while she was blind were suddenly eerily beautiful.

Father Octavian's death was very moving; throughout both parts, he kept reminding me of the Brig (maybe the Doctor, too?), and I had a huge soft spot for him. Though apparantly the whole armed clergy thing had no other purprose than the Moff wanting to add some quirkyness because for story purposes, Octavian & subordinates could as well have been regular army.

Amy putting the moves on the Doctor by the end: actually didn't make me groan "not another one!" because this is clearly not the set-up for a romance or Amy pining, given both how he responds and how it's played out in context, i.e. Amy comparing his "running away from River" with her running away from her marriage. Since she's rooting for River and assumes River will be the Doctor's wife one day all through the two parter, I had the impression she thinks she might as well have a fling before ending up with their respective significant others. For his part, the Doctor doesn't seem to be sexually interested at all but very aware he really has to figure out now why Amy keeps being pursued by a crack in time and has those significantly different memories (Daleks), which hint that time has already been rewritten for her. (Plus there's the trailer, about which more in a second with safety distance for non-trailer watchers.) 26072010, is it? At a guess, that's when the season finale will take place (not in real life but in depicted on screen time), at which point retrospectively things will get set in motion explaining the time crack pursuing Amy.

Now, re: trailer:

W

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So, the Doctor's response to Amy putting the moves on him is to invite Rory to a time travel trip so he can reconnect with Amy. And to take them to Venice. Go figure. :) Vampires & Venice sound like an irresistable combination, and those costumes look gorgeous.

Comments

[monanotlisa]

Your theories about the Doctor make sense; the River-killing-the-Doctor part seems agreed upon in fandom but felt so heavy-handed that there just has to be a twist...

Also, Amy Pond is magnificent. I thought I should mention this again. ;)

[selenak]

There probably is a twist due to the circumstances (I'm reminded of a character in one of my other fandoms, having a vision of his own death right at the start of the show which did play out eventually but completely different from the way he and fandom expected when he first had it).