As I said last week, the episodes I was most looking forward to this year were “The Hungry Earth” and “Cold Blood,” if only to see the new series take on the Silurians.
The Silurians were some of the best man in a rubber-suit monsters from the original run of the show, if only because their desire to conquer planet Earth was one of the most interesting. They were the original inhabitants of the planet and after waking up from a long hibernation they felt they were entitled to resurface on their home world.
Yes, there were squandered by the sequel “Warriors of the Deep” in the 80’s, but I had high hopes the production team could give them back a bit of their dignity and grace with this new installment.
Mission accomplished.
Essentially, the story is a retelling of the classic era Jon Pertwee installment with the Doctor being involved as a mediator between the two factions–humans and Silurians. The two sides are trying to see eye to eye and find a way to both share our planet, but there are groups within each faction who’s prefer this not to happen. There are also circumstances that eventually lead to the Silurians going back into hibernation since a meaningful co-existence can’t be worked out.
Watching the Doctor’s delight at seeing humans and Silurians at the negotiating table was a nice moment as was his indignation with the Silurian captive is killed and returned. The Doctor’s determination that a war won’t start between both sides is nicely done and well realized by Matt Smith.
And the conclusion where the Silurians head back to hibernation for a thousand years, asking the humans to prepare for the two to co-exist when they emerge again was the right balance of optimistic and heart-breaking.
It was really setting us up for the heart-breaking and shattering events to come.
It’s here that I’m glad I resist the temptation to read heavy SPOILERS for episodes. And yes, you can take this as the point for huge SPOILERS for the final moments and its implications for the rest of the season.
If you’ve not seen the episode yet, it’s best to not know what happens next….
When it comes to death of Rory, I’m glad I didn’t know it was coming. Interestingly, Moffat and company have been sewing the seeds for his demise since “Amy’s Choice” not only in its impact but also the tragic nature of it. Rory sacrifices himself to save the Doctor and as if that weren’t bad enough, gets erased from history and Amy’s mind by the crack in time.
When we saw Amy and Rory last week from a distance, I wondered why Moffat included them in that scene. It all comes full circle here as we see Rory is erased from history and from Amy’s mind in one of the most bleak moments the show has given us since its return. Many classic series fans will point to the death of Adric as one of the pivotal and memorable moments of the original series run, but seeing what unfolded here, there may be a new standard for the shocking and profound death of a companion. (Assuming, of course, we don’t find a way to bring Rory back at season’s end).
In Amy’s Choice, Amy realized she loved Rory and here she loses him. But she also loses her memory of him and it’s raised some interesting implications. Does the Doctor still know about Rory and what kind of havoc has been unleashed upon the time line and the universe with Rory’s erasure from history?
Thankfully, Moffat seems to have a plan for the crack in time and the silence that is following the TARDIS and the Doctor. And we get a new element to the arc with the Doctor reaching in and pulling out something from the other side. It leads to a cliffhanger that had me ready for the rest of the season and wishing I could mainline them all on DVD as soon as possible.
“Cold Blood” was an effective balance of a one-off story with some long-term implications for the show as a whole. It’s set the table for the final run of episodes this season and if Moffat delivers as he has so far, we’re in for something great.
Jan from Denmark (babylonlurker) says
Like last week’s cliffhanger was raising the stakes of the Silurian story in itself (not just a dozen or so, but a whole civilization), this week’s cliffhanger raises the stakes of the overarcing story of the season.
I love this season, even more than the previous “New Who” seasons.
Aligubbs says
It’s all going to hang on that engagement ring. It’s sitting there on the console and will cause questions to be asked…
Hmm, was that scene with jacket-clad Dr in the forest reminding Amy to remember what he said when he first met her because he’ll be in danger of being forgotten too…?
David says
One thing I did not like about the entire 2 parter? That mother who basically did everything to mess it up!!!!!
Audrey says
David…
i TOTALLY agree with you!! she blames the doctor for not watching HER son… then tortures this creature that the doctor told her HAD TO LIVE. i would have loved this episode more if that idiotic woman wasnt in it. she ruined the whole episode. even my daughter (who is 13) thought she was an idiot.
i was also shocked by Rory’s death. even my daughter said “he cant die!!”. and i called the doctor pulling a piece of the TARDIS out of the crack before he even pulled his hand out. i am really looking forward to the remaining episodes… as long as there aren’t any more idiotic mothers.
TallGrrl says
I was aghast when Rory “died”. And as her memories of him faded from Amy’s mind (*but not The Doctor’s*) it really hurt my heart.
Did anyone else hear The Doctor say, back at the end of “Flesh and Stone”, that “time can be re-written”? And in “Amy’s Choice” it was Amy who told Rorry that they were on a time machine and that it can (paraphrasing here) “always be the night before her wedding.”
My thoughts? Amy’s last episode with The Doctor, she’ll leave the TARDIS…and it will be the night before her wedding. Will she remember that Rory “died”? I don’t know. But The Doctor will. And he’ll know that it was Rory who tried to save his life because as Rory said, “You make people try to impress you.”
(At the end of last season, the Dalek pointedly reminded The Doctor how many people had sacrificed themselves for him.)
As far as Ambrose (aka The Mother) “messing things up”? Well, that’s what human beings do. They mess shite up!
You can understand her motives because if your family is threatened, you’ll do anything to get them back.
Plus, as far as she was concerned, those that took her were not human. They were animals. Aliens.
The Crack in Time? Wow! Burning hunk of TARDIS?? WTF!??
3 more episodes until the end of the season!
(I love this show!!)
Michael Natale says
I am liking Matt Smith better than Tennant. No one is more surprised at this than me…
Cant believe its only 3 episodes until we have to wait for another year…
Chris says
Just to throw probable misdirection into the loop.
Would suspect it would be over complication, but we don’t know who’s tardis it is. We’ve seen from the old series that the Master made his tardis the same. I doubt the Master is coming back so soon, but just a thought!
Something else I’ve also picked up on and thats a lot of the terminology used. There have been lots of references to legends, fairy tales etc. Even the laptop in 11th Hour was branded ‘Myth’. Think that all of that can’t just be by chance, though it could be deliberate red herrings!