DW: Cold Blood

[usuallyhats]

I didn't like this episode as much as I have previous ones, but I still feel like I am enjoying and clicking with this season so much more than I did with the last. Hurrah!

• I actually flinched a little when Amy suggested giving the Outback away. I am pretty sure there are people living there! Also in the Sahara and Nevada! Chiefly people who have had to deal with their spaces being declared empty and ripe for the taking FAR TOO MUCH ALREADY. Oh dear.


• Was distinctly unimpressed that 100% of the people messing up the peace agreements were women. Yeah, Amy and Nasreen were great, but still. Also, compare the Doctor's constant "you are not the best of humanity" at Ambrose with his squeeful reaction to the Silurian scientist, whose hobbies (typed "hobbits" there by accident, OH BRAIN) include kidnapping children and dissecting people while they are still awake.


• NOOOO RORY NOOOO. I was a bit spoiled, but I was hoping it wouldn't happen. DDDDD: Amy's reaction broke my heart a little. THIS HAD BETTER GET FIXED. *shakes fist at Moffat*


• Oh, the Doctor's FACE when he sees the engagement ring box - he knows that Amy will have forgotten, that it's too late. D:


• "Funny Rory, gorgeous Rory." DDDDDD: Yes, I made that face a lot. CAN YOU BLAME ME?


• I really liked the fact that Elliot's dyslexia wasn't an important plot point. And I was a bit worried that the scientist was going to "fix" him, so I'm glad they didn't go down that road.


• Amy the pickpocket! Hee. She had some great things to do this episode. ♥


• NASREEN IS GREAT. I feel this needs repeating. I am torn on her staying behind at the end - I'm glad it wasn't because of her MAN, but... she seemed pretty cavalier about giving up everything she knows, in the hope that things will be fabulous in a thousand years time.


• ...it's going to take us a thousand years to be any good? That's a little depressing.


• Exploded TARDIS what? Don't explode, TARDIS! I like you!


• Wait, the Silurians are led by Marvin the Paranoid Android? That'll end well.


• I don't like the Silurian redesign, possibly because I am REACTIONARY about this sort of thing, but also because they don't look like Silurians any more, just generic humanoid-with-a-latex-head-on aliens.

That is the end of my thoughts.

ALSO! Happy birthday, sundayave! And a rather belated happy birthday to nentari! Hope you both had and are having lovely days.

Comments

[biichan.livejournal.com]

Also in the Sahara and Nevada!

But just think what the Silurians could do with Vegas!

RORY IS GONNA GET FIXED DAMMIT. I don't know how, but he is. Dammit.

[usuallyhats]

But just think what the Silurians could do with Vegas!
Now that I would like to see!

RORY IS GONNA GET FIXED DAMMIT. I don't know how, but he is. Dammit.
HE MUST. Otherwise I may have to buy a pitchfork and march on the BBC.

[nentari.livejournal.com]

Thank you for the birthday wishes.

I'm still in shock over the whole Rory business. If they don't fix this in the finale I'm going to kick Moffat.

I prefer the classic Silurian look as well. I mean, these new Silurians don't even have the third eye and had to borrow the Sea Devils' weapons!

[usuallyhats]

The new Silurians just don't look as strange as the old ones did. It's a shame.

RORY. *flails* I've got everything crossed that it gets fixed somehow.

[zurcherart.livejournal.com]

Again total agree. On every point, including the dyslexia, thinking it would be fixed and being glad it wasn't...also in my reasoning for not liking the Silurian redesign.

I hope I didn't spoil you on Twitter about Rory. I posted that I thought he might die before I saw the episode so I didn't think of it as a spoiler, but thought later it probably was :(

[usuallyhats]

Oh no, it wasn't you, don't worry! I've just been randomly clicking on spoilers and speculation every now and then, and I'm not entirely sure any more which are the definite spoilers and which aren't!

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

I was angry too about all the warlike / violent characters being women. I also hated the repeated ape insult. I loathe that and the meat one some people use.

I'm sure Rory will be back when the whole crack thing is resolved. Because it's just too tragic and Donna-like otherwise.

I agree that the Silurians looked for too human. The masks should have been their faces so that they were a really different species and harder for the Doctor and the others to relate too. Otherwise, yes, they were really green scaly humans. Excellent makeup but not good story-telling.

[Edit] And yes, there are people living in those places. The Doctor would know this, but Amy and Nasreen (who rocked) didn't seem to.

[usuallyhats]

I'm sure Rory will be back when the whole crack thing is resolved. Because it's just too tragic and Donna-like otherwise.
*nods* I really hope you're right!

Otherwise, yes, they were really green scaly humans. Excellent makeup but not good story-telling.
Yeah, it was technically better makeup/costume than the originals, but still less effective.

The Doctor would know this, but Amy and Nasreen (who rocked) didn't seem to.
I was surprised that they didn't know! Or at least, that they didn't even wonder.

[sundayave.livejournal.com]

Thanks Jenni :D.

I'm amazed they didn't bring up the Amazon! Because, like, there's no one living there either! Greatest oversight ever. That bit came out of left-field yeah, as was Nasreen's decision to stay down with Ambrose's dad! Alright, so she decided about staying because of the discovery and whatnot, but still that was a bit weird.

RORY D: D: D: I was spoiled too about that ages ago, but sort of forgot in the meantime. Then just about registered that would happen 5 minutes before it actually went down as it did. IT WILL BE FIXED YES. PLEASE? Also, exploding TARDIS NOOOO. And the Doctor's face-reaction whilst holding the shrapnel was awesome and terrifying at the same time, shit. D:

[usuallyhats]

And the Doctor's face-reaction whilst holding the shrapnel was awesome and terrifying at the same time, shit. D:
YES. Matt Smith was so great in that scene!

IT WILL BE FIXED YES. PLEASE?
IT MUST BE. YES.

That bit came out of left-field yeah, as was Nasreen's decision to stay down with Ambrose's dad!
Yeah, there was so little build up to that. And Nasreen didn't seem to have any trouble deciding to stay, either.

[persiflage-1.livejournal.com]

To be fair, did the Doctor KNOW about the dissection? After all, Mo never mentioned it, nor did Amy mention how close she'd come to getting cut up, and the scientist *definitely* didn't mention it - so is the Doctor meant to be psychic and just assume that *of course* the Silurian scientist would be cutting on humans while they were awake? Because that then makes the Doctor no better than us in assuming that all aliens are monsters - which he clearly doesn't.

[usuallyhats]

True, he didn't know about the dissection, but he did know about the kidnapping, and he didn't seem to react to that at all!

Because that then makes the Doctor no better than us in assuming that all aliens are monsters - which he clearly doesn't.
No, I definitely wouldn't want that! But I thought it was an odd writing choice, to have him praise someone we know isn't all that great, especially when it would've been really easy to write in him finding out about the dissection. I felt like the episode wanted a sympathetic Silurian scientist and a threat to set up the cliffhanger, and ended up undermining the sympathetic bit by making them the same character. If there'd been two scientists, one who'd tried to dissect Amy and one who'd kept Elliot safe (and maybe questioned the first one?), I think it would've worked better!

[persiflage-1.livejournal.com]

Well I assume he didn't react to the kidnapping too strongly because he didn't know about the dissection, and he knew Elliot was okay...

It would've worked quite well if Restac had been forcing Malohkeh to do the dissections against his will, since CC made it perfectly clear that Restac, like Alaya, didn't give a damn about us "vermin"...

[usuallyhats]

Yeah, that would've worked better. It was the writing, rather than the Doctor, that was the problem! Though I think finding out that Malohkeh had been kidnapping lots of children for years should've elicited more of a reaction. Or that bit could've been cut altogether, as it didn't really add anything to the episode.

[persiflage-1.livejournal.com]

Yes, there was a very noticeable attack of loose-end-itis in that two parter!