RIGHT. Lightning fast Part 2, just in time for tonight's mid-season finale (and yes, I am very excited).
So. 'The Almost People'. It was good. A solid 4* two-parter, in my opinion. It was a little unsubtle compared to last week (that "Who are the real monsters?" line, for example - yes, I think we got that that was the moral dilemma of this episode, thanks) but more information needed to be conveyed quicker so it was forgivable. And of course, the problem with Big Reveals coming at the end of episodes is that they tend to overshadow the rest of it and I'll admit, fannish speculation is pretty much the only thing I concentrate on right now, especially after THAT ENDING. So let's deal with this as quickly as possible, yeah? Yeah.
Another excellent performance from Matt Smith - in fact, I think that was the best thing about the episode. Loved gangerDoctor's past regenerations burning through, that was a very nice touch, although I thought that the "we've moved on" comment after the 10th Doctor's voice resurfaced walked a fine line between funny and bitchy (although not unwarranted). On a side note, when gangerDoctor firmed up a bit and we essentially had two Matt Smiths, my reaction was basically that of Captain Jack Harkness's when faced with that ridiculous Doctor 2.0 cloning storyline with the two David Tennants which, as I recall, went something along the lines of "You don't even want to know what I'm thinking right now." The phone call with the little boy was great as well: simultaneously very touching and incredibly manipulative, which is sort of how the Doctor operates. Similarly, The Doctor telling Cleaves (who was much better written in this part) and gangerDixon (was that his name?) to go and speak well at the end was also lovely; I think the show is at its most inspiring (in a cornball kind of way) when the Doctor turns people into the best versions of themselves. Well that's when I tear up anyway, you can keep your Doctor/Rose goodbyes.
Once again Matt Smith also managed to pull off the trick of putting in two subtly differences performances of the same character. The obvious comparison here is with David Tennant's CloneDoctor in the Series 4 finale in more ways than Captain Jack and I needing to yank our minds firmly out of the gutter. Now, I'll admit I'm biased towards Smith because Eleven is My Doctor but I'll just say this: the difference between Clone10 and Regular10 had to be written into the script. Ganger11 and Regular11 were supposed to be completely the same person and Smith still managed to make them different. But not so different that the plot fell apart. Yeah, I pretty much want Matt Smith to be on Doctor Who forever.
I felt like Amy and Rory got a little shunted to the side, although this could be to prepare for the obvious centre stage roles they'll likely have in the mid-season finale. Rory is a massive dork, bless him ("I'll break out the big guns") and the writers really need to let him step up every now and then, I disliked how his (very Doctorlike actually) Righteous Anger about the Flesh was just swept aside and then turned into a big con anyway. Amy...I don't know what to say about this week, except that re-watching the episode knowing it was gangerAmy resenting gangerDoctor for being a ganger was nicely ironic and mindbendy.
In fact the episode was so layered with double meanings that there's a lot that actually doesn't make sense. For example, the Doctor pitching a spaz at Amy about the Real Human Pain of the Flesh after she tells him about seeing his death. Makes perfect sense if he was actually the gangerDoctor but as realDoctor, not so much. Maybe it was just to cover up his real reactions to that particular piece of information? That's assuming that that was gangerDoctor and they didn't switch after that point. And logically both Doctors must be tuned into the Flesh, not just gangerDoctor: if gangerDoctor and realDoctor switched then it was realDoctor saying all the stuff about how he could sense their plans and things – was he making it up? Did gangerDoctor tell him earlier so he could relay it back to everyone else? Doesn't really hold together but the premise that he was actually collecting data was cool. There was just a bit too much going on as it was; I would have cut Cleave's clot (I'm not sure that it added anything beyond letting Raquel Cassidy deliver that "them's the breaks" line) and Jen morphing into a standard CGI monster. Come on Doctor Who, when will you learn? Putting a human head on the body of a monster JUST. LOOKS. SILLY. Say it with me now: SILLY.
What's funny though is the amount of stuff I've unwittingly got right over the past few weeks" my observations about the Doctor feeling a bit enigmatic and cipher-y of late actually turn out to have some bearing on the plot (he's sorting the problem of the Disappearing Amy) and bolsters my hope that we'll get 'Real Doctor' back in the second half of the series. of course, the question we're all asking is whether gangerDoctor means a possible solution to his 'death' at the start of series. I'm pretty split on this one: Moffat doesn't tend to do left-field solutions, he's more a 'drop in hints so subtly no-one realises they're hints even after stuff happens' kind of guy and gangerDoctor as a solution feels both too obvious and plausible at the same time. Even if they don't use him as a get out, the door is still open for him to come back at some point with all the 'way back from being vapourised' stuff, just like the door was left open for Jenny the Doctor's Daughter and then mercifully slammed closed because she was a shit character.
So Amy-pregnancy questions of why and how and when and who by are being answered literally at this minute (and I do mean literally) so let's not dwell on them. I'll just say this: River Song. Amy's daughter. Regenerating little girl. Same person. If it doesn't turn out to be true then...I'll be quite happy because that would frankly be an appalling plot twist.
See you on the other side.
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