Doctor Who - A Good Man Goes to War

Director: Peter Hoar

Writer: Steven Moffat

The Doctor travels throughout space and time raising an army, an army to reclaim Amy and her newborn child, Melody, stolen from her husband and the Doctor by the mysterious Eye-Patch Lady. The raging Time Lord calls in the favours due to him by Sontarans, Silurians, Judoon and a blue Jabba the Hutt, infiltrates the Headless Monks' base at Demons Run and defeats the Order and General Manton’s Cleric Army. But was it too easy? Eye-Patch Lady has one last trick up her sleeves. And what does all this have to do with River Song?

Finally. This is what we have been waiting to see. After three years and oh-so-much build-up, we finally get the pay-off. Steven Moffat, you clever, clever man. River Song has been the subject of so much speculation over the last few years. Viewers have formed a love-hate relationship with the afro warrior; Love in that her charms and chemistry with the Doctor weighed perfectly against the mystery surrounding her, always carrying the story onwards; and hate in that nothing about her made sense, with more and more riddles to deduce after every appearance. There are still plenty of riddles left, and more created by this episode, but her character arc has received a generous update. And the Doctor’s reaction to this is just pure genius.

This episode more than made up for the dreadfully average episodes this Series, The Curse of the Black Spot and The Rebel Flesh / The Almost People, tipping the balance well in favour of good. It simply got almost everything right. Even though the entire episode was building up to the great twist at the end, it was still incredibly entertaining. Through its lyrical montages, and constant build-up, it gave Moffat a chance to explore a different side his characters. 

The Doctor terrifies with his newfound rage, first glimpsed briefly aboard the Starship UK in The Beast Below. His flawless disarmament of his helpless foe makes his downfall all the more devastating, as he becomes what he denounces and is forced to pay the consequences.

Rory takes control, finally standing up for himself and not letting anyone get in his way. His character finally reaches greatness, silhouetted by the Doctor’s chain exploding of an entire Cyberman armada. His beta status to his wife is finally inversed, as Amy becomes Mrs Williams, a distraught mother, a far cry from her strong female persona.

The side characters too are a joy to watch. The unfortunate and humiliating situations Sontaran Commander Strax finds itself in are progressively less honourable, climaxing with the long fall to wet-nurse. The innuendo-fuelled adventures of Silurian Madame Vastra and her “man”-servant both confound and entice (particularly the notion of a poison-tongued cunnilingus). Is everyone in the future homosexual? It seems Moffat is intent on making it so.

One problem though was the lack of development in the Headless Monks. What are they exactly? How do they sustain themselves without a head? What are these Ringwraiths after? Why do they feel the need to have both a lightning sword and lightning balls? Surely one will suffice. Brandishing their broadswords with menace only to exude a puny ball of energy comes off as a disappointing anticlimax. Their lack of depth resulted in them appearing more comical than scary, paling in comparison to the host of much meaner scum and villainy appearing in the episode. Their silence only functioned to highlight the evil that their human counterparts were partaking in.

Finally, Doctor Who has wafted through the string of lacklustre episodes of the Series, and everything is coming together. Years old mysteries are coming to fruition, the fanservice is flying high, and the tension is becoming close to breaking point. Whoever thought that it would be a good idea to split the Series in half? Waiting another three months for a resolution to this stunning cliff-hanger is torturous. Until then we’ll just have to make do with this:

and KBO.

4½ / 5