On BBC America Doctor Who completed a two part story, The Hungry Earth and Cold Blood, while the BBC began the season ending two part story with The Pandorica Opens. As usual this review will have major spoilers for the episodes which aired in the United States while saying far less about episodes which have only aired on the BBC.
The Hungry Earth and Cold Blood were excellent stories which also left room open for a sequel taking place one thousand years in the future as well as advancing the season’s arc. The Doctor might have an overly optimistic view of humanity in thinking that a legend of the Silurians returning to share the earth in a thousand years will lead to acquiesce as opposed to a preemptive strike (assuming it isn’t one of those periods in which humans are living in arcs off the planet). Some humans just might not accept any deals the Silurians report which were made with a red head in a short skirt negotiating on behalf of humans.
The shocker at the end is that Rory not only was killed but was taken by the crack in time. Anyone think that the dead Rory might have looked a little plastic? Rory’s body didn’t just fall into the crack but tentacles grabbed him and pulled his body in. As we haven’t seen others fall into the crack we do not know if the other people were taken in such a manner or if something was specifically seeking Rory due to his relationship to Amy and the Doctor. Another question raised is how the Doctor managed to stick his arm through the crack without being pulled in. This might become clearer in the season finale when we will hopefully have a better idea of the purpose of the crack.
The first part began with Amy seeing older versions of herself and Rory in the future waving to them from a distance. The reason for this scene became clear at the end. When Rory went through the crack he was erased from time, although it is not clear why Amy could remember the soldiers who fell through the crack in Flesh and Stone but could not remember her fiance. Hypothetically this could set up a dramatic scene should Rory somehow reappear.
The episode ended with Amy seeing an older version of just herself waving off in the distance, although for a moment she thought she had seen someone else. There is also a bit of debris with a portion of the Tardis, as if it had exploded at some point in time.
The Davies season finales were often over the top, and often the set up episode was far better than the conclusion. The Pandorica Opens is Steven Moffat’s first shot at ending a season. The first part was excellent–as big as the Davies finales while feeling more plausible. I’ll avoid spoiling the details except to note that many characters who appeared in previous episodes return to tie up the season, and Amy gets to meet Italian men. I do have some questions and nit picks but I can also imagine ways in which they will be resolved in the finale.
Next week: The Big Bang on the BBC while BBC America viewers meet Vincent Van Gogh. My spoiler-free comments on Vincent and the Doctor were posted here.
