Series 9 of Doctor Who has reignited my love for the show! The Husbands of River Song was just the perfect ending for this whovian year and now the wait for the next series begins. But let’s talk about what happened last night!
What was it about?
The Doctor finds himself being called to help with a surgery on a crashed space ship, not knowing that River Song is behind the scheme. She wants the Doctor to detach the head of her husband, King Hydroflax, because it currently has a very valuable diamond stuck in it. Consequently they get into a lot of trouble, all the while River doesn’t even realise that the Doctor is her actual Doctor. They manage to survive and the episode ends with them spending their last night together.
My thoughts?
I am in love with the episode! I did not care about King Hydroflax or the Cyberman-hybrid body. I didn’t even care about all the different guest stars and aliens that appeared, which were pretty cool sometimes. All I really paid attention to were Twelve and River! It was such a fun and quirky yet also bittersweet episode and I filled a whole document with the hilarious quotes of the two of them. I think it was a great choice to not make River realise that he is her Doctor, because it gave so much more room for exploration of their relationship.
The Doctor got to play the person who see the inside of a TARDIS for the first time and he really can prod River’s thoughts on her feelings about him, without her knowing who he is. I loved how you could see the worry in his face, Twelve questioning what if anything in their relationship was ever real. But then there was the highlight, River expressing her love for him and it was so beautiful. I think the episode and their first encounter didn’t exactly go down as many have thought it would, but Twelve and River had some great chemistry and I think it was a really memorable part of their relationship together.
By the end, it seems that River’s story has now come full circle. I think that in a way, the whole story with Clara taught him that he couldn’t drag it out forever. It may have been a little cheesy, but since they are now at last at the Singing Towers of Darillium, I am happy that a night there is 24 years long. For once, they get to be together just like that. The “And they lived happily ever after” at the end was a little unnecessary in my opinion, but then again, River explained that “happily ever after” doesn’t mean forever, it just means time.
At last, I am happy that even the Doctor mentioned how ridiculous a Sonic Trowel is, but at least now we know how River got her Sonic Screwdriver!
Now the waiting begins! Who will be the new companion? When will the show return? Will Series 10 be Capaldi‘s last season? Nothing but questions but hopefully the next year will bring all the answers!
I totally agree. It was beautiful! Such a wonderful way to round off River’s story, and River and Twelve were amazing together. Great way to finish up Doctor Who this year.
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I am glad we agree on that one! It was such a lovely episode 😀
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I’m already missing River =[
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Me too! But I think the story with Clara taught us all that we can’t drag endings out forever, even if we want to.
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I agree with you, this episode was just great! I had so much fun just watching him and River going back and forth, exploring their relationship. And I always knew that River was something else, but wow, we got to see a whole new side of her this episode. And the Doctor is just like, “Whaat?” So much fun. When River finally airs her feelings and she realizes who the Doctor is, it’s so beautiful. And right after that, they just start saving the ship like nothing’s changed. And that ending…oh my God, so sweet. If it was any more emotional, I might have cried. Definitely one of Capaldi’s best performances in DW, and definitely the best River Song episode ever.
The episode was also very pleasing visually, which was icing on the cake. The sets were beautiful, the aliens were all different and strange, and that robot was so cool! I also liked the supporting cast: Hydroflax was just hilariously evil, and that little bald guy played by Matt Lucas made me want to hug him, because he just seemed so sympathetic, but in a funny way. I didn’t like Ramone though, but maybe that’s because I saw him as a legitimate rival to the Doctor (so good-looking and nice). Still, it was just so much fun to see everyone. Great casting, just great.
All in all, I think this might be my new favorite Doctor Who Christmas Special, and the best episode of Doctor Who in a while. If we get more stories like this in Season 10, I think I’ll have very little to complain about in the fall.
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It still comes second after A Christmas Carol, but I did love the episode all around! It was packed with so much fun, but also a ton of emotion. You really got to see a different side of River and her relationship with the Doctor. And you are right, the casting was great too! I also wasn’t too fond of Ramone hahaha
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You know, I think if they work for such a fancy restaurant, they could probably afford to get separate bodies. If I were Nargul and Ramone, I’d be like, “I like you, but I need my own body.”
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Hahaha I would definitely want a separation, but maybe nobody knows how to create another cyberman body like that and therefore that’s the only way they can survive.
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Or maybe they’re saving up. Who knows how much a robot body costs?
By the way, I looked up to see what news about Series 10 there was. So far, not much: Capaldi is coming back, though he’s not signed on for anything beyond Series 10, so depending on a number of factors it could be his last series (I hope not though, I want him to stick around a bit longer). Also, they’re already forming the new companion, and by the way they’re not using gender in referring to the character, it could be a male. Mysteries abound.
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Hmm, possible.
If my favourite Doctor only got 3 Seasons, Capaldi should only get 3 Seasons hahaha
I love Capaldi by now, but I do hope it’s his last season
I wouldn’t mind a male companion for a change!
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It certainly would be a change. While we’ve had male companions since 1960’s, we’ve never had a full-time male companion on his own with the Doctor. There’s always been a woman on the TARDIS as well. It’d be interesting to see what that sort of dynamic would be like.
Maybe they can call back Tommy Knight to play Luke Smith from The Sarah Jane Adventures. But then that’d be too much like Clara, someone very much like the Doctor. I don’t know, we’ll see.
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You love Doctor Who! So do I! I liked the christmas special, I thought it was really quicky and a nice contrast against some more heavier episodes. It was lovely to see River again too. It’s so lovely to see a blog that reviews films and TV!
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DOCTOR WHO IS THE BEST!! It’s the only show where I review every single episode, except for Sherlock … that one too!
I enjoyed that it was a little lighter as well, even though it still had it’s emotional moments!
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Yes I totally agree on everything you just said! And YOU LOVE SHERLOCK TOO, I think it is my favourite TV show of all time!
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ABSOLUTELY! BBC’s Sherlock is SO awesome 🙂 I am glad we agree on that!
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Every episode is so intelligent and well written!
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Exactly! I could never write such complex and smart dialogue.
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[…] have been too much in my opinion. Instead, we see the Doctor’s office, Nardole (from the 2015 Christmas Special), the TARDIS in the corner and lovely pictures of River and Susan (yes, sometimes even I recognise […]
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