Review/Recap of Doctor Who 8.10 "In the Forest of the Night" - Spoilers!
Kind of not sure what I should say about "In the Forest of the Night." Other than it felt like a calming presence right before everything goes to hell and back in the finale. Hence, the song I chose to go along with this review (I dunno - "Perfect Time of Day" has always been that lovely, relaxing song for me. You just shush). To sum up -
- This whole thing with Clara lying to Danny about not traveling with the Doctor - was kind of resolved in a fairly okay way. Like - Clara realized she'd done something wrong, she apologized, Danny was upset, but he accepted her apology. Danny knows that traveling with the Doctor is a huge part of Clara's life and it's something that's always going to be a part of her. I think that's something he loves about her - she finds amazing things and gets excited about sharing it with him. And while he has zero desire to travel himself - he supports her in what she loves. Just as long as she doesn't keep secrets about it. And he's willing to give her the time she needs to do it - or decide she doesn't want to do it anymore. I like the way this went. I like that they didn't have a big fight about it. I like that they came to a mature, unselfish conclusion that works for both of them. Isn't that what being in a relationship is all about?
(at least, that's what I hear. Having never been in such a relationship myself... um... yeah... Next Topic!)
- The Twelfth Doctor and kids - especially little Maeve. That was adorable. I love that we got another kid for the Doctor to interact with that wasn't Courtney (she was all right - just too obnoxious to have all the time). Maeve was great, though. Kind of like fairy-tale-struck Amelia Pond - though Maeve's fairy-tale-ness was due to the fact that she'd experienced some life-altering trauma (the disappearance of her sister) and that was how she coped with it. By making friends (of sorts) with the little flying-light-people (didn't catch what they were called - I'll have to figure it out later).
- It's interesting that this adventure was undertaken with the "Gifted and Talented" students at Coal Hill (and even Clara admits they call them that in order to make them feel better about not being... whatever you call it). The kids with Issues, I guess. Anger management, ADD, mental health struggles - things of that nature. Because if there was ever a Gifted and Talented person in the universe, it's the Doctor (especially the Twelfth Doctor). And the problem - that of the sudden growth of trees worldwide - certainly takes some out of the box thinking that clearly isn't going to be solved by follow-the-rules-and-outlined-policies-and-don't-use-any-imagination-whatsoever governments, as evidenced by the fact that they send out fire teams to burn down the forest and that doesn't work (I'll get to that in a minute). But these kids - they think about these problems a little bit different. They come at it in a new way that isn't "what we've always done." Which is how the Doctor works. And because of that, he's been perceived by authority figures as a rebel and someone to be shut up or gotten rid of. Someone to be medicated or fixed in some way (and here I must stress that I am NOT knocking using medication for mental health issues. Hell, I take medication for anxiety! I couldn't cope with life if I didn't!) I dunno - I just liked that juxtaposition of Things Not Being What They Seem and solutions coming in unexpected ways.
- Question - Why do they go to controlled burning first? Why not send out - I dunno - a bunch of chainsaws or axes or something that doesn't have the potential to burn everything down? One errant breeze and you guys are toast! Pun not intended. Honestly... Bunch of freaking morons...
- There were some really great lines and themes in this story. I'm not familiar with Frank Cotrell-Boyce's writing (though I feel like I should be - his name certainly rings a bell). Some of my favorites:
- "Even my life is too short for Les Miserables."
- "Do you need to save the world when it's already saving itself?"
- The inclusion of this joke:
All in all, a solid episode to finish out the not-finale portion of Series 8. And from the "Next Time" trailer - it looks like the finale's fixin' to be a doozy. Well - let's do this thing. I'm ready for it!
(just kidding - I'm not ready)
(Theory - I think Missy is going to take Clara over and do... something sinister with her persona. Haven't thought that all the way through yet...)
Kind of not sure what I should say about "In the Forest of the Night." Other than it felt like a calming presence right before everything goes to hell and back in the finale. Hence, the song I chose to go along with this review (I dunno - "Perfect Time of Day" has always been that lovely, relaxing song for me. You just shush). To sum up -
- This whole thing with Clara lying to Danny about not traveling with the Doctor - was kind of resolved in a fairly okay way. Like - Clara realized she'd done something wrong, she apologized, Danny was upset, but he accepted her apology. Danny knows that traveling with the Doctor is a huge part of Clara's life and it's something that's always going to be a part of her. I think that's something he loves about her - she finds amazing things and gets excited about sharing it with him. And while he has zero desire to travel himself - he supports her in what she loves. Just as long as she doesn't keep secrets about it. And he's willing to give her the time she needs to do it - or decide she doesn't want to do it anymore. I like the way this went. I like that they didn't have a big fight about it. I like that they came to a mature, unselfish conclusion that works for both of them. Isn't that what being in a relationship is all about?
(at least, that's what I hear. Having never been in such a relationship myself... um... yeah... Next Topic!)
- The Twelfth Doctor and kids - especially little Maeve. That was adorable. I love that we got another kid for the Doctor to interact with that wasn't Courtney (she was all right - just too obnoxious to have all the time). Maeve was great, though. Kind of like fairy-tale-struck Amelia Pond - though Maeve's fairy-tale-ness was due to the fact that she'd experienced some life-altering trauma (the disappearance of her sister) and that was how she coped with it. By making friends (of sorts) with the little flying-light-people (didn't catch what they were called - I'll have to figure it out later).
- It's interesting that this adventure was undertaken with the "Gifted and Talented" students at Coal Hill (and even Clara admits they call them that in order to make them feel better about not being... whatever you call it). The kids with Issues, I guess. Anger management, ADD, mental health struggles - things of that nature. Because if there was ever a Gifted and Talented person in the universe, it's the Doctor (especially the Twelfth Doctor). And the problem - that of the sudden growth of trees worldwide - certainly takes some out of the box thinking that clearly isn't going to be solved by follow-the-rules-and-outlined-policies-and-don't-use-any-imagination-whatsoever governments, as evidenced by the fact that they send out fire teams to burn down the forest and that doesn't work (I'll get to that in a minute). But these kids - they think about these problems a little bit different. They come at it in a new way that isn't "what we've always done." Which is how the Doctor works. And because of that, he's been perceived by authority figures as a rebel and someone to be shut up or gotten rid of. Someone to be medicated or fixed in some way (and here I must stress that I am NOT knocking using medication for mental health issues. Hell, I take medication for anxiety! I couldn't cope with life if I didn't!) I dunno - I just liked that juxtaposition of Things Not Being What They Seem and solutions coming in unexpected ways.
- Question - Why do they go to controlled burning first? Why not send out - I dunno - a bunch of chainsaws or axes or something that doesn't have the potential to burn everything down? One errant breeze and you guys are toast! Pun not intended. Honestly... Bunch of freaking morons...
- There were some really great lines and themes in this story. I'm not familiar with Frank Cotrell-Boyce's writing (though I feel like I should be - his name certainly rings a bell). Some of my favorites:
- "Even my life is too short for Les Miserables."
- "Do you need to save the world when it's already saving itself?"
- The inclusion of this joke:
All in all, a solid episode to finish out the not-finale portion of Series 8. And from the "Next Time" trailer - it looks like the finale's fixin' to be a doozy. Well - let's do this thing. I'm ready for it!
(just kidding - I'm not ready)
(Theory - I think Missy is going to take Clara over and do... something sinister with her persona. Haven't thought that all the way through yet...)
No comments:
Post a Comment