I really didn't like this episode, and not only because I'm a Rose stan. Firstly, it feels like this episode, especially coming as it did directly after School Reunion, was meant to take Rose down a peg and show that the Doctor could drop her at any moment . It reminded me somewhat of the X-Files episode "The Field Where I Died" in that regard. Secondly, the love story was extremely unbelievable, at least from the Doctor's end. He's seen her, what, 6,7 times in the span of less than 24 hours, two meetings of which were with a literal child - oh and they had a brainmeld or something, and suddenly he's super in love? But beyond all of that, and what makes me not only consider this episode average, but actively bad, is that there is absolutely no logical explanation for why he shouldn't be able to use the TARDIS to visit her - which means the entire "tragic" part of the story doesn't make any sense whatsoever and thus loses all its weight. I'm sure there are people who can look beyond that, but to me it just makes this episode extremely weak. The costumes were amazing, of course, the villains were interesting (something Moffat is good at as evidenced by The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances) and there was some good humour, but all in all the actual plot is only worthwhile insofar as it symbolises the tragedy of the Doctor's lifespan as compared to his human companions; in the end, all his relationships must feel that way - one minute they're a child, the next you watch their coffin be carried off.
Review by CluisannaBlockedParent2018-05-03T22:38:06Z— updated 2018-12-28T01:47:46Z
I really didn't like this episode, and not only because I'm a Rose stan. Firstly, it feels like this episode, especially coming as it did directly after School Reunion, was meant to take Rose down a peg and show that the Doctor could drop her at any moment . It reminded me somewhat of the X-Files episode "The Field Where I Died" in that regard. Secondly, the love story was extremely unbelievable, at least from the Doctor's end. He's seen her, what, 6,7 times in the span of less than 24 hours, two meetings of which were with a literal child - oh and they had a brainmeld or something, and suddenly he's super in love?
But beyond all of that, and what makes me not only consider this episode average, but actively bad, is that there is absolutely no logical explanation for why he shouldn't be able to use the TARDIS to visit her - which means the entire "tragic" part of the story doesn't make any sense whatsoever and thus loses all its weight. I'm sure there are people who can look beyond that, but to me it just makes this episode extremely weak.
The costumes were amazing, of course, the villains were interesting (something Moffat is good at as evidenced by The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances) and there was some good humour, but all in all the actual plot is only worthwhile insofar as it symbolises the tragedy of the Doctor's lifespan as compared to his human companions; in the end, all his relationships must feel that way - one minute they're a child, the next you watch their coffin be carried off.