"Kill the moon?"

[locker_monster]

Hmm, I'm not sure what to make of this episode.

I think we needed a buffer episode between "The Caretaker" and "Kill the Moon". Clara's decision to leave the Doctor comes too close on the heels of her promise to Danny. I know from Clara's point of view it's probably been a few adventures since the Skovox Blizter, but narratively, it just seems horribly convenient that the very next story has her losing faith in the Doctor right after Danny warns her that it could happen.

But is this Clara getting out? Hmm, I don't know about that. Next episode could feature the Doctor on his own, like "The Lodger", and then Clara could come right back in after she's thought it over. Or the next time trailer is just edited so Clara isn't featured at all; they've done that before to make you thing a character or characters aren't coming back. But if Clara is having a crisis of faith, it could lead into her departure. She's starting to see how crazy it is to run off with a time travelling alien every time he shows up on her doorstep. What kind of life is that? She can't keep that up if she wants a family and children. And oh, hey look, they brought up the notion that Clara would want children. So it will be interesting to see how this affects Clara's relationship with the Doctor. How can she trust him again after a stunt like this?

And wow, has the Doctor ever left in the middle of a crisis like that? I'm not sure where he was coming from. He always helps out wherever he lands. He's probably directed the course of human history so many times; what's one more time? That was the part of the episode I really had a hard time absorbing. I mean, sure, Clara gets a meaty dilemma to struggle with, but did the Doctor really need to disappear without letting anyone know what he was thinking? Yet again, he kept Clara in the dark and everything nearly went pear shaped.

So where are we headed? I don't think an apology will get the Doctor of this.

And I'm not really sure what Courtney added to the story. And would the Doctor really tell her she's not special? That seems to fly in the face of what the Doctor believes; that everyone is important. I thought he would take her on a trip to show her that life is awesome and that she can do more with her life than be a disruptive influence at school. Here, it's feel more off-hand. "Oh, let's go to the Moon, then you'll be special." However, once Courtney gets out there, it does sort of work. She's a little bit annoying, but the Doctor seemed to enjoy showing her things and teaching her things.

Random: Ha, Twelve used a yo-yo to test the gravity like Four did! And a reference to Two, as well. "When I say, run, run." Again, a small cast. The Doctor, Clara, Courtney, Lundvik, and the two redshirt astronauts. That's a really nice beach at the end. Does anyone know where they filmed that scene? More recycled spacesuits. I noticed they removed or rubbed off the Sanctuary Base Six logo on Twelve's. That must be the same suit that David Tennant wore way back in "The Impossible Planet". Good thing everyone is the same height. And my god, what an ugly shirt Twelve was wearing. Not polka dots, please. It doesn't suit him. And it's so convenient that the space chicken laid another egg before leaving. Of course, it had to happen since there are stories set on the Moon post-2049 and how can they happen if the Moon hatched?

So, mummy on the Orient Express. Um, didn't Eleven mention something like that at the end of "The Big Bang"?

Sigh, we're on the back six episodes of the season. Soon the season will be over. How time flies.

Comments

[rumpelsnorcack.livejournal.com]

It's a teeny bit different in The Big Bang: 'an Egyptian goddess loose on the Orient Express ... in space' (*cough* is it obvious I watch that one a lot?) but similar enough that I got all *sad face* about it. Still, the preview looks entertaining enough.

I actually quite liked this one. I liked that Clara really stuck it to the Doctor, saying 'I don't feel respected' when he tries to charm his way out of what she's telling him. It's a very uncomfortable conversation and she never lets up on him. It's quite brilliant. I doubt she'll be giving him up, though it's still nice to see him so thoroughly told he was wrong. But then she rushes off to Danny to get confirmation that she was right which sits wrong with me. I feel like she should own her own morality and decisions without needing that backup from Danny. But I do like him a lot -- I wonder if we'll find out what his 'really bad day' was about. It's been subtly referenced quite a lot since he was introduced so surely that's leading somewhere.

[locker-monster.livejournal.com]

Maybe there will be a mention of Eleven, Amy, and Rory and how they were on the Space Orient Express the last time? I would like that.

It was an interesting contrast to her moment in "Deep Breath" when she said the Doctor would always have her back. When he left her behind then, Clara had faith that he would come back. But here? She had her doubts and that was the scary part. Obviously we have the rest of the season to go so the Doctor won't be travelling on his own, but I wonder if Clara will be more wary of the Doctor from this point.

My thought on Danny's really bad day is that maybe he killed some civilians by mistake? The kid in "Into the Dalek" asked if he ever killed someone who wasn't soldier and Danny totally didn't answer.

[newnumber6.livejournal.com]

I think the "everyone is special" thing is a thing he's sort of divided one. He believes it, that every life is important, no matter how small, but at the same time he does believe, deep down, compared to him, most humans are boring and a little dumb... so when he finds one worthy of travelling with, it's special. Everyone's worthy of saving, everyone can make a huge difference, but worth taking in the TARDIS and showing all the wonders of the universe? No, you have to be special, the type of person who'll APPRECIATE that, not the type who'll throw up in the corner of his machine.

Except it's hard to make that distinction clear to a girl who's just been told she's not special enough to travel with him, especially if you're a rather self-loathing Doctor who's not really as in touch with his feelings as previous ones... best to just take her on an adventure to make her feel special.

What I found a little annoying though is that he acted like SHE saved the world, or at least the moon, when really, it was mostly Clara... all she did is express her opinion, and maybe that helped to convince Clara, but Clara was the one who made the final decision, and when it seemed like they were going to let it happen, Courtney didn't even protest much. :P

Btw, weird that Courtney becomes president of the US, but then I remembered that if anybody needed to see her US birth certificate, she could just pull out her telepathic paper. ;)

As for the Doctor abandoning them... I think that was in deliberate answer to Clara's "hey, why don't we just leave... this'll sort itself out, right? We know the moon's still there." He felt he had to give her an object lesson, that her actions (and by extension, HIS actions whenever he lands somewhere and interferes) DID matter, point out beyond any doubt that, if she wasn't there, history would be different (because the world voted to kill, and the astronaut would have killed). How can you have a companion who travels with you when they believe they can just go home at any moment, leave a crisis, and it'll all work itself out because that's history? (As for risk... well, once he decided to leave, he could pop into the future and check it out and see what her decision WAS, without his interference, and correct it... you could say it wasn't just faith, he literally DID know she'd make the right call, so it was okay to stay gone the entire time).

Of course, he just happened to do it in the most patronizing way: in a previous incarnation, with Sarah Jane, he did the same thing in a more respectful way, where he explained and briefly showed her an alternate future that would result if they didn't intervene right then. But even if it was patronizing, it was an important lesson that a companion of the Doctor needs to know, to believe... that they're really making a difference, even though it's all history.

[locker-monster.livejournal.com]

Courtney does reach for the abort button at the same time as Clara, but I found that she didn't really add much. It almost felt like she was tacked on after the fact or something. The story would have been exactly the same if she hadn't been there.

It's interesting that Clara mentions leaving in the middle of a crisis back in "The Rings of Akhaten" but Eleven doesn't really say anything. I guess he was too busy trying to find a sun god thingy.

I think the show is trying to deconstruct the Doctor as a hero this season and that seems to mean playing with Clara's perception of him as well. She's happy to view him as an impossible hero in "Robot of Sherwood", but now she's starting to see that the Doctor isn't the stalwart figure she thought he was. This is starting to feel like groundwork for her eventual departure.