...got the title right.
Yeah anyway once again this took way too long to come out, and for that I'm sorry. At this point I'm nearly done rewatching Series 2. But here it is anyway. Part 3 of me reviewing every episode of the Russel T Davies era. (Previous instalment: https://tardis.fandom.com/f/p/4400000000003590933 )
The three episodes I'll be reviewing today are nothing short of bangers and some of the best episodes of the season. So let's jump right into them, shall we?
Episode 8: Father's Day
Now this is where the season started to get good. And I mean really good. There were certainly some great episodes before this one ('The Unquiet Dead', 'Dalek'), but here is where it started getting consistently great. Every episode after and including this one (with the exception of 'Boom Town', but we'll talk about that later) is great in their own right. While this isn't my overall favourite episode of the season, it's definitely up there. 'Father's Day' picks up some natural conflict between the Doctor and Rose, and explores Rose's past in ways we haven't seen before. At this point, thanks to the spectacular characterisation this season has been giving us (I've said it before and I'll say it again; this is the exact opposite of Season 11 in that respect), we really have a full understanding of who Rose is as a character. So by thrusting her into a situation where she sees her father die, we know what she'll probably do. Compelling characterisation is made when we get to see characters in their character during the action (Season 11 prefers to take character breaks every once in a while to remind you that the companions have one trait each, before they turn back into cardboard during the action). Rose's decisions in this episode are compelling, because we understand from what part of her character they are coming from. Her interactions with her dad in this episode, the emotional core of the episode, are some of the best scenes in the entire series as a result of we knowing who she is. Now let's talk about the Doctor's character in this episode. I've heard a couple fans express anger about the Doctor nearly abandoning Rose in this episode because he got so upset at her. They say it's jarring for his character after all he and Rose have been through. But I completely disagree. I think the reason he gets so mad at her is precisely BECAUSE of what they've been through. He's learnt to trust her, so when she betrays his trust, he rightfully becomes angry with her because he feels, well betrayed. Does he go too far in showing this? Definitely. But remember that he's still vulnerable. He's still healing from his scars of the Time War. He's not a perfect Doctor, he never will be. But he is a good Doctor, and he wasn't going to actually abandon her. In terms of character, this is easily one of the strongest of the entire era. I haven't even talked about Pete yet, but this review is getting too long so I'm cutting it here. Point is, phenomenal episode. Maybe if the pacing was a bit faster it'd be my favourite of the season, but it's still awesome. (A)
And you what's crazy? That's the weakest of these three episodes in my opinion.
Episode 9: The Empty Child
THIS IS IT. This is my favourite episode of the season, hands down. Series' 7 and 9 really made me forget what Moffat can do when he's at his best. I think he's much better at individual episodes than series-long plots, and it shows here. This episode is everything great about this season going on top form. First of all, it introduces us to Captain Jack Harkness. In this episode, Jack is a con man attempting to con the Doctor and Rose, but he's shown to be a charming, witty, playful sort of character from his first moment and a lot of what makes this character work comes from John Barrowman. His performance in this episode is perfect, from his more lighthearted moments, to his actual series moments where he realises his recklessness might have gotten people hurt. His arc over the course of this two-part is really compelling, and is explored more in the next episode. The plot of this story is extremely well set-up here. It's tense, frightening, creepy, exciting and you're dying to know how it ends. That's how a part one of a two-part should be. After 'Aliens of London', I wasn't thrilled to see how that story would continue, but after this episode, I'm dying to watch the next one. But yeah all in all this is the best possible type of set-up. The characters for the story are well established, the setting is extremely well established (like holy frick they did a good job in this department) and the plot is started in a way to leave you hooked. The very best stories of this season (this two-parter and 'The Unquiet Dead') both have incredibly well established, hooking settings that something like 'Dalek' or even 'Father's Day' are lacking. Man I don't even know what else to say, it's just phenomenal. Is it perfect? No. The way Rose meets Captain Jack is ridiculously dumb. Is it better than the best episodes of Series 2, 3 and 4? No. There are at least eight or nine episodes from those seasons that are better. Is this still the best episode of this season? Absolutely. It's not quite an S Tier episode, but it's really close. Definitely check it out if you haven't already. (A)
Episode 10: The Doctor Dances
A thoroughly satisfying conclusion to the previous episode in every way. Moffat is really good (most of the time) at writing plot twists, and the ones in this episode are great. I'm not going to spoil them in case you haven't seen this episode, but trust me when I say everything ties together beautifully. Once again, Jack Harkness absolutely steels the show for every scene he's in, and his arc is incredibly well handled, starting off only self-interested and by the end willing to sacrifice himself to save the day. This episode is also a good point on the Doctor's arc too. He really needed this happy ending after all the hardship he's been through recently, and Christopher Eccleston's beaming smile at the end almost choked me up to be honest. He really is a fantastic actor playing a fantastic Doctor (quote pun intended). This episode also manages to keep up the more scary tone of the first pretty well. It's not as unnerving, sure, but it does a good job at keeping the tension up. Imagine in your part two of your two-part story you completely change the tone of the first part (although it was almost definitely an accident in the case of 'Aliens of London'/'World War Three'). The stakes are well framed, the characters are all great, yeah honestly I don't know what to say about this one. It's just a perfect resolution to the conflict of 'The Empty Child', tying everything up in a satisfying way and concluding the best story of the season. It's definitely a really, really great episode and one of my favourites of the season. (A)
WHEW BOY. That was long. This is easily the longest I've talked about any episode of this season, and I think that goes to show just how much I love these three. Here's my full season ranking:
S1 E9 The Empty Child (A)
S1 E10 The Doctor Dances (A)
S1 E3 The Unquiet Dead (A)
S1 E8 Father's Day (A)
S1 E6 Dalek (A-)
S1 E1 Rose (B+)
S1 E2 The End of the World (B-) (moved it above 'The Long Game', because while that episode was more consistent, this one had higher highs.)
S1 E7 The Long Game (B-)
S1 E5 World War Three (C)
S1 E4 Aliens of London (C)
Now to work on the next reviews because I've already watched those episodes. Until that comes out, see you around the fandom as I spread my controversial opinions. Bye!
