After last week’s dip in quality, Doctor Who was back on fine form tonight with The Power of Three. Reminiscent of the Davies/Tennant days, the episode was truly “one for the fans” as Matt Smith put it. It also more than made up for the uselessness of Amy and Rory last week as the episode was seen almost completely from their perspective more than any other episode ever attempted to. While the ending was a bit weak, the rest of the episode was strong enough to make this a truly memorable episode.
The opening scene was a neat way of showing everything the trio had been through before they leave us next week while also showing us what life’s like without the Doctor. Writer Chris Chibnall has really surprised me with his work this series as his work in the past hadn’t been anything outstanding. This series though, he’s given us not one, but two great episodes and they’re both very different. While Dinosaurs on a Spaceship focused more on the adventure aspect, this episode is all about the character moments.
Amy and Rory’s life is slightly more complicated than any of the past companions, travelling with the Doctor on-and-off for about 10 years now. It seems though that they’re slowly getting tired of “running away” and is ready to settle down. Amy changed careers again and now she’s a journalist. There’s sadness behind the Doctor’s eyes seeing them all grown up. Matt Smith is once again fantastic. His scenes with Karen Gillan are the highlights of the episode, the best of which is the one where they sit and talk while looking over the Thames. It’s such a beautiful and moving scene that basically sums everything up and celebrates Amy and Rory before they leave. Being their penultimate episode, there’s a sense of foreboding behind everything they say, making it harder for anyone to watch this scene without getting a tiny bit teary-eyed.
It was great to see Mark Williams again in the show as Rory’s dad and while he didn’t necessarily steal the show like last time, he served a very important presence. There are many comedic moments built around him monitoring the cubes, but like any father, he worries about Amy and Rory’s traveling with the Doctor and asks the Time-Lord about his other companions. With a heavy heart the Doctor tells him of the few that have died, but “never them” he promises Brian.
Once again, there’s a sense of foreshadowing here, but if I know Moffat, he’ll do something far worse than kill them off. In the end though, it’s Brian who encourages the Ponds to keep traveling with the Doctor, for not everyone gets the chance to save worlds. “Just bring them back safe” he says. Again, the sense of foreboding. Brian reminded me so much of Wilfred, and at some moments, even Jackie. Again, this felt very much like a Davies-era episode, while keeping the Moffat-ness of it intact.
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