Welcome to part 1 of the two part fifth series finale of Doctor Who. It seemed like we had to wait ages for the premiere, and yet we are already wrapping up another great season with The Doctor and his companion. *Here begins Spoil Time, kids*
We certainly started this one off with a bang, seeing the return of both Vincent and River. We also got a lovely painting of the TARDIS exploding and hints of the Pandorica opening (which is apparently supposed to be a myth, according to our friend The Doctor). Yep, not five minutes in and we already can tell this is going to be a good one.
Remember last week when I said all our adventures seem to happen in dark, creepy places? Yeah, cue the dark creepy cave where we find the Pandorica. So much for it being a myth! I guess even The Doctor can be wrong on occasion. The bad news here is this thing holds some big bad that is now making its great escape. Oh, and it gets better – because there is a signal being broadcast telling everyone in the area about this event. Every alien that ever wanted The Doctor dead is now coming straight for him! Daleks, Cybermen, and much, much more. You name it, they are probably on their way. How are our heroes supposed to fight with odds like that?
With no weapons and absolutely no plan, I still love The Doctor’s chances here. He will win because, like he said, he’s got nothing to lose – except the Universe itself. Oh, and the TARDIS which is looking like the source of all the cracks in time. We know the cracks were caused by a really big explosion, and The Doctor pulled out a piece of the TARDIS from one of those cracks. It would appear that the TARDIS exploding causes several rifts in time, the first one we notice being the one in Amy’s bedroom. Which is probably why River ends up back at Amy’s house – because it all goes back to her somehow.
Sidebar before I do my final wrap-up: I was completely (and pleasantly) surprised to see the return of Amy’s fiance, Rory. (Even better was seeing him as a Roman soldier. I loved how long it took The Doctor to process that one). It was great seeing him again and even better seeing Amy slowly remember who he was.
Back to the story – It turns out that the Romans aren’t real and the whole thing is an elaborate trap to get The Doctor’s attention. Other bad things that all happen within the last five minutes include – The Pandorica opening, the TARDIS exploding, an alliance of basically every creature in the universe capturing The Doctor inside the Pandorica, Rory shooting Amy (with her looking quite lifeless as he holds her in his arms), and the pending doom that is the potential end of the Universe as we know it. If you’re wondering how we make all of this better, then you’re gonna have to wait till next week. This is proving, so far, to be one of the best finales Doctor Who has had. It’s definitely right up there with my personal favorite up until this point, Season 3. The Master’s complete dominance over The Doctor for a majority of the 3-part story had me on the edge of my seat. I don’t think my jaw has ever dropped as low as it did tonight though. As a voice echoed, “Silence will fall,” I noted how that could apply to the events happening on the show, as well as the silence in our own homes as we watched in astonishment at how epically bad things had gotten for our heroes.
Thus concludes this week’s recap. What did you think of tonight’s episode? And how do you think The Doctor is going to get out of the biggest trap he’s had to face yet? As always, sound off in the comments section below. And don’t forget to tune in next week for the thrilling conclusion. Here’s a preview of what to expect: