DW: Episode 4.12

Set up that last episode, RTD! And make sure as little as possible actually happens!


That may sound odd, but little actually happens that can't be summarised as "The Daleks attack, and the Doctor arrives". Sounds like the opening teaser really, and it is in many ways, as we head into Journey's End. The main point of the episode is to remind the viewers of who is who (in the new series Whoniverse), and position them for the final climatic... climax. (Now, I admit, I didn't see the Doctor's climax coming (oo-er missus), but the rest were predictable in that people must be put in jeopardy as the end tune hits, and who else to put in danger but companions?)

There were many beats hit in this episode, "Mr Smith, I need you", "Harriet Jones" (done three times, of course, with everyone knowing who she is), Captain Jack hits of everyone, Rose gets emotional... but one can hope that was a kind of "greatest hits" and that next time we can get on with it.

Many plot points were hit on as well, the Medusa Cascade, the bees, the missing planets... good to know that they were being set up for something (but we knew that anyway from last week's Confidential, as well as RTD's usual arc tactics). As for new plot points... well, we all know the Daleks and Davros were involved, but did we need Davros? Big Finish proved that the Daleks work fine without him (even if they caved and now we have tons of Davros stories...), and previous episodes were good. Still, sooner or later, one feels the need to give the Daleks more voice than their usual staccato utterances and Davros is a lot better than those Big Name Daleks...

Yes, I admit it was nice to see those old faces (but do we really need to beat on the Doctor/Rose relationship so much? Have the viewers not moved on, even if clearly RTD hasn't (or, at least, thinks the audience hasn't)? Bring on the last big episode, and Who ever is in it...


Next week: No idea. And not sure if a leaked trailer is a good or bad thing to watch...

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