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. . . but I can't seem to find the right image. As I said elsewhere, I think that's why I have almost no icons of Doctors, though I have several of companions. I'm not sure what the right image is. I'm not even certain I'd know it if I saw it.
Anyway, I saw "Listen," and here's my reaction:
Apparently fans are very split on this episode. I thought it was the best this season (yes, I know the season is young).
Here's what I didn't like:
• I thought the arguments between Clara and Danny felt very contrived and forced. Yes, we get it: they like each other so much that they're very awkward. Awkward is one thing. Clara keeps alluding to Danny having killed people, and that's just cruel. She's either singularly insensitive where he is concerned, or it's bad writing in an episode that I think is otherwise good. And Danny leaving seemed a bit much—especially after he has observed that she didn't come back with her jacket, so he should have noticed she has nowhere to carry a wallet! Then too, calling him "Rupert" seemed too much as well!
• They're really beating us over the head with poor, messed-up Danny! I'd rather have him a bit less messed-up, thanks, especially since I feel like Doctor Who tends to give us particularly damaged and unappreciated Black companions (which is perhaps a discussion for another time). It's not sufficient that Danny is a soldier who apparently has deep regrets and perhaps trauma from killing. No, he's an orphan who spent at least some time in a home, too. And he may have become a soldier because of a rather carelessly implanted dream from the Doctor, which might not have happened if Clara had been honest!
• I'm really bothered by Clara's dishonesty, both with the Doctor and with Danny. I can understand her motivation, but not why it's strong enough to overcome any common sense and the obvious danger that her lies pose. The Doctor is tinkering with Danny's life and Orson's having been told that neither has any connection to Clara, but they both do, and his tinkering with young Danny may affect adult Danny when he meets Clara! Yes, the Doctor would be deeply annoying if he met Danny. He might even sabotage her relationship with him. Then again, could the Doctor do any worse than Clara and Danny are managing between them right now? And surely it's not safe to lie to a Time Lord about your connections to someone you're going to meet again later in life!
Here's what I did like:
• Samuel Anderson is a very expressive actor. I'm not convinced that Danny is being written well, and yet I want to see a good deal more of him. I want to see him become a companion.
• I love that the Doctor's simultaneously inquisitive and paranoid nature led him to create a paradox: Clara is his monster under the bed, and the reason he goes looking for these things in the first place, and thus the reasons why he saves Orson, who would have opened that door (and probably soon). I love that we got all scared and then didn't get some big monster like Weeping Angels or the Silence. I like that Moffat played a variation on his own themes that caught me unawares.
• I'm intrigued that we caught a glimpse of the monster under Danny's bed, and that sure as heck wasn't Clara. I hope we'll get more—but not in a heavy-handed way. Yes, I dream big.
• I was completely taken by surprise when Clara found the young Doctor.
Unless it isn't: I said afterwards, "What if she was comforting the boy who becomes The Master?" Tempted to write a fic here. . . . ;-)
• Also, I will now feel free to interject any time the Doctor displays bad manners (which is quite often with this one), "Well, he was, after all, raised in a barn."
Brilliant Husband insists he wasn't raised in a barn; he only slept in it. BH does not let facts get in the way of his jokes, so I shan't either.
• I probably shouldn't have enjoyed this, but I thought it was hilarious that the Doctor decides to hide in the bedroom in case the date goes well and she brings Danny back. That's the Doctor I want: not flirting with companions but completely clueless, or darned near. The Doctor who thinks that Amy and Rory must have bunk beds because they're the best.
• Clara is right. The Doctor should not travel long alone.
So what do you all think?
Anyway, I saw "Listen," and here's my reaction:
Apparently fans are very split on this episode. I thought it was the best this season (yes, I know the season is young).
Here's what I didn't like:
• I thought the arguments between Clara and Danny felt very contrived and forced. Yes, we get it: they like each other so much that they're very awkward. Awkward is one thing. Clara keeps alluding to Danny having killed people, and that's just cruel. She's either singularly insensitive where he is concerned, or it's bad writing in an episode that I think is otherwise good. And Danny leaving seemed a bit much—especially after he has observed that she didn't come back with her jacket, so he should have noticed she has nowhere to carry a wallet! Then too, calling him "Rupert" seemed too much as well!
• They're really beating us over the head with poor, messed-up Danny! I'd rather have him a bit less messed-up, thanks, especially since I feel like Doctor Who tends to give us particularly damaged and unappreciated Black companions (which is perhaps a discussion for another time). It's not sufficient that Danny is a soldier who apparently has deep regrets and perhaps trauma from killing. No, he's an orphan who spent at least some time in a home, too. And he may have become a soldier because of a rather carelessly implanted dream from the Doctor, which might not have happened if Clara had been honest!
• I'm really bothered by Clara's dishonesty, both with the Doctor and with Danny. I can understand her motivation, but not why it's strong enough to overcome any common sense and the obvious danger that her lies pose. The Doctor is tinkering with Danny's life and Orson's having been told that neither has any connection to Clara, but they both do, and his tinkering with young Danny may affect adult Danny when he meets Clara! Yes, the Doctor would be deeply annoying if he met Danny. He might even sabotage her relationship with him. Then again, could the Doctor do any worse than Clara and Danny are managing between them right now? And surely it's not safe to lie to a Time Lord about your connections to someone you're going to meet again later in life!
Here's what I did like:
• Samuel Anderson is a very expressive actor. I'm not convinced that Danny is being written well, and yet I want to see a good deal more of him. I want to see him become a companion.
• I love that the Doctor's simultaneously inquisitive and paranoid nature led him to create a paradox: Clara is his monster under the bed, and the reason he goes looking for these things in the first place, and thus the reasons why he saves Orson, who would have opened that door (and probably soon). I love that we got all scared and then didn't get some big monster like Weeping Angels or the Silence. I like that Moffat played a variation on his own themes that caught me unawares.
• I'm intrigued that we caught a glimpse of the monster under Danny's bed, and that sure as heck wasn't Clara. I hope we'll get more—but not in a heavy-handed way. Yes, I dream big.
• I was completely taken by surprise when Clara found the young Doctor.
Unless it isn't: I said afterwards, "What if she was comforting the boy who becomes The Master?" Tempted to write a fic here. . . . ;-)
• Also, I will now feel free to interject any time the Doctor displays bad manners (which is quite often with this one), "Well, he was, after all, raised in a barn."
Brilliant Husband insists he wasn't raised in a barn; he only slept in it. BH does not let facts get in the way of his jokes, so I shan't either.
• I probably shouldn't have enjoyed this, but I thought it was hilarious that the Doctor decides to hide in the bedroom in case the date goes well and she brings Danny back. That's the Doctor I want: not flirting with companions but completely clueless, or darned near. The Doctor who thinks that Amy and Rory must have bunk beds because they're the best.
• Clara is right. The Doctor should not travel long alone.
So what do you all think?
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That was hilarious though!! Made no sense and was VERY Doctor, lol!! I do love it when he's clueless like that.
*HUGS*
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My immediate thought about the crying boy was it was The Master. I can't remember all the details, but he was exposed to the time vortex at an early age like other kids, but for some reason it drove him insane. I could easily see this being post exposure and the wee baby Master crying over the sound of drums that are terrifying him.
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Oh, that's brilliant!
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Someone else spotted that Twelve’s first words upon awaking were the Fourth Doctor’s first words after regenerating.