aelfgyfu_mead (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
aelfgyfu_mead) wrote2024-06-04 06:02 pm
aelfgyfu_mead) wrote2024-06-04 06:02 pm
DW: "Boom"
Well, that was an episode for which the first two of the season really didn't prepare me.
I'm trying not to look at the science too hard, because that will ruin it (bomb, Doctor, 'smelting' people). And I don't want to think about Anglican Marines too much. All the Anglicans I know are pretty much the opposite of Marines! I have many questions. And yes, it was heavy-handed, and I'm completely inconsistent in my reaction to heavy-handed episodes, but I was here for this one.
I found the episode very moving. I laughed, I cried . . . I cried some more.
Also: those bodies were the most disgusting things I've ever seen on Doctor Who! I'd have been holding them by the metal tags, not the mass of—yeah, I don't even want to type it out. It made me miss the Snot Baby!
Putting aside the caveats: I find the dynamic between Ruby and the Doctor really compelling. They don't just laugh together and sing together (although they sing together with surprising frequency!). They really will die for each other. That's true of almost all Doctors and companions, but these two weren't messing around. I very much liked Ruby's refusal to toss the body and her steady insistence on doing it her way, which was in fact safer than the Doctor's.
My sympathies are all with Ruby at the end, wanting to stay and enjoy the view some more! They're only going to run straight into more trouble!
I had feels for Mundy and especially Canterbury—I did not foresee him dying! I wanted to like Splice, but I didn't find her very interesting (I couldn't decide if that was the writing or the actor, who is, of course, very young.) And Vater, we hardly knew ye! Except we could not miss the really obvious meaning of your surname or the way they kept reminding us of it! (I had to look up Canterbury's name because I forgot it, and I already forgot his other two names again.)
I was surprised at the Doctor's sudden turnabout on faith: "Just because I don't like it doesn't mean I don't need it." I'm pretty sure Moffat's an atheist. I'm a practicing Catholic, and I wasn't expecting any kind of affirmation of faith. I appreciated it it. It doesn't have to be faith in God. Faith in the universe, or your family (of choice), or your own moral compass—I feel like everyone needs some kind of faith.
I liked how the episode maintained tension in what was mostly a very small space—almost all the action happened near or in that hole, but the confinement felt appropriate to the action, and it never felt static to me.
Apparently fans are really split on the next episode we have to watch (yes, we're still two episodes behind, at least), but my brother liked it, so I'm hoping I will too.
I found the episode very moving. I laughed, I cried . . . I cried some more.
Also: those bodies were the most disgusting things I've ever seen on Doctor Who! I'd have been holding them by the metal tags, not the mass of—yeah, I don't even want to type it out. It made me miss the Snot Baby!
Putting aside the caveats: I find the dynamic between Ruby and the Doctor really compelling. They don't just laugh together and sing together (although they sing together with surprising frequency!). They really will die for each other. That's true of almost all Doctors and companions, but these two weren't messing around. I very much liked Ruby's refusal to toss the body and her steady insistence on doing it her way, which was in fact safer than the Doctor's.
My sympathies are all with Ruby at the end, wanting to stay and enjoy the view some more! They're only going to run straight into more trouble!
I had feels for Mundy and especially Canterbury—I did not foresee him dying! I wanted to like Splice, but I didn't find her very interesting (I couldn't decide if that was the writing or the actor, who is, of course, very young.) And Vater, we hardly knew ye! Except we could not miss the really obvious meaning of your surname or the way they kept reminding us of it! (I had to look up Canterbury's name because I forgot it, and I already forgot his other two names again.)
I was surprised at the Doctor's sudden turnabout on faith: "Just because I don't like it doesn't mean I don't need it." I'm pretty sure Moffat's an atheist. I'm a practicing Catholic, and I wasn't expecting any kind of affirmation of faith. I appreciated it it. It doesn't have to be faith in God. Faith in the universe, or your family (of choice), or your own moral compass—I feel like everyone needs some kind of faith.
I liked how the episode maintained tension in what was mostly a very small space—almost all the action happened near or in that hole, but the confinement felt appropriate to the action, and it never felt static to me.
Apparently fans are really split on the next episode we have to watch (yes, we're still two episodes behind, at least), but my brother liked it, so I'm hoping I will too.
SPOILERS FOR NEXT SEASON
I think I would like to see Mundy as a companion, but I'm not getting my hopes up. it's not safe!
We have so much going on with the mystery of Ruby Sunday and the reappearance of Susan Twist (who is an actress, not a character—and every ending has a twist?) that I wouldn't be surprised if Moffat gave us the same actor as another character.
no subject
Anglican Marines seemed a strange concept, as my only exposure to Anglicans is through British TV shows. So the local vicar solving crimes is perfectly fine, but I just can't picture the futuristic marines.
Not sure about Moffat's beliefs, but I will say one of the best scenes of religion in sci-fi was written by an atheist. J. Michael Straczynski actually did a lot with religious themes, both pro and con, but always respectful IMO. Wish we could have more of that these days.
no subject
I know a number of Anglicans, including at least one priest, and maybe it's just the ones I know, but they seem pretty darned peaceful to me!
Wait, there's more grossness coming? Oh, jeepers. The Snot Baby was simply disgusting, but the bodies were both disgusting and really evoked body horror in me. The night we watched the episode, I was having to distract myself from remembering that to sleep!