Doctor Who: The Rings of Akhaten (7x07)

Yes. Yes, yes, yes. Thank you, Doctor Who. This episode was excellent. Perfect? No. Amazing? Yes! I actually liked it better than opener of this half-season. It had a simple story, great character development, and a satisfying conclusion. Basically, it wasn't trying to be too epic. It knew it had forty minutes to tell a story, and it utilized the time very well.

I'll start with... what else? The beginning.

Alright, so... I know I just said I really liked this episode, but I will admit that the whole leaf story was a bit weak. It tied through the episode a bit too strongly, rather cheaply resolving the central conflict. Is it just me, or are Clara's parents the cheesiest people ever to live? Have you ever heard of a couple so annoyingly perfect and happy? However, I did like this opening because we got to see the Doctor trying to find out more about Clara. It was a good way to remind us the central conceit of her character - she is an ordinary human in every way, but she is just not possible! All I have to say is I hope that Moffat has a good resolution for this.

So, what I really admired about this week's episode was the pacing. We had almost ten minutes go by before we were even introduced to Merry (the little singing girl!) and even longer than that before our central conflict became clear. It gave the episode real stakes and development, which I appreciated.

So... the climax. As I mentioned before, the leaf thing was a bit heavy-handed. I also think that the epic monologues about how deep the Doctor is have been a bit overused in the Moffat-era episodes. However, Matt Smith's acting really saved this from being too over the top. Alongside that, it gave Clara her first chance to really shine as a companion and step forward to help the doctor. Go Clara!

Speaking of Clara, she was the highlight this week. Her exchange with the little girl Merry was beyond precious. It tied back in to her role as a governess, and kept me really intrigued as to her larger role in events. Merry was a really great element to this episode. NOt only was that little girl adorable (and wow, could she sing!) but she was also surprising. When we first see her running away from men in robes, we assume that she is in trouble from them. But it turns out, no, she just has stage fright! What a nice twist. Then, of course, everything goes wrong. I really do think that the bad guy was the weakest part of the episode, but the emotional stakes were really high, since Merry was such a great character.

And the banter. We can't forget the banter! Clara and the Doctor have some of the best dialogue together that I have ever seen on this show. I love that Clara asks the Doctor what time is made out of. I don't think anyone else has ever done that. I also liked it when Clara kept asking if they were supposed to be there at the ceremony, and the Doctor just says "shh!" There was also the Doctor's response to Clara's question about his being able to open a door. "Technically, no. In reality, also no." Great! When Clara was holding on to him after they almost crashed, they had an adorable exchange:

The Doctor: "Okay, time to let go."

Clara: "I can't!"

The Doctor: "Clara, you have to!"

Clara: "Why?"

The Doctor: "Because it really hurts!"

Perfect delivery from both of these actors.

There was a good tie-back to Classic Doctor Who when he mentioned his granddaughter, and I also really liked the way the screwdriver came in to the episode. One of the gems was when Clara was trying to get in the TARDIS and she couldn't. She remarks: "I don't think it likes me." That's actually kind of a cool idea! What if the TARDIS has figured out something about Clara that the Doctor hasn't yet? What if the TARDIS is trying to keep her out for a reason? I wouldn't put it past Moffat to have something up his sleeves here.

There are a lot of other things I could say, but I'm keeping it brief - good dialogue, good characters, nice set up. A bit of a weak climax, but not the worst!

8.5/10