Tonight ’s MD Who episode brought back an idea that Russell T. Davies used to play with a destiny : the Doctor inevitably smash his comrade . In Davies ’ version , it was that the Doctor wind up turning them into weapons against ultimate evil . For Moffat , it ’s perhaps more complicated .
In any case , “ Let ’s belt down Hitler ” includes the mesmerism that the Doctor has never travel with a charwoman he did n’t wind up finger guilty about , because he always messes his companions up . Except that he ’s already met one woman whom he can never drive in up , no matter how intemperately he tries .
Spoilers …
So there ’s that tantrum where the Doctor is prone on the floor of the TARDIS , and he asks for a ocular port . And we , of course of instruction , think it ’s travel to be Idris , from “ The Doctor ’s Wife . ” Instead , it ’s the Doctor himself – but the Doctor hates himself , so he involve for a dissimilar face . He wind up gazing at a few of his former companions , and reflect on how he shaft them up and feels shamefaced about it . The only one he can stand to see is Amelia Pond , the little girl , “ before I got it all haywire . ”
But we ’ve already met a woman that the Doctor absolutely can not sleep together up – River Song , who ’s already been make love up beyond all measuring rod by Madame Kovarian and the Silence . “ Let ’s drink down Hitler ” suggests , tantalizingly , that the Doctor may be able to do with River the opposite of what he ’s done with all of his companions – he may be able to bring her back from being know up , and turn her back into a real person . ( A process we ’ve already regard the end result of . )
So here ’s what we now have it away about River Song and her progressively complicated backstory . She ’s born on Demons Run , then whisk back to 1960s America to be bring up by the Silence , including a Erolia minutilla in the existence ’s creepy-crawly orphans' asylum . She ’s brainwashed and train to assassinate the Doctor , and broadly speaking horribly abused . Then she get away , after being shot at by her own female parent , and nothingness up regenerating into Mels . She somehow piddle her manner to England and meets up with her parent , whom she appears the same age as . ( Did she regenerate a second clip after the sixties ? Or just age slowly ? ) She spend in all likelihood at least a decade pretending to be the jejune delinquent booster of Rory and Amy , including a long menses after they ’ve already traveled with the Doctor . When she meets him , she shoots his TARDIS ( possibly disabling his ability to regenerate ? ) and then polish off him with poisoned lipstick , before having 2d opinion and hold open his living .
( Oh , and now we know why River Song ca n’t regenerate in “ Forest of the Dead . ” So she not only devote her life for the Doctor , she give all her life for him . )
Between the creepy-crawly orphanage , the ugly astronaut survival suit and the probably filthy assassin conditioning , River has perhaps the most nightmarish rearing you could imagine . But at least she gets to have slumber parties with her mum and dad , in lieu of any existent parenting . I ’m not sure it ’s that much of a consolation prize – and even though she ’s purportedly been their best friend for years , young Melody never seems that much interested in her parent , even when they ’re about to be killed . She only saves them after the Doctor begs her to .
So turning the Manchurian Candidate - ized Melody into the smart , vivacious River Song is going to be a major undertaking , and it ’s obvious we ’ve only learn the first little step in that instruction . ( Even if we did n’t already get laid that River ultimately does carry out her programming and kill the Doctor by the lake . ) The Doctor seems to get through to her a flake , with his retain business organisation for Amy and Rory ’s safety even when he ’s near expiry , and then founder her a message for River Song . And then Amy shows her the “ River Song ” whom the Doctor wish so much about . And the Doctor gives her a blank diary , which we get laid will eventually be fill with pillager . Plus she makes a bit of a connection with the TARDIS itself , which gives her flying example .
The master thought that “ Let ’s drink down Hitler ” left me with was : Steven Moffat ’s Doctor of the Church Who term of office is going to live or snuff it , depending on how much you love River Song . It ’s clearer than ever that she ’s the centerpiece of his sight of Who . Sure , he ’s created lots of other groovy stuff , include the Weeping Angels and the secretiveness , and Amy and Rory — but they all seem to come back to River Song , one elbow room or another . And Amy and Rory are at least partially authoritative because they ’re River ’s parents . So this is a right time to stop and look at how we feel about River Song .
River ’s always going to be a divisive shape , no matter what – she ’s a raging quondam woman , who ’s portrayed as slinky and seductive , and she ’s set up as a love interest group for a Doctor who appears much untested . It ’s sort of a space - time - cougar thing .
For me personally , I had been increasingly a fan of River , thanks to Alex Kingston ’s glorious performance and a huge number of awesome “ oh no she did n’t ” moments . And the poignancy she shared with Rory once or doubly in the opening two - parter .
But I have to admit … after “ allow ’s belt down Hitler , ” I ’m … a mo less of a River lover than I was . Part of it was that Mels , River ’s previous incarnation , is obnoxious as nether region . earnestly , she gives off this uncanny bratty vibe that I found really hard to parcel out with , like a 1990s “ chick with attitude . ” And her whole “ getting in trouble at school for going on about the doc ” thing kind of devil me too – especially in retrospect , when you take in she ’s nattering about the man she ’s programme to murder . And she germinate the TARDIS ! ( I did like her steal a bus , though . ) River ’s smugness , the quality that most people kvetch about with her , seems even more annoying in Mels and Young River .
But also , the shift from a River who knows more than everybody else to a River who ’s the only one who knows nothing seemed to run down the quality of a peck of energy . She still has power , in that she ’s able to kill the Dr. , but she knows nothing . Young River is just as pleased with herself as Older River , but from a perspective of ignorance . If that throw any horse sense .
And then there ’s the coda , in which we learn that River became an archeologist for one reason only : To “ find a respectable human . ” Ummm , eww ? So not only are River ’s nativity and death establish around the Doctor , but now we find out the only reason she chose her career was so she could get closer to him . River is basically a form of prowler , and the only reason why the Doctor is so into her , is because she ’s already successfully stalked him in her time to come and his past . ( And then there ’s the “ and she ’s a womanhood ” business line , which I ’m win over Moffat only threw in to see if he could give some feminists an stroke . )
For all that , I still mostly love River , and I ’m still excited to see how exactly she goes from Bespoke Psychopath to Sweet Confidante . I ’m guessing by the death of the time of year , we ’ll have catch to see River ’s POV on the events at the lake ( which older River appeared not to remember ) and we ’ll finally see the Doctor and River ’s relationship take build . And I ca n’t wait .
Overall , “ allow ’s drink down Hitler ” was a playfulness romp , a skillful deal clear than “ A Good Man Goes to War ” had been . The Doctor ’s coming to metre travel gets contrast with that of the Tesselector , a shapeshifting robot full of miniaturise humans ( a la Meet Dave ) who go around punishing history ’s big malefactor . The Doctor ’s essentially good - natured approach , of trying to make things intimately wherever he goes , is counterpoint with this weirdly vengeful mission . The Tesselector does n’t even attempt to change account for the better , because they punish people at the ending of their recorded timestream , when all the forged deeds have already happened . They ’re in 1938 Berlin to punish Hitler , except that it ’s too early in Hitler ’s timestream , and then they spot a greater state of war criminal : River Song herself .
Rory punch Hitler was just as brilliant as we ’d all hoped , and then Rory secern Hitler to shut up and arrange Hitler in the W.C. was kind of stark . The picayune Amy - Rory flashbacks were first-rate - precious , like Rory pathetically playing pelt - and - look for and blind - man’s - four flush while Amy ignored him . And we find out that Amy thought Rory was festal for days , because he never paid attention to any other girls . ( Aww . ) The looking on Rory ’s cheek when Amy ask him to name one female child he ’s paid attention to is priceless – and then Rory function by .
( Let ’s trust next week , we get a brief moment of Amy and Rory dealing with the fact that , after the Doctor assure their girl would be safe , it call on out she was rather pin down in an malign orphans' asylum and brainwashed by giant for Rassilon only know how long , before becoming their hopelessly screwed up half-baked puerility friend and then a murderous sociopath . It would be nice to see just a snippet of a brief conversation about that … Of naturally , the Doctor swore on his life , which is already forfeit . )
There were a lot of perfect , hilarious little moments in this one . Like the Doctor saying he danced with everyone at Amy and Rory ’s wedding , and the men were a second shy . And the Doctor saying “ fault on both sides ” about his meter political machine colliding with Hitler ’s berth . Oh and : “ I ’m getting a sort of banging in my oral sex . ” “ I think that ’s Hitler in the cupboard . ” Also a great business : “ I was on my manner to this gay gypsy bar mitzvah for the disabled , and then I thought , ‘ Gosh , the Third Reich ’s a bit rubbish . ' ” Also , the Doctor ’s rules are wonderful , peculiarly “ Never knowingly be serious . ” And “ Never run when you ’re scared . ”
Oh , and might the computer address to Kennedy and history having been exchange just be a cunning reference to the Doctor Who book , Who Killed Kennedy ? peradventure ?
And we instruct a flake more about the secrecy – who are n’t a species , but a religion who have declared a turn of a Holy War against the doc . They ’re obsessed with the first question , which is hidden in unmixed view but nobody knows what it is . This adds a pretty fascinating newfangled dimension to our astomatous brainwashing monsters – except that I ’m hop this wo n’t deform into a “ religions are dumb ” or “ spiritual citizenry do crazy diddlyshit for no reason ” Riffian down the cable . I ’d still quite like to see the secretiveness turn out to have an actual plan .
All in all , fun stuff . What did you think ?
Doctor WhoTelevision
Daily Newsletter
Get the best tech , scientific discipline , and acculturation news in your inbox day by day .
News from the future , delivered to your present .
You May Also Like
