jason stives returns with his weekly Doctor Who series …
By now, those of you who have watched the conclusion to Doctor Who‘s sixth season premiere now know that you are getting into one hell of a ride, with blockbuster twists and turns and no clear explanation in sight. For viewers who may have been greatly confused by the various plot points unleashed in “The Impossible Astronaut,” “Day Of The Moon” offers only subtle answers and reveals more strands to executive producer Steven Moffat’s master plan.
You would think we would be treated to a wrap up of last week’s cliffhanger, which saw Amy firing a gun at the mysterious Astronaut that unfolded last week’s events. Wrong, and you should know better, nothing is ever that simple in Doctor Who.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TrHQmEoqTmw]
Instead, we are transported three months ahead in time, as Agent Canton Delaware III is in hot pursuit of the TARDIS crew, hunting them down in order to bring them to the grounds of Area 51. Amy and Rory are the first to be picked off, seemingly shot on the spot. River is busy too, finding herself on the tallest skyscrapers of New York City coming face to face with both Delaware’s agents and the Silence themselves before hurdling herself off the 50th floor of a building. The Doctor has been imprisoned in Area 51 for months, long enough to grow a straight-up hipster beard. What looks like curtain for the Doctor and his friends is just another clever plot twist, and this episode is full of them.
This much we do know about where the current season is going; There is no clear-cut way to the finish. Anything planned for the season has been intricately dropped into different points in each episode, and some elements may return while others may not.
What we do know now is who exactly the Silence are: the oldest living race on Earth, who have since the creation of fire whispered ideas into mankind’s ears to make them believe it’s their own, including the process of space travel. They place the gang in a strange predicament thanks to their amnesia-like effect, resorting to crossing a dash in their arms with a marker a la Memento to note that they have seen them. Their pursuit of the Silence leads them in opposite directions. While the Doctor, Rory, and River are off cavorting at NASA placing themselves in the grasp of the Apollo 11 shuttle mission, Rory and Agent Delaware are on the grounds of a closed down orphanage, where the Silence are only a back turn away and Amy is mere steps away from discovering things about her future, which strangely involves the mysterious astronaut from the previous episode.
What started as just throwaway imagery for this two-parter has become a potential season arc, as the astronaut is more than just a strange force, it’s a little girl, one that has strange consequences for Amy. We know very little about her by the end of the episode, other than she is free of her space suit after the Silence arrives and captures Amy, but what we do know is … well, that will be spoilers for you to scroll down to in this article.
“Day Of The Moon” was more than a perfect ending to an already perfect two-parter. While probably more fast paced then is predecessor, many things were wrapped up only to be undone for the purpose of continuous storytelling. If the audience had any moment of confusion or doubt within the context of this episode, worries were thwarted immediately and always in clear fashion.
But that is not to say there weren’t things left unfinished. Is this the last we have seen of Canton Delaware III? For the amount of time he spent with the Doctor and company, he has no doubt become a confidant to the TARDIS crew for everything he has done so who is to say we won’t see him again before season’s end?
Then of course, the question of Amy’s pregnancy and if she really is or isn’t. Although Amy assures the Doctor and Rory that she is not in fact pregnant, the Doctor’s sudden scan of Amy’s vital signs in the closing moments in the TARDIS says we haven’t seen the last of the potential Williams-Pond time child.
And then there is River. Now, not that she hasn’t been the big question mark of the past two seasons, but besides being completely badass in the closing shoot out with the Silence, River and the Doctor up the ante on tongue-in-cheek playfulness all leading to a full on make out “sesh” at the foot of her prison cell. Kinky no less, but things are getting closer to its reveal, and so ticks off another box of things to expect before this season concludes.
A special shout-out must go out to the almost soap-opera-like love triangle that has been greatly implied since last season of the Doctor, Amy and Rory. While I feel Mrs. Williams-Pond is no doubt one of the best companions in a long time, she is at times also the most inconsiderate to one’s emotions, especially to her husband. The moments when Amy was believed almost lost and just a voice encased in a trans-receiver, we are led to believe her cries and pleas are shown towards the Doctor but by episodes end we are ensured it’s towards Rory. A punch in the arm and a cockney jab at Rory’s “stupid face” reassures him and the audience that it is he she loves, but why treat your husband as third wheel to the alien time traveler for the bulk of the two episodes? Whether it’s an actual pregnancy or not, there is a bigger game changer afoot for the relationship that troubles Amy and Rory and in the next few weeks I believe we will see that take place.
Then of course, there were the reports leading into this episode of a climax so shocking that it would have people talking for weeks in various online forums.
For those already wondering what this “climax that will set the internet ablaze” was leading into the last three minutes of “Day Of The Moon,” rest assured any theories were burned by what transpired.
*SPOILERS AHEAD*
As the TARDIS zoomed off into next week’s pirate filled episode, time elapsed to six months later, to the dark alleys of New York City. A homeless man comes across the little girl we had seen piloting the Astronaut’s space suit. She is dying, coughing very weakly, but she assures the kind passerby that she can fix it as her hands and face start to glow. The girl suddenly bursts into a field of energy as she begins to regenerate.
*END SPOILERS*
Undoubtedly, many questions are looking to be answered by this awe-inspiring closing, but we know it will be weeks before we know any further. Steven Moffat at this point is already creating story arcs and not non-sensical phrases buried throughout the seasons like his predecessor Russell T. Davies. Moffat wants the audience to guess because whatever he could possibly reveal, fans will most certainly not be expecting. We have many weeks, nay months, before we will know completely everything that Moffat is planting into this series, but needless to say, forums will burn, speculation will be made, and this current season of Doctor Who will continue to puzzle and grab audiences. Check mate.
All Photos Credit: BBC America
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