Doctor Who 7x08: The Rings of Akhaten

[kerravonsen]

That wasn't as bad as I expected. I'm still glad that RJA warned me, though, since lowered expectations meant that I didn't get as irritated as I might have been.

Thoughts in no particular order.

1. Now we know what that leaf meant.
2. I am reminded of something the Seventh Doctor said, probably in one of the NAs: "There are no gods. I should know, I've met several."
3. RJA was right, though: the "we are made of star-stuff" speech was BORING.
4. I think the thing that mitigated (for me) the message that the people were all gullible fools for worshipping a false god... was that the people there were NOT fools for wanting to prevent the giant planet-parasite from waking up.We don't actually know whether their singing was effective, but we don't know that it wasn't, either. After all, the focus of all those minds on a psychic entity could well have an effect. Though I agree with the Doctor that Mary did NOT mess up.
5. There were a lot of things that didn't make sense.
5a. Why didn't the TARDIS translation work for all the languages for Clara, but it did work for the Doctor?
5b. What d'you mean, the toothy-mummy-monster was "an alarm clock"? I mean, why would it wake up the giant planet-parasite? What for?
5c. Why did Mary start singing "wake up"?
5d. How could the Doctor give the parasite all his memories without losing them? I got the impression that the psychic parasite would gobble such things up and leave an empty shell; I was expecting we'd have to deal with an amnesiac Doctor, but nothing of the sort happened.
5e. Why should The Leaf represent all the days that Clara's mother didn't have? They wouldn't leave psychic impressions on the leaf.
5f. If the planet exploded/imploded, wouldn't it cause great destruction and catastrophe to the ring-system as well?
6. There were a number of things that were lovely.
6a. Clara comforting Mary.
6b. The poesy of names such as "The Queen of Years" and all the songs.
6c. The Doctor's speech about all the things he had seen, now that was NOT boring. I liked the reference to Omega: the "universe where the laws of physics were dictated by a madman".
7. I'm glad Clara got a little cross about the Doctor stalking her through time. Also that she didn't want to be a substitute for someone else.
8. It's interesting that Clara Oswald appears to be just an ordinary normal human.
9. I do like the story of how Clara's parents met.
10. I also like the poignancy of Clara's story about being lost and her mother saying she would always find her, while we know that her mother couldn't keep that promise, because she died.
11. Also it's a very Doctorish thing to say, that "if you're lost, I will always find you". At least I think so. It's Doctorish because he doesn't promise that his companions won't find trouble, but he does promise that he will get them out of it when they are in it. He doesn't always succeed, but he does do his darnedest.
12. There do seem to be an awful lot of psychic parasites in Doctor Who. Highlighted by the fact that we had a psychic parasite last week too.
13. I'm unsure what I feel about the currency of Akhaten being things of personal sentimental worth. On the one hand, one could argue that it's better than money, but on the other hand, it feels like one is bartering one's history.
14. Interesting that the only thing the Doctor carries on him which is of sentimental worth is his sonic screwdriver.
Edited to add...
15. What's the point of the Doctor telling his companions not to wander off, when this time it's HIM who wanders off?
16. The last time he was here was with his granddaughter!
17. I liked the "we don't walk away... but sometimes we RUN."

Comments

[travels_in_time]

5a. Maybe the TARDIS really doesn't like Clara? She said it didn't, but I thought that was because she didn't realize that she needed a key.


5d. If it's all about stories, you can tell someone a story without forgetting it yourself. It probably downloaded a copy of his memories. :)

5e. It was all about personal history. The leaf represented all those things to Clara--all the days she didn't have with her mother. It wouldn't have meant anything coming from anyone else. There would have been plenty of psychic impressions on it from Clara cherishing it all those years and missing her mum and dreaming about all the time they didn't get to spend together.

5f. Same sort of physics reasons that allowed them all to hear the guy singing from a completely different part of the system...

15. I pointed this out to my kids. :)

17. The kids saw that one coming from a mile away.

[avanti-90.livejournal.com]

I too am confused about why we don't have an amnesiac doctor. And honestly, the whole bit about 'all the things that could have been' was just ridiculous. Even by DW standards.
On the other hand, the ring system was really quite beautiful.

[avanti-90.livejournal.com]

Oh and I think the TARDIS translation not working has something to do with the TARDIS not liking Clara and shutting her out. Unless the Doctor locked it and it's just that she doesn't have a key?

[kerravonsen]

Yeah, that bit is unclear. I was assuming that it was because she didn't have a key.

[jaxomsride.livejournal.com]

The Leaf has the psychic impression of "could have beens" does sound a bit sketchy unless you consider that all things in all universes are somehow connected. Of course that means everything is imbued with if, buts and maybes but perhaps the here and nows and actuals are so strong you don't normally hear them.

Of course being a Firefly fan, "Leaf on the Wind" immediately sprung to mind!

It was a bit creepy stalkerish of the Doctor to watch Clara, but then again he was trying to solve the riddle of Clara Oswald and so her apparent natural birth must have baffled him further.

My hearing found it difficult to hear what Mary was singing. However considering those scary steampunky robots were around to stop her running away I think she was always meant to be the sacrifice. After all what's one child in a thousand years in comparison? Of course the Doctor and Clara would answer "One child too many". The Doctor and Clara would never walk away from Omelas.

[kerravonsen]

It was a bit creepy stalkerish of the Doctor to watch Clara, but then again he was trying to solve the riddle of Clara Oswald and so her apparent natural birth must have baffled him further.

Yes, 'tis a puzzlement.

However considering those scary steampunky robots were around to stop her running away I think she was always meant to be the sacrifice.

I was uncertain about that. Oh, I agree that she was set up to be a potential sacrifice, but I'm not sure that every single Queen of Years was intended to be sacrificed at her debut. I think it was a "just in case" scenario; just in case the guardian should start to wake, they would have a Queen of Years available to sacrifice. I mean, what would they do in the years between the death of the previous Queen of Years and the time it took for the current Queen of Years to grow up enough to step into the role? Not to mention the remark that the Doctor made, that "it woke up because it was its time to wake up".

The Doctor and Clara would never walk away from Omelas.

Indeed not.

[brendanpodger.livejournal.com]

I was thinking that the leaf could have all the maybes that Clara had dreamed for her and her Mum after her Mum's death, and all the unfulfilled adventures her Mum missed out on because someone needed rescuing because of a leaf(We are shown that the book was Clara's Mum's before being passed on to her and she had been dreaming of wonders since she was 11 herself). That is a LOT of possible futures to swallow.

[c-carol.livejournal.com]

I like your thoughts on the episode, they're very much like mine.

4. ...the message that the people were all gullible fools for worshipping a false god...
Yeah, that bothered me just a little, too. I could tell that they were trying to handle the religion theme with some balance and sensitivity, but didn't quite get there.

5a. Why didn't the TARDIS translation work for all the languages for Clara, but it did work for the Doctor?
I have A Theory about how the translation circuit works. it's a bit lengthy to go into here, but this really is consistent with the way the translation circuit has been used in other episodes for a long time.

5c. Why did Mary start singing "wake up"?
I didn't get that either.

5d. How could the Doctor give the parasite all his memories without losing them?
Good question. I think that all the objects we saw sacrificed to the monster were destroyed or disappeared in the process. Since the Doctor's still here, the process didn't get that far, so he should be all right.

6c ...reference to Omega...
Oh, that universe. Good catch, I missed that one.

[brendanpodger.livejournal.com]

3. RJA was right, though: the "we are made of star-stuff" speech was BORING. When I saw it in Watchmen I thought "She's falling for that line?" and it doesn't improve with age. 8-|

15. What's the point of the Doctor telling his companions not to wander off, when this time it's HIM who wanders off? The Doctor ALWAYS wanders off! He is like an ADHD kitten. Look! Something new!

Did you notice the Doctor crossing both his heart with both hands. He was side on so it is easy to miss, but that action is sooo typical of Matt Smith's portrayal of the Dr, it was pure win.

[kerravonsen]

Did you notice the Doctor crossing both his heart with both hands. He was side on so it is easy to miss, but that action is sooo typical of Matt Smith's portrayal of the Dr, it was pure win.
(nods) Yes I did notice it. 8-)

[tardis-stowaway.livejournal.com]

Yeah, this was one where the events don't seem held together by logic. It didn't make a lot of sense while watching it, and even less upon further consideration. However, I still enjoyed it because I thought it hit most of the right emotional notes, and that's what I care about more than the sci-fi premise. I liked the character development for Clara and the Doctor's references to his past. (Though I too am deeply confused about how he didn't lose his memories. Oh well.)