Sunday 23 September 2012

Doctor Who: The Power of Three


Before I start my recap, I want to mention the opening credits.
Here's a photo I found 'round the interwebs.


As you can see, it's changing each week.
At first, I thought it was only getting darker--which I figured meant the Weeping Angels were coming--but that was debunked this week when it turned...purple?

And then there's this.


See that spiderweb looking thing in the time vortex? If you go back and watch this weeks opening credits, that electricity 'web' can be seen each time there's a lightening strike.
And in the SPACE trailer for Angels Take Manhattan, you can see the TARDIS bounce off of something electrical-looking that resembles this very much.
What does it mean?
I have NO idea, but I wanted to bring it to your attention, because that's what I do! ;)

Okay, onto The Power of Three! Another Chris Chibnall (who just did Dinosaurs on a Spaceship, remember) episode--and again it was just 'meh' for me.

One day, earth wakes up to find billions of small cubes scattered across the planet. They're EVERYWHERE.
And they do absolutely nothing...until they do.

The Doctor, with the help of Amy, Rory and Brian, have to find out what they are and where they come from.
Of course, sometimes the Doctor needs more help than just his companions can give, so enter UNIT, and Kate Stewart.
What a wonderful, amazing homage to our dear Brigadier. His daughter, now the head of UNIT?
And those touching scenes between her and the Doctor? Amazing. Thank you for that, Mr. Chibnall.

Rory and Amy are struggling with a big decision. Real life or the Doctor?
Amy figures that ten years have passed for her and Rory--not on earth, no, but for them (which would make them 31 year old, if my math is correct).
We see them go back and forth on the issue, until Brian actually makes the decision for them.
That was touching and I enjoyed that bit a lot.

The Doctor gets bored of waiting and goes back to doing what he does best, and for their anniversary, he takes Rory and Amy along. The cubes are still doing nothing, so no harm done!
And now I'm POSITIVE that we're seeing these episodes in a wonky order!
I'm absolutely CERTAIN that A Town Called Mercy takes place DURING The Power of Three!
In TPo3, Amy, Rory and the Doctor have to hide from Henry the VIII, and you can see a phone charger near Rory's hand under the bed.
In ATCM, the Doctor mentions Rory leaving a phone charger behind with Henry VIII!
What a VERY cool way to show us the episodes!

When the three return home, Brian realizes that Amy and Rory have been gone again and he asks the Doctor about his previous companions.
"Some left me. Some got left behind. And some--not many, but--some died. Not them. Not them, Brian. Never them."
After that conversation, the Doctor decides to stay with Amy and Rory for awhile. To observe the cubes...and he misses them.
Aww.

Suddenly, just about a year after they arrived, the cubes decide to wake up...and each cube seems to do something different.
One spits fire. One plays the 'chicken dance' on a loop, one shoots lasers, etc.

Rory gets called to the hospital and Brian goes with him.
Amy and the Doctor head to UNIT's secret base under the Tower of London.

At the hospital, Brian is taken by orderlies with strange faces and Rory follows him through a wormhole onto a spaceship, where he is promptly injected by those same orderlies and goes unconscious.

Outside the secret base, Amy and the Doctor have a wonderful exchange, and this was my favourite bit of the episode--
"One day--soon, maybe--you'll stop. I've known for awhile."
"Then why do you keep coming back for us?"
"Because you were the first. The first face this face saw. And you're seared onto my hearts. Amelia Pond."
So, so beautiful, right? *sniffle*

Right after the Doctor has his epiphany, the cubes start to countdown from 7. The world gets rid of as many cubes as it can, but when they do open, 1/3 of the population dies from cardiac arrest....and the Doctor, who was in close proximity so he could see what would happen, loses the function of one of his hearts.

The Doctor and Amy follow a signal to Rory's hospital and the wormhole--and Amy zaps the Doctor's heart back into commission along the way.
They step through ('one dimension to the left', to be exact) and find seven humans on tables, unconscious.
They also find a hologram of a Shakri. A race of people thought to be a myth.
The Shakri wants to kill all humans. Apparently because humans are a plague that destroys everything they touch, and shouldn't be allowed to colonize the universe.
Really? Again? Hasn't this been over-done? *sigh*

So the Doctor waves his magic-screwdriver, makes the cubes zap ONLY the dead people on earth (who, by the way, wake up healthy, with NO brain damage at all), blows up the Shakri ship.
(I'm not going to mention the fact that the unconscious people were still on the ship when the Doctor, Amy and Rory run through the wormhole to safety because it MUST be a continuity error...right?)

Kate and the Doctor say goodbye, and Amy and Rory, with their decision made, leave with the Doctor for their next adventure.
An adventure that will be our last with our beloved Ponds.

NOOOOO, I'M NOT READY!

So, did you notice that I didn't mention the little girl in the hospital once during this recap?
And did you feel at all lost without that?
No? Then WHY was she needed in the episode?!
She made ZERO sense to me.

And those guys with the weird faces?
WHY did they have weird faces, exactly? Did they NEED to have weird faces?

Before I forget, Christmas is again in this episode--it's shown this time and not mentioned.
And we still have light issues--the lights go out in UNIT's secret base.

Best parts:
-"Invasion of the very small cubes. That's new."
-"Can't live like this! Don't make me! I need to be busy!"
-"Brian's log."
-"Welcome back, lefty!"
-The Doctor playing Wii!
-"Is that all you can do? Hover? I had a metal dog who could do that."
-"Mine fired laser bolts and now it's surfing the 'net!"
-The whole exchange with the Doctor and Amy outside the UNIT base.

What questions do we have after this episode?
-How will the Ponds leave?
-What does the changing opening credits mean?
-How will the Doctor manage the Ponds leaving?


Here's the trailer for our last episode with the Ponds--and the last episode until Christmas, The Angels Take Manhatten.


See you back here next week, Whovians...possibly later than usual because I'll be SOBBING MY FACE OFF! :(


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