Zaqi Ismail

On The Hazards Of Reviewing Part 1 Before You’ve Seen Part 2

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You’ll remember (especially since it was only last week) that I was disappointed in Doctor Who‘s prior episode, “Under the Lake.” After the fantastic opening that was “The Magician’s Apprentice” and “The Witch’s Familiar,” the storytelling in this Part 1 just didn’t seem to measure up by comparison.

But it’s been a long while since we Whovians have seen a season built entirely on multi-part stories, as Series 9 has promised. When a narrative is allowed to unfold over two or more episodes, you have to look at the parts in the context of the whole. And when you do, things that might not work in the beginning make a lot more sense by the end.

Which is to say that I appreciate “Under the Lake” a lot more now that I’ve seen “Before the Flood.”

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Speechless, But Speaking Volumes

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I wanted to like this week’s Doctor Who much more than I did. It’s not a terrible episode ([insert random snark about “Let’s Kill Hitler” here]), but after Twelve’s rock-idol return in “The Magician’s Apprentice” and the beautiful character scenes of “The Witch’s Familiar,” any story would have to be really special to even hope to measure up. And this one wasn’t quite there.

But even if the great moments of “Under the Lake” didn’t add up to a great episode, they were still great moments.

Especially one.

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