Over the weekend, we were given the final installment of Doctor Who – Season 6. It closed where it opened, with the death of the Doctor in Utah, and it came to an emotional final conclusion, answering questions we’d all been scratching our heads about since the season opener.
It was apparent this episode was going to have to cover a lot of ground to tie up all the loose ends and unanswered questions dropped throughout this season and it answers most of them in a surprising fashion. Showrunner Steven Moffat has been very good at doing the unexpected on this show, and if he does something that’s even half-expected he does it in a completely new, off the wall sort of way. Taking a page out of Vonnegut’s book of telling stories involving time travel, Steven Moffat has really excelled at telling stories completely out of order in a jumbled mess of timey-wimey stuff, but completely understandable to an audience watching for rising levels of drama.
It’s honestly absurd how complicated yet simple it all really is.
This episode is no exception and he takes the beginning as the end in all sorts of different directions, but never straying from the one thread of story that takes you to the next logical step.
I guess this is all a roundabout way of saying that I really loved this episode of the show. I didn’t feel cheated by the ending whatsoever and I feel it leaves enough unresolved issues to keep me on the hook for another season. Yes, the Silence is still out there. Did anything that happened in that aborted timeline stick?
And this is setting up a next season that can be even darker than previous seasons. The Doctor seems to have committed to letting the whole of time and space (or at least his companions) think he’s dead. He’s going off the map to find himself and he seems at least a touch bittersweet and possibly angry about the way things played out.
Matt Smith has completely worked his way into my heart as the title character. Any lingering love I had for the previous two regenerations has been matched equally by my love for Matt Smith. He’s an incredible actor and always fun to watch (I suppose in the same way the last two were.) In this episode, though, he seemed to age a hundred years right before our eyes. It was remarkable.
Also, I hope this episode doesn’t signal the end of Amy and Rory’s time on the show. They’re fantastic additions and I’ve absolutely adored having them as the companions.
Do I think this was the best season finale we’ve had since the relaunch of the show? No. I still think the David Tennant’s season finale where Rose is left in the alternate dimension might still be the best… (Though Christopher Eccleston’s finale was very good, too…) This was good… Who knows. Only time will tell if I feel differently about it in the future, perhaps I’m still to close to it.
Bottom line is: If you’re not watching Doctor Who, you’re doing it wrong. This season was great.