Doctor Who Season 6: 5 Questions About “A Good Man Goes To War”

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Doctor Who Season 6: 5 Questions About “A Good Man Goes To War”  

The secret is out – Well, one of them, anyway. But the revelation of who River Song is just opened up a whole new can of worms. Is it really any wonder that we’ve got 5 questions about last night’s Doctor Who?

Am I The Only One Who Felt A Little Deja Vu Here?
I know why we got the whole “getting the gang back together” opening, but it really reminded me of the opening to “The Pandorica Opens,” and not necessarily in a good way (At least we’d met those character before; the various characters the Doctor gathered for his so-called army this time around were, for the most part, brand new, making their introductory scenes curiously weightless). For an episode that had so much to give – and, to be fair, really came through in the second half – the first twenty minutes or so of “A Good Man Goes To War” felt like filler, especially with the odd comedy packed in (Not that it wasn’t funny, but all the same – the Sontaran nurse who cures humans while pleasantly promising to kill them in battle later? The “tall one and the fat one” who don’t need names because they’re gay Anglicans? The spectacular “What do I see in you?” visual joke?). I really enjoyed this episode – even moreso the second time around – but was it only me that thought it was really uneven in terms of pacing and tone?

Who Are All These New Characters?
Talking of the new characters in the Doctor’s army: Lorna Bucket? Madame Vastra, the Silurian Sherlock Holmes (which may or may not be an Easter Egg shout out to Who showrunner Steven Moffat’s other series, the wonderful Sherlock) and her companion/girlfriend Jenny? I wonder whether these are throwaway characters meant to evoke numerous unseen adventures that the Doctor has been having without us watching – a running theme this season, think of the opening to “The Impossible Astronaut” – or some sneak peeks at stories yet to come, the same way that River Song went from throwaway character in “Silence In The Library” way back in season 4 to the character at the center of this season in more ways than one. If it’s the former, then I hope the powers that be change their mind, because I would happily watch a Victorian-era detective show featuring Vastra and Jenny.

Who Are The Army At Demons Run?
We’ve seen this Anglican Army of Clerics before, in last year’s “The Time of Angels”/”Flesh and Stone” two-parter – River was working with them at that point, interestingly enough – and they didn’t seem to think that the Doctor was a threat back then. Does that mean that he somehow wins them over to his side when he rescues River – assuming that “The Time of Angels” happens later in their timeline due to River being an adult – or perhaps those episodes happened before this current storyline? In either case, why do the Clerics think that the Doctor is such a threat? And is it connected with the explosion of the Tardis as seen in last season’s finale, which convinced the Daleks, Sontarans, Cybermen and numerous other alien races that the Doctor was the greatest threat in the galaxy?

How Do The Silence Fit Into All Of This?
We know that the Silence tie into this story somehow – an older Melody will end up inside their astronaut suit in 1960s America, after all – but how? Are the Clerics convinced that the Doctor must be stopped because the Silence have programmed them to think that way and made them forget? And if so, does that mean that River really is just a Manchurian Candidate for the Silence, and the person inside the astronaut suit that killed someone who may or may not be the Doctor (or may, in fact, be a ganger duplicate)?

What Is So Special About Amy?
She’s not only the girl with a crack in time and space in her bedroom wall, she’s also the woman who remembered the Doctor back into existence in a rebooted universe and the mother of the first of an apparently reborn line of Time Lords. Amy Pond, it seems, is either extremely lucky when it comes to her sense of being in the right place at the right time, or there’s even more to her than meets the eye. Somehow, I doubt all of these things are just coincidence…

Extra Sixth Question, Because It’s The Mid-Season Break Already:
How Can I Wait Until September For The Next Episode?
Seriously. Just knowing that it’s called “Let’s Kill Hitler” makes the wait seem even more cruel.

  • Borjan

    If THAT made your brain explode, consider THIS – in ‘The Big Bang’, when River confronted the Stone Dalek she was able to make it beg for MERCY, of all things, JUST by telling it her name.

    Think about it. The Doctor is a ‘Good Man’ who River was gaoled/jailed for killing, right? Who do the Daleks fear most of all, and just HOW do you think one would feel if they confronted a person renowned for having outright KILLED the Doctor, their greatest enemy and fear?

  • Borjan

    I think she WAS lying – it would make sense due to the circumstances – but we’ll have to wait to find out.

    River didn’t recognise Rory in ‘The Pandorica Opens’ precisely BECAUSE he’s a part of her personal timeline (ie: he’s her father). The Doctor didn’t forget Rory because he hardly knew him at the time he was erased, but for Amy and River, Rory’s a major part of their joined histories. Hence why River, despite being a time traveller, forgot he existed (and also why Amy temporarily forgot the Doctor after he sacrificed himself to reset the universe).

  • Borjan

    *Headdest* Where in God’s name did you assume the Doctor EVER wanted to screw Amy. For God’s sake, he was shocked and horrified when she kissed him, especially when he learned she was to be married the next day, and even sought out Rory to FIX their relationship! Don’t you DARE pull this bullshit out of your arse to justify hating the Reveal simply because you disliked it.

    And for that matter, it’s not like – unlike Twilight – Melody/River is going to grow up around the Doctor! There’s no ‘imprinting’ or bullcrap like that – it’s implied that she’ll grow up elsewhere, meet the Doctor, hate him (possibly, if they raise her awhile) and then fall in love over their meetings together. And with time travel, she will match his age more closely.

    Hate the revelation if you wish, but don’t be immature and compare Moffat’s much-better story construction and writing to that travesty known as ‘Twilight’. One thing I HATE is when people like you make stuff up out of wholecloth, or deliberately choose to see things in a way which they aren’t.

    Please grow up. You’ve every right to dislike the ’River-is-Amy’s-daughter’ thing, but I BEG you not to warp or exaggerate it, OK?

  • Borjan

    You need to at least go back to the Christopher Eccleston era (Series 1, 2005), and then watch from there up to the present. You’ll miss a few things, references, and great stories otherwise.

    Whether you want to watch the classic series is entirely your decision, though.

  • Faust

    I haven’t really enjoyed the ‘war time’ stories. Ok, but nothing special. Like last season with the Daleks – and the 2 parter from season 3 – again with the Daleks.

    But then again – I’m not a big fan of the Daleks either, so that probably didn’t help. (Dont everyone hate on me!!) Their voice just does my head in.

  • Samuallo

    I kind of agree with your points but i have 2 things to say:
    1. About making a new race, if you remember when Donna evoked the tardis and became part doctor part human and the doctor said then that she was amazing due to have intelligence and that human “spice” i think that has some importance of what may come!!
    2. i think they are being carried away with the recent storylines, but with the little girl who is the timelord counters jenny the “daughter” of the doctor when he stuck his hand in the DNA multiplyer, i think that they are trying to make the storylines too complicated for people to grasp and then they split the series up which is even worse!!!!

    I would like to ask a question on what you guys think is going to happen!!!
    Sam

  • Samuallo

    I have another thing that has been annoying me, most people on here think the “good man” is the doctor, but there is so many connatations that Rory is a good man, and lats face it he has been the one going to war so much, i hate not knowing whats going on haha!!!!

  • Rw Robwalker

    The answer to who they all are and why is everything happening is linkedvto the return of Omega. Rewatch the scene when the Doctor is in disguise as a headless monk. the are nazi style banners up behind thevarmy leadervwith the sign of the omega on them.

  • Rw Robwalker

    You can download on itunes

  • Anonymous

    A: It is likely River is a sleeper Manchurian candidate and is the one that is supposed to kill the Doctor. It sounds as if she was successful. However it could also be that her parents sacrifice themselves to save the Doctor from River. The good man could be Rory. See B for why she doesn’t mention mom if that is the case.

    B: Amy could be a Time Lord. The Master mentioned he was found as a child with his pocket watch. 1: Amy has no parents (but grandparents that don’t talk about their dead kid?). 2: Her house is a 2 story but there was a second flight of stairs. 3: The DNA is “part time lord” conception on a TARDIS doesn’t make someone a Time Lord. That is a pretty awesome mutation if that is the case. If that were the case I would expect Sara Jane Smith to be regenerating after spending several YEARS on a TARDIS. However if Amy were a time lord under suppression this may explain it. (Rani?). Another thing: since when did the lizard chick become an expert in Time Lord physiology able to recognize time lord DNA at a glance on a screen?

    C: Stop and think about the first time we meet Song. He dumps her effective in a new Matrix of the whole damn universe’s library. If I were evil that is a pretty good place to be to plot evil stuff. Or in the name of good, she’s in a position to appropriate the library and build a new Time Lord Matrix.

    D: The clerics seem to be several steps ahead of the Doctor. Could they have been playing 3 steps ahead? Baiting the Doctor all the way back from the cracks in the wall? Did they face the Valeyard and are trying to cut him off from being created? River is meeting the Doctor in reverse order. At the end of that chain the Doctor could be, through recursion, saving River, himself, who knows but RiverDoctor is an exercise in recursion.

    E: Jenny, Doctor Donna, River, even Sexy. The storyline seems to be pointing to a rebuilding of the Time Lords (for better or worse). With all these Hybrids and clones and crap I wouldn’t be surprised if they brought back Tennent via that lopped off hand as the Valeyard….

    F: I would wager the reason they think of the Doctor as a warrior is the result of him getting River back as an infant. Since we are dealing with a Time Lord the bulk of the getting her back could have happened in the past. (They could also be attempting to break a pre-destination paradox)

    G: The Cuthulu knock-offs have been strangely absent and they have evolved enough to at least project an image through time and space (Time Lord Victorious vision).

    H: We still don’t have an explanation on why Amy doesn’t remember the Daleks and Cybermen.

    I: In regards to B we do know once you travel in time you are a bit out-of-sync with the continuum so it is likely changes in history may no replicate properly. Since time is always changing it is possible that the Doctor’s death at the hands of the astronaut is a new event that River is unaware of.

    J: Post LOST and Battlestar Galactica I have lost a great deal of faith in writers ability to “not make shit up as they go” so do not attribute convoluted plots as “clever” when “made up on the fly BS” would suffice as a description.

    K: There are 4 rogue TARDIS units know, The Medding Monk’s, Rani’s, The Master’s, and Sexy. Now we just need 4 Time Lord’s to pilot them: wait… Dr… Jenny…. River… who is the fourth canidate?

  • Anonymous

    Hmm.. fyi based on the series so far Susan’s parents have already been born and died apparently (I was a dad once) so we can assume at the very least Susan’s parents are gone. So River + Doctor = Child (perhaps) but not likely one of Susan’s parents.

  • Shawn

    A. Possible, especially Rory’s sacrifice.

    B. Amy has parents, didn’t you watch last season’s finale? 

    C. Doubt it.

    D. More than likely that all this started around the time after he regenerated into Eleven. Or even before.

    E. I think a return of the Time Lords is more likely than ‘rebuilding’.

    F. Could be very true.

    G. I don’t know.

    H. She didn’t remember them because of the cracks in time.

    I. Nice thought, but it’s more likely that River was lying.

    J. Watch Fringe. And most of this stuff were planned from last season. And even if it’s made up on the fly, does it really matter as long as it makes sense and is clever?

    K. The Master could still return. 

  • Woters

    There was also a nice Thunderbirds quote when Vastra [Lady Penelope] tell her coachman [Parker}, that he can pack the coach [Rolls Royce] away as I wont be needing it again tonight, very well my Lady.  Not word perfect but its nearly 2 in the morning.

  • Woters

    Whilst Eye Patch Lady looks down at me…..How about a regenerated Davros, Female and with legs!!!
    Look at the mouth and lips, black and evil and the voice has Davros’s inflection, especially with “Dok-tor”.  Maybe a whim, but, Davros is a fixed point in evolution, not a reused charecter..My timelines are a bit  mixed up…The spacewo/man who kills the Doctor was in current 22 century, but the girl that Amy ‘tries’ to shoot back in 1969, is from the orphanage, now we see her regenerating in the alleyway, so she cant be the same[visually] as the one who kills the Doctor in 2011.  Now if she is Melody Pond, then Young Melody and River are crossing each others timelines.  Amy is held by the Silent, is that  when she is ‘gangered’ and is genetically modified for the birth of Melody Pond.  But when they enter into the monastary Amy and the Doctor say they had been there before without Rory.  Possibly the dead Doctor is a ganger from the Monastary, reduplicated from the information that Flesh Doctor later retains from ganger Doctor’s sonic screwdriver – remember river was saved into the library from her sonic’ in quite a few of these sonic screwdriver that ‘her’ Doctor had made for her.
    Lastly, there are a lot of ‘mobiles’ the cot, the orphanage, the pirate ship and somewhere else??????

  • Ralmidaz

    I don’t understand why they have completely cut the show off from past seasons. When Chris (9th) left the show and David became the 10th, Rose was with him and it had only been a single season. So keeping past characters is obvious. But When David left, with that depressing say goodbye ending the show completely changed. I have no problems with this, we need to get used to the new Doctor, and after a season of Matt we have. But when i watched the opening of ‘A Good Man Goes to War’ i felt cheated. The doctor raising an army of friends and not one mention of some past people, no we just we given a bunch of new guys. I understand that characters like Donna, Martha, Mickey, Rose etc can’t be used. But Maybe we could of gotten Captain Jack back so he could lend a hand. I mean, the Doctor was ‘going to war’ surely an immortal man would be incredibly useful. 

    And I have a question about Rory. Is he still a robot, the Roman soldier who has lived for two thousand years. Or did the Big bang 2 and the Universe been reformed make him human again. I assume that he is human, been a father and all. But i don’t think it was ever mentioned. and seeing him dress up in a roman soldier outfit in this episode made me think of this. 

    And What is it with The Doctors Female companions becoming so important. Rose became BadWolf, Martha travelled earth and made the Human race restore the Doctor to full health (somehow) and Donna became the Doctor Donna. And Now Amy has given birth to a Time Lady.

    Also am i the only one who feels that it is slightly awkward that The Doctor and River/Melody are in a relationship(whatever it is exactly), but earlier in the previous series Amy (Rivers Mother) was trying to seduce the Doctor. And now Amy just happens to have a Time Lord/Lady child.

  • Gregg

    They wanted Captain Jack but he was busy with Torchwood which is why they couldn’t get him. And Rory’s a human now.