I think this has to rate up there with Army of Ghosts/Doomsday in my top five episodes. I really enjoyed the first part but this episode seriously blew me away. This season so far has been pretty weak in my opinion but without a doubt they've pulled it out the bag with this two parter.
The foreshadowing of WW1 was just so sombre and poignant. Forgot to check who wrote this episode but he's finally achieved what has been sadly missing so far - secondary characters that we actually care about. I even felt sorry for the stereotypical public school boys as they were firing into the army of scarecrows.
Martha appealed to me more in this episode but her crush on the Doc is beginning to wear. Does everyone have to fall in love with the Doctor? I mean I know its David Tennant and I'd sure fall in love with him but let's not labour the point. This is a quibble though and not restricted to this episode.
Jessica Stevenson (has she changed her name or something?) was truly outstanding. Very understated, true to character and just a wonderful performance all round.
But as you said the shinging star was DT as John Smith struggles with his desire for a normal life and almost hating Martha for asking him to return to life as the Doctor. And to go from the meek school teacher to merciless tyrant within a couple of scenes really raised the hairs on my neck - those scenes were genuinely chilling, especially given Baines' narration of what happened; the idea of the little girl in the mirror realy captures the imagination.
I could've done without the grand music over the Remembrance Day sequence. I think it would've held more gravitas if there had been no music, just DT's voice over. It was a little too King and Country for me; at odds with what the message of the ep seemed to be, but I guess I can live with it.
But yeah overall a superb episode. Let's hope we see more of this before the season is over.
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The foreshadowing of WW1 was just so sombre and poignant. Forgot to check who wrote this episode but he's finally achieved what has been sadly missing so far - secondary characters that we actually care about. I even felt sorry for the stereotypical public school boys as they were firing into the army of scarecrows.
Martha appealed to me more in this episode but her crush on the Doc is beginning to wear. Does everyone have to fall in love with the Doctor? I mean I know its David Tennant and I'd sure fall in love with him but let's not labour the point. This is a quibble though and not restricted to this episode.
Jessica Stevenson (has she changed her name or something?) was truly outstanding. Very understated, true to character and just a wonderful performance all round.
But as you said the shinging star was DT as John Smith struggles with his desire for a normal life and almost hating Martha for asking him to return to life as the Doctor. And to go from the meek school teacher to merciless tyrant within a couple of scenes really raised the hairs on my neck - those scenes were genuinely chilling, especially given Baines' narration of what happened; the idea of the little girl in the mirror realy captures the imagination.
I could've done without the grand music over the Remembrance Day sequence. I think it would've held more gravitas if there had been no music, just DT's voice over. It was a little too King and Country for me; at odds with what the message of the ep seemed to be, but I guess I can live with it.
But yeah overall a superb episode. Let's hope we see more of this before the season is over.