REVIEW: Doctor Who - Cold Blood (5.9)

Again, I'm aware that this review is really late - and I have no defence beyond the fact that I'm moving this weekend and I haven't had any time to just sit down and write a review!! So it's going to be quite a short one again, sorry about that (or, if you prefer my short reviews, you're welcome!)

DR WHO: COLD BLOOD

In Which: The Silurians get mad, the Doctor attempts to broker a peace deal, and particularly harrowing and dramatic stuff happens at the end.

What did I think?: Hooray! This lived up to the promise of last weeks part one, and continued to be a good old-fashioned Whovian runaround. However, the bit everyone is going to want to talk about is the last ten minutes, which I will get to, so be patient!

The majority of the episode was, I felt, a suitably good ending to the previous weeks episode. We got some negotiations over the future of planet Earth, Amy actually doing stuff again (although how did she manage to pickpocket that Silurian doctor? Her hands were nowhere near his pocket!) and, in a nice touch, the Doctor going back to one of his traits on classic Who, which was taking a character from the story, and leaving them somewhere else to where they had started. In this case, leaving Nasreen and Tony to hibernate with the Silurians. (Which reminds me, aren't the rest of the Silurians gonna be pissed off when they discover a pair of "apes" in their city?)

The Silurians actually had a plan, which makes a change, and also, they weren't all of the same mind. They were a proper functioning society (that granted, we only ever saw small pieces of) and therefore they argued, disagreed and had different opinions to each other. Which was nice, and again a feature of Classic Who.

And then we get to the end. Oh Rory. After doing sterling work this episode (not quite as much as last episode, but still, the moments where they are deciding what to do with the dead Silurian was a masterclass from Arthur Darvill), then Rory takes an energy blast for the Doctor. And dies.

Yes, again. He died in Amy's Choice (in the dream) and now he dies here. And the heartbreaking thing? A crack eats him, and Amy consequently (in some fantastically acted moments) forgets him. Leaving the Doctor carrying one more burden. But, we're not done yet. Because what did the Doctor pull out of the crack? A piece of Shrapnel.

TARDIS-Shrapnel.

Does the TARDIS cause the cracks? Is that what explodes? I don't know, but I can't wait to find out.

And if, as I suspect, we're going to see the things that have entered the crack in the last two episodes, then how is Rory going to play into that? Since he was dead before the Crack even ate him?

The Good: It's become a cliche to say this, but the performances. The Old-School feel of the episode. Aliens with opinions. The last ten minutes.

The Bad: Just the little inconsistencies like Amy's pickpocketing skills. Oh and the annoying military Silurian who was the sister of the other Silurian so that they could use the same makeup...

Conclusion: 9/10 - Next week - Van Gogh!