A Town Called Mercy

"Violence doesn't end violence. It extends it."

Writer: Toby Whithouse

Format: TV

Broadcast: 15th September 2012

Series: 7.03

Featuring: Eleventh Doctor, Amy, Rory

Synopsis 

Missing Mexico by 200 miles, the Doctor, Amy and Rory end up in Mercy, Nevada, where something isn't quite right. The locals are hostile to strangers and a border of stone and wood surrounds the town. As the Doctor finds out, a gunslinger is behind all this, and he's far from ordinary...

Verdict 

A Town Called Mercy was a very good episode! Full of emotion, this did have a great story and served excellently as a filler episode. With no series arc of such that involves Amy and Rory, this episode just pushed on the inevitable departure of the Ponds that's drawing ever closer. I have to start by mention Amy, she was unbelievably spectacular in this episode, and that was just without speaking! Karen Gillan really did look absolutely incredible. Her hair is just perfect and her dress was wonderful, not to mention her sensational looks! I've always thought she was a beautiful women but for whatever reason I'd never included her at the top of my list of the prettiest, most beautiful (or whatever else you want to call it) list of companions. Clara, Polly and Peri have always been my top 3 but Amy gatecrashes into the medal positions I think after a dazzling episode, in which she stole the show. Rory didn't really do much, as per usual, and it was upto his wife to pull of memorable moments. The Doctor was outraged beyond anything we've ever seen before. He'd seen the atrocities that Kahler-Jex had committed, transforming innocent people into war machine cyborgs. And he seemed proud of his war-hero status, which came at a cost of life in a cruel way. The Doctor was having none of it and Matt Smith just oozed amazement. When the TARDIS trio arrived in Mercy, the Doctor just had that presence of an important man, something extraordinary. And the way he reacted to Kahler-Jex was just outstanding. The Doctor actually contemplated killing Jex in cold blood with a gun. It's time he started putting the victims first, honouring them, and seeing the criminal come to justice. But then Amy stepped in, shocked at the actions of the Doctor. I adored how she told the Doctor that he shouldn't be like Jex, he should be better. A tremendous moment. The Gunslinger was a good character and I liked the fearful presence that he brought. I wasn't struck on the appearance I must admit but to bring out emotion in cyborg is impressive, even if they made him Marshall at the end which just seemed unnecessary in my eyes. Considering my utter distaste for The Gunfighters, the setting wasn't bad at all to be fair. It actually worked very well for the episode! Yes, I'm praising a Wild West setting, don't get used to it. The barrier stopping the Gunslinger from entering the town seemed very poor and unexplained but I did like the town's residents. Some fantastic characters were seen. The Doctor's mentions of the victims of the Master and the Daleks was a lovely moment, so many had died because of the mercy he'd shown and now the Doctor was thinking of change. As Amy pointed out, and as we all know, the Doctor needs companions. So if Amy knew this, why would she leave the Doctor to travel alone again? I know the series is slowly going towards the Ponds' departure, but do they really need to go home after every bloody episode? I think not! But nonetheless, a very good episode with plenty of emotional value. The climax was a good way to end things with Jex facing his crimes himself, and dealing with them honourably. Overall, excellent!

Rating: 8/10