A Good Man Goes to War

"When you began all those years ago, sailing off to see the universe, did you ever think you'd become this? The man who can turn an army around at the mention of his name."

Writer: Steven Moffat

Format: TV

Broadcast: 4th June 2011

Series: 6.07

Featuring: Eleventh Doctor, Amy, Rory, River

Synopsis 

Demons Run when a good man goes to war. The Doctor calls in his debts to form an army. Together, the takeover of Demon's Run is begun as they seek to recover Amy and her newborn child. The  Doctor will rise higher than he's ever rose before... but then fall lower than he's ever done before. 

Verdict 

A Good Man Goes to War was a fantastic mid-season finale! Meh, that's a term I really do dislike - 'mid-season finale'. It almost angers me in some respects that TV shows do this! When we have a series/season I expect it to run through in its entirety and then the next time we see it is with a brand new series. It happens with my watching of The Blacklist and now it happens in my beloved Doctor Who. Thankfully that didn't occur in Series 8! But anyway, the episode itself is brilliant following on from the shocking and confusing end of The Almost People where Amy was revealed to be Flesh. But now here she was, trapped in Demon's Run and she'd given birth. That's right, a companion had a child! And not just any child by the DNA scan results. She was part Time Lord! I loved the Doctor's reaction to that which resulted in a humorous recap of Rory's time in the TARDIS with some terrific references to The Vampires of Venice, Cold Blood and The Big Bang. With it believed that Time Lords evolved from the mass and continued exposure to the time vortex, it seemed that Amy and Rory had had sex on the TARDIS mid-flight! To be fair, that does actually sound like something they'd do strangely enough. They'd consummated a baby on board and now she was part Time Lord. At least now, with the benefit of flashbacks, we had some answers to some confusing questions asked in Day of the Moon. The Doctor's take on the way humans have sex was intriguing to say the least with the balloon reference. Don't ever enter the TARDIS if there's a balloon up! The pre-titles scene was outstanding I thought, even if it sadly made a little mockery out of the Cybermen. They'd have their chance of redemption later in the series with Closing Time thankfully. Rory was excellent dawning the centurion gimmick once more but this time he and the Doctor meant business. The message they delivered to the Cybermen was incredible. A good man certainly was going to war. Amy's narration having the twist of her meaning Rory was tremendous too. That really was nice. We finally learned about the 'Eye-Patch Lady' and what her agenda was. She was Madame Kovarian and she was raising Amy and Rory's daughter as a weapon against the Doctor. After his brilliant assembling of an army to come and save Amy, he suddenly realised what he meant to others. Vastra told him plainly what the term Doctor meant to Lorna and her people of the gamma forests - a mighty warrior. His actions were enough and his realisation was heartbreaking. Of course he wasn't a warrior - that thought really hurt him. Matt Smith once again proved why he is the best Doctor with yet another spellbinding performance. The anger and frustration vented was incredible at times but contrast that with his arrival as impersonating a Headless Monk and then him being all smiles at the end reveal. I'm not a massive fan of the concept of the Flesh being used once more but I did love how Kovarian was able to gloat to the Doctor about tricking him the same way twice. After an emotional reunion between Amy and Rory, baby in hand, the baby wasn't there's at all. It was a Ganger. Just as promised, the taking of Demon's Run was far too easy. Silurians, Judoon and Sontarans working in coercion - a nice contrast from The Pandorica Opens - but Kovarian had won almost as soon as the evacuation had occurred. She still had baby Melody Pond (such a beautiful name) but we know she'd work out quite alright. The Doctor's cot making an appearance was lovely I must add! I also was intrigued by his shunning of Amy's question as to whether he had children or not. But then Amy would soon find out that she had a child of her own. And in a stunning reveal with the present from Lorna being translated, and the quote from Idris in The Doctor's Wife coming full circle, we found out that River Song was Amy and Rory's daughter. She was the one being weaponised and that allowed the Doctor to relax because he knew she'd grow up okay. Just look at her! So he set off, companionless, to find Melody and the series had finished, for now. Overall, a great episode but there's just a sense of something missing for me. 

Rating: 9/10