This week’s Doctor Who episode, “Amy’s Choice”, was one of my favorites so far. Although what we saw was a bit confusing (or rather, confused), the overall storyline gave us a chance to see deep into our Doctor’s mind. This Doctor is not quirky. He is not happy-go-lucky. He is not satisfied. What he is, is badly damaged. When the Ninth Doctor appeared, we got a good look at the guilt, regret, and loneliness. Ten all but hit us over the head with the constant reminders of the same. This is different. Eleven has internalized all of the trauma and seems to be trying to heal through continuing on. On paper, it seems cliche and boring. Eleven, however, gives haunting flinches and gazes that subtly remind us that all is not well.

This episode did two much needed things in a very simple way. It used “dreams” to allow us to wrap up the issue of Amy’s choice and to remind us that our Doctor is carrying his demons heavily. I’m enjoying the season possibly even more than Nine’s because I honestly do not know what to expect from The Doctor, and that is a very good feeling.

I didn’t particularly love this week’s episode of Doctor Who. It didn’t seem very fresh, and I thought it would be one of my favorites. Rory was a highlight, and The Doctor continues to wow me. Rosanna was a fantastic antagonist, I and wouldn’t have minded seeing her stick around for a bit. The most frightening thing is how much Amy did not wow me; and I’m all about some Amy. I don’t know if I’m still reeling from her indiscretion last week, or if the writing wasn’t quite “there” this week, but I’m hoping to be a lot more satisfied next week.

I’m completely over the teeth thing. Why have we had two sets of baddies already with teeth that are so long that no matter how pointed they are, the owners wouldn’t be able to open up wide enough to actually bite?!? I can’t get scared of bad guys if I’m laughing at them. I just can’t do it. Also? “Our planet was lost…wah wah wah” We did this. Last year. Maybe it was the delivery of the line, and maybe it was because we did just do this, but I’m not as sucked in to the story’s potential as I’d like to be at this point. Pun, y’all. PUN. Sucked in? VAMPIRES?!? OK, not really, but still…

Next week: My word, that Doctor has amazing profile close-ups!!

Much like River Song, I find it’s best to just trust in The Doctor without attesting to his sanity, cleverness, or cautiousness. Much has been made of the last episode, “Flesh and Stone”, and it will do no good for me to try to add much to the discussion. I had the opportunity to watch the episode, not alone and on loop, which is my usual, but with a fellow Who fan (Hi, Leon, HI!). I have to say, it changed the way I watched the episode and I let a few things pass by without much question. For instance, I noticed the “jacket issue” but I didn’t put voice it in a timely manner and I let the moment pass.

While I very much enjoyed the episode, I can’t be sure if my divided attention prevented me from following some of the “science” as I watched, or if I just needed a re-watch to get a lot of the nuances. Either way, after a quick re-watch, I’m pretty sure I’ve caught what I needed to catch.

I’m not going to address the last scene yet. The whole thing is a giant, NO NO NO, wait, they wouldn’t do that to us again, OR WOULD THEY, no, definitely not, there has to be something timey-wimey or odd happening, right? RIGHT?!?!?!?

Our poor Doctor. He’s so harangued by River Song. LOL. Even the brief, surprise greeting of, “Hello, Sweetie,” elicits such a hangdog response that you just want to put your arm around The Doctor and tell him that everything will be okay. Being out of the loop, I had no idea there was a current running through fandom with theories about River. I’m pretty bad to take a plot point at face value and just let the story play out, but now I’m dying to get into the conspiracy theorists’ minds.

That’s the big difference with the new series; it’s smarter. Certainly not to disparage RTD’s helm, which was still largely better than anything else on television, but the nuances now are just a bit more mature and cerebral. Perhaps the least cerebral clue, as I mentioned before, is “The Crack” and though I did not spot the crack in the episode, it’s FINALLY being seen by The Doctor in the preview for next week’s episode. Next week’s episode, by the way, looks to be full of excitement, and motion, and intrigue.

In what I consider to be the mark of greatness for a show, a Twitter friend of mine is just getting into Doctor Who, and I’m proud to have him jump on board with Eleven and Amy. Welcome to the greatest show on Earth. Or Gallifrey. Or Raxacoricofallapatorius. Or, well, you get the picture. With The Doctor and the TARDIS, anything is possible!