The second episode of the opening two-parter of Season 32 of Doctor Who started off dull but ended up spectacular. I'd normally call this a slow-burner, but for various reasons, I'm not going to apply that description.
After the "previously on", we jump three months to a situation where the Doctor has been incarcerated in Area 51 and the rest of the crew (henceforth called the Timey Team) are on the run from Canton. Of course, things aren't quite what they seem.
The Timey Team (plus River) then carry on investigating the evil Silence via a very creepy set of scenes in an abandoned children's home and engineering their overthrow via a very famous transmission....
I had a problem with the first 25 minutes of this episode. For a start, it wasn't fully holding my attention. I didn't like the sudden time jump, which didn't properly explain why the Timey Team were on the run from the FBI (It's obviously something the Silence did, but a single line of dialogue wouldn't have gone amiss). Also, it was badly paced - things seemed to be taking a little too long. Finally, I wasn't too keen on Nixon for much of this. So, not a slow-burner.
Things kicked up a gear in the second half, with Matt Smith on fine form at the climax, along with everyone else. Karen Gillan has been particularly good in this story as well. The climax was a barnstormer, with great dialogue, a wonderful resolution and some lovely final scenes as a misunderstanding is cleared up.
Speaking of final scenes, that last scene of all where we discovered the truth behind the little girl is clearly going to have ramifications throughout the rest of this season and arguably beyond...
8/10. The poor start was made up for by a spectacular ending. Next week, pirates!
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