The Power of “The Power of Three”

As per usual, this recap will be nothing if not riddled with spoilers.

I have three words for “The Power of Three”: HIP HIP HOORAY!

FINALLY we start to delve into the relationship between the Doctor and the Ponds, plus we get more Brian! It was nearly impossible to tell that the same man wrote this and “Dinosaurs in Space” as there was nary an innuendo in sight (just a trouser-less Rory); in fact the only thing this and “Dinosaurs” have in common is…Brian, and even he was surprisingly different.

The science-wiency parts of “The Power of Three” had a few holes.

This part actually made sense…

Why didn’t the Doctor realize sooner what was going on if the Shakri was a bedtime story he grew up with? Why were there people with cube faces collecting humans? Why was the Doctor shocked into cardiac arrest, but not Amy, Kate or Glasses? And how did the cubes learn the Mexican hat dance?

On a much more positive note, this is the first time we’ve started to see the Ponds moving on. They’re choosing a life without the Doctor; they’re growing up on their own. In fact, during Amy’s now obligatory meeting where she and the Doctor discuss their fate, I was ready to throw in the towel. If that had been the end of “Doctor Who” forever, I would have been entirely okay with it.

Unless of course there will be more of this. Then Viva La Doctor Who!

In short, the writing this week was over the top superb.  It ACTUALLY gave me all the feels–something I’ve been waiting for since the Who crew returned a month ago. I’m going to need next week’s episode to make me feel that way from start to finish, or else there’s going to be some serious disappointment going on.

While Brian was back, he definitely was not the star of the show–that award actually goes to the…stars…of the…show (strange, I know). “The Power of Three” indeed. At different moments, the Doctor’s life with the Ponds was funny, heartwarming, and depressingly short-lived. There was a perfect balance between boring human-y stuff and the exciting sciencey parts–even when the time travel was used as a joke. But even Amy and Rory’s anniversary gift turned into an important plot point once Brian spoke with the Doctor about their absence.

One line note: The Doctor’s disdainful rejection of twitter is mostly hilarious because, of the three main actors, Matt Smith is the only one who doesn’t have an account and has publicly refused to get one.

Another one line note: The amount of soccer the show writers have let Matt play is adorable, considering his love for the game is almost equal to his hate for twitter.

I can’t help but feel as though this should have been the FIRST episode of the season, and then the other three could make the Ponds come to a decision about how long they can really stand to stay with the Doctor before giving him up entirely. The other episodes, compared to “Three”, seem gimmicky and extremely light on plot development. Held up against the conclusion events of other companions, it seems the Ponds have been slighted, which makes me sad.

Next week, if I can see my keyboard through the tears, I’ll recap “The Angels in Manhattan”, the final episode where RIVER FINALLY MAKES A RETURN, just in time for us to never see her parents again. Geronimo.