A Good Man Goes to War

Do you need me to repeat the question?

A Good Man Goes to War was the big mid-series finale that wrapped up most of the loose ends with Amy and Rory's baby and revealed who River was. It is also one of the few stories to actually show the Doctor actually using the fighting fear that he supposedly commanded.

Plot Summary

Amy has given birth to a girl that she has named Melody in her prison on an asteroid called Demons Run. Melody is going to be taken by a woman with an eye patch named Madame Kovarian. She has assembled an army of church soldiers (The Time of Angels/Flesh and Stone) and allied them with the headless monks. They are waiting for the Doctor to attack with the intention of destroying him.

Meanwhile, the Doctor is assembling allies. Notable are the members of what will become the Paternoster Gang and Dorium Maldovar. Rory is sent to find out where Amy is being held and to get River. River however refuses to come, knowing that the Doctor must face this event without her.

The Doctor sneaks aboard Demons Run and instigates a fight between the church soldiers and the headless monks. The colonel manages to stop the fight but in doing so, disarms his soldiers who are then surrounded by a combined army of Silurians and Judoon. The Doctor and Rory free Amy and reunite her with Melody and Madame Kovarian is captured. The Judoon escort the surrendered church troops out of the quadrent but the headless monks hide in the station.

The Doctor, Madame Vastra and Dorium hack the computers and discover that Melody's DNA has been altered by exposure to the time vortex which could give her the power to regenerate. The headless monks regroup and prepare to attack while Madame Kovarian escapes. One of the church soldiers (Bucket) who stayed loyal to the Doctor warns the group of Kovarian's trap. The group is attacked by the headless monks and the Doctor is distracted by Madame Kovarian appearing on a screen and mocking the Doctor for being fooled again. Kovarian then awakens the real Melody on her ship and the one Amy is holding melts as it was a flesh avatar.

The Doctor runs down to find that his allies have defeated the headless monks, although soldier Bucket and Dorium are killed and Strax is heavily wounded. Amy is in shock and angry at the Doctor. In midst of this, River arrives. The Doctor angrily confronts her about not being there while she tries to calm him by noting that it couldn't have been stopped. She then subtly reveals who she is to him. Astounded, the Doctor then leaves in the TARDIS, vowing to find Melody. Confused, Amy and Rory ask her what is going on. She gives them the baby leaf that soldier Bucket sewed of Melody's name, noting that her people had no word for pond. The writing translates to River Song and River reveals that she is Melody.

Analysis

Like The Impossible Astronaut and Day of the Moon, this episode takes on a totally different tone once you know the big twist regarding Melody and River. That obviously was designed to floor the audience going into the time off before Let's Kill Hitler. For the most part, I think it holds up rather well even when you know what is coming.

It is rather interesting that the Eleventh Doctor is painted as much more of a fighting Doctor, or at least one who cultivates the fighting legend; and yet the Eleventh Doctor never really pulls off the dark Doctor persona that you would expect would be necessary for this like both the Ninth and Tenth Doctor did. The Eleventh Doctor is a master of talking and letting others do the fighting for him. The Tenth Doctor did also but there were moments where you saw him get his hands dirty.

Obviously the avoidance of any real bloodshed is always a plus (especially in a family program) but it is nice to see that accomplished though overwhelming force rather than just "look at me and how scary I am" such as was done in The Pandorica Opens. My own personal favorite scene is the opening where Rory walks on to the Cybermen's ship and demands to know where his wife is. The Cyber leader asks what the message from the Doctor is and half the Cyberfleet explodes. That is a level of bad ass-ery that is lacking sometimes and I genuinely appreciate it when it does show up. Now, it's rarity does also invoke that when it does happen, the Doctor isn't screwing around so I would not advocate seeing it all that much more. But I did appreciate it this time around.

At the same time, the first half of the story is also very funny as well. The introduction of Strax is very funny and Dorium's protests against being selected are also very funny. Even after the surrender, the Doctor has some nice banter both with Amy and Rory and with the others. The Doctor's awkward conversation with Madame Vastra about Amy and Rory's sex life is quite amusing, especially with Dorium giving silent commentary with his eyebrows. Quite funny.

Where I felt the episode dipped a little bit south was after the initial engagement. I didn't really care for soldier Bucket who was just a little too bland and plot convenient for my taste. I'm also not sure I fully understood what the point was of Madame Kovarian's trap. Yes, she managed to get away with Melody, but her forces were defeated and no characters of significance were killed by the headless monks. The Doctor had already discovered the success of Madame Kovarian's scheme and assisted in Melody's escape, although unless the flesh avatar Amy was relaying information, Madame Kovarian would not have known that at this time. But it still seems like an overly complicated plan just to make sure you get away with a baby.

I also didn't really care for the ending scene that much. Soldier Bucket's death scene seemed a little forced. Likewise, I wasn't really buying the interaction between River and the Doctor in the confrontation. It's hard to put my finger on, but I think there is something in Alex Kingston's acting at that time that just didn't seem right. I think it was trying a little too hard to sound poignant and touching and just came across as soppy. I'm not sure of the best way to improve it, but the way that scene flowed just didn't quite work for me.

I liked this one overall but was somewhat surprised to remember during the rewatch of just how down a note it ends on. Again, with the minor plot holes and the somewhat subpar acting near the end, it falls off a little bit but it's still an enjoyable story. I'd happily watch it again, but it's not the best of the series.

Overall personal score: 4 out of 5