Series 6 rolls on with Episode 2: “Day of the Moon”. Here’s our review

WARNING! THIS REVIEW CONTAINS A PLOT SUMMARY AND SPOILERS FOR THIS EPISODE! READ AT YOUR OWN RISK! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!

So, after finally (I think) wrapping my head around last week’s brain bending series opener, it’s time to find out how it all resolves in the second part of the opening story. For those who don’t remember, last week we left the Doctor, Rory, Amy and River Song, along with our new friend Canton Everett Delaware III in a warehouse in Florida. Rory and River had gone to investigate some tunnels down below where they found a machine very similar to the one seen in last series’ episode “The Lodger”, and a whole bunch of Silence. Meanwhile, Amy told the Doctor she’s pregnant and they found Canton unconscious. Suddenly, at the end of the room, the astronaut appears, Amy shoots at it while the visor lifts to reveal the little girl whose voice is on Nixon’s tape. And, now, back to our story. And, be warned, there are more twists and turns coming.

We open 3 months later in the Valley of the Gods in Utah with Amy (Karen Gillan) doing what all of the Doctor’s companions do best: running for her life. It should be said that the visuals here are truly breathtaking, with wide, aerial, very cinematic feeling shots of this chase. Amy is finally corned at the edge of a ridge. And, who is doing the cornering you ask? A group of agents led by…CANTON?! WHAT? I thought he was on our side? There must be more to this that meets the eye. Canton (Mark Sheperd)  motions to one of the other agents, who produces a body bag. Amy asks Canton if he remember the warehouse? The backstory is filled in via black and white flashback. Canton had an encounter with a Silent in the warehouse. After the flashback, HE SHOOTS AMY! OK, so first the Doctor dies in the first 10 minutes of the first episode, now Amy’s been shot and seemingly killed just 2 minutes into episode 2. Is Steven Moffat trying to kill us? I don’t know how many more shocks I can take! Anyway, as Amy lies on the ground, a closeup of her arm reveals the strange tally marks we have seen in trailers and photos covering the characters’ arms and faces.

Next we move to Area 51 in Nevada, which is, of course, where the Doctor (Matt Smith)  is being held. He is on a large square platform, in a chair, in a straitjacket, with a full beard. There is some sort of large black stone wall being built around him. Canton comes in with photographs taken of Amy’s arm. Canton asks the Doctor if he knows what they are? The Doctor tells him to ask her.

Now the scene moves to New York. In a skyscraper under construction, high above the street, we catch up with River (Alex Kingston). She is wearing an evening gown and she is sweeping her data pad around , scanning. Suddenly, several Silence emerge. She mars her arm with the pen for each one she sees, saying “I see you.” Suddenly, Canton and the agents advance on her. She turns, and the Silence are gone. Canton and the agents chase her to the edge of the building, confident they have her cornered. Suddenly she falls backward over the ledge. WAIT, NOW RIVER’S DEAD TOO?!

Back to Area 51, Canton informs the Doctor of the events regarding River’s swan dive. The Doctor asks about the blocks and we get another wonderful of classic Who technobabble: “I’d say zero-balanced dwarf star alloy. The densest stuff in the universe. Nothing gets through that.” Don’t think about that for longer than five seconds or your head will hurt. Now, we get a glimpse of the “darker Doctor” again, as he helpfully tells us just what’s going on: “You’re building me the perfect prison, and it still won’t be enough!” So scary!

Well, the Doctor’s locked up, Amy’s down and River’s on her way down. That means, it’s Rory (Arthur Darville) vs. the World. But, the fight doesn’t last that long, as Canton and crew corner him at the top of the Glen Canyon Dam in Arizona. He too has tally marks all over his skin, but rather then lead the agents on a merry chase, he surrenders and steels himself for the shot. This disappoints Canton, but it doesn’t stop him from shooting Rory, who also falls to the ground. OK, So 5 minutes in and all of the supporting cast are DEAD?! WHAT IS GOING ON?

The Doctor’s prison is now complete. Canton brings the body bags into the cell and lays them beside the Doctor. He explains that the Doctor is in a “perfect cell.” Canton says he is cut off from the rest of the universe, and he seals the door using a special hand pad. he tells the Doctor they can’t hear them. The Doctor asks if the door is sealed, which Canton affirms. The Doctor then quickly proceeds to STAND UP AND REMOVE HIS STRAITJACKET! Suddenly, the two bodybags rise and RORY AND AMY BEGIN TO REMOVE THEM! IT’S ANOTHER MOFFAT FEINT! I FELL FOR IT AGAIN! DAMN YOU MOFFAT!!!!! Anyway, everyone is safe and accounted for….except for River, who is still in freefall. By the way Rory, BODYBAGS ARE NOT SUPPOSED TO HAVE AIRHOLES!!!  Suddenly the Doctor abruptly falls over INTO THE STILL CLOAKED TARDIS. With a snap of his fingers, the doors open, and they’re off. Time for another Moffat sight gag, as Amy and Rory are told to open all of the doors to the Swimming Pool. River does a perfect dive and lands inside the TARDIS with a splash. OK, NOW EVERYONE’S ALIVE AGAIN AND CANTON’S NOT BEING CONTROLLED? MY HEAD IS STARTING TO HURT. Have I mentioned, by the way, that all of this is taking place BEFORE THE MAIN TITLES? That’s right, this is the pre-titles sequence.

Anyway, the Doctor summarizes the situation, saying the Silence have been here for a very long time, but no one can remember them. The shot of River drying her hair while she enters the console room, btw, is one of the little details I love about Moffat. The Doctor says he has a secret weapon. The TARDIS lands and the party all get out to look at the Apollo 11 rocket. But, the Doctor’s weapon is not Apollo 11, it is, he says “Neil Armstrong’s foot.” And now, we get the main titles, and a chance to catch our breath.

After the titles,a familiar black car pulls up to a dilapidated build that the moss covered metal gates tell us is “Graystark Hall Orphanage.” As the car pulls to a stop in front, we can see it is Canton driving and Amy in the passenger seat, before they get out, they both look at the palm of their hands where we can see a small mark in their palm. Each of them gives the affirmation “clear.” Now we flash back to the TARDIS, some point before this, where the Doctor, who has lost the beard, is gleefully injecting everyone in the hand. The situation on the Silence is laid out, with everyone agreeing it is very hard to gather information when you can’t remember. The Doctor lays out the situation using one of Moffat’s best lines so far: We’re not fighting an invasion, we’re leading a revolution.” He comes over to Amy so says she’s “all better” and not pregnant after all..hmmm. Amy also explains the tally marks: “only way to know if we’d had an encounter.” The Doctor explains the injected devices are nano-recorders that tune themselves to the speech centers of the brain. It is a telepathic connection that will pick up your voice no matter what. The moment any of them sees one of the creatures, they press their palm to activate it and describe aloud exactly what they’re seeing. The light will flash if they’ve left themselves a message, so they need to keep checking their hands. Suddenly Canton straightens the Doctor’s bow tie and the others stare at him. River tells him to look at his hand, where the light is flashing. Canton has even forgotten the instruction the Doctor just gave. After listening to the frantic message, Canton turns around to see a Silent inside the TARDIS. It is only a hologram, however, made from the picture taken by Amy on her phone.However, despite looking at it, neither Canton nor the Doctor can describe it. (The image of an Angel……etc.) They liken the powers of the Silence to post-hypnotic suggestion. The Doctor sends to Canton and Amy to Childrens’ Homes near the warehouse to look for the little girl, while he, Rory and River go off to NASA. And, now, we are back in the present with Amy and Canton knocking on the door of the Orphanage.

Said door is opened by Dr. Renfrew, one of the creepiest supporting characters in Doctor Who history. He speaks with a lazy Southern drawl and you get the impression immediately that he’s not all there. The pain on the walls is cracked and a long narrow staircase winds up through the middle of the building. The walls are covered with graffiti. Large words written in what looks like blood spell out “Get Out” and “Leave Now.” The lights are flickering on and off as the continue up the stairs to Dr. Renfrew’s office. Canton reveals that the orphanage was supposed to have closed in 1967, which Dr. Renfrew confirms is the plan. When Canton informs him it is 1969, he seems unwillingy and/or unable to process the information. As Canton goes with Dr. Renfrew to his office, Amy decides to check upstairs, alone. Now wait, Amy has been traveling with the Doctor for over a year. She ahs got to know better than this!

Anyway, at the top of the stairs she pushes open a door and steps inside the room. She phones the Doctor to inform him that they have found the place the girl came from. He is busy attaching a device to some machinery, which we find out is owned by NASA, when he is found by security. Meanwhile at the orphanage, the door slams shut behind Amy. This is where the real scares start for this episode kiddies, so get behind the sofa, cause ehre we go. Amy goes to try the doorknob and notices her hand is blinking. She plays the message which says she can see them and she thinks they are asleep. The message implores her to get out. She runs to the window at teh opposite end of the room and notices, in the reflection, that her hands and face are covered in tally marks. She shines her flashlight on the ceiling and sees a HUGE group of Silence sleeping on the ceiling. She tries to keep quiet, but kicks a wastepaper basket, which wakes one of them up. She makes a tally mark on her hand, but when she looks down, she has forgotten and the door opens in front of her. AS she exits, we see a Silent lurking inside the doorway.

Meanwhile, the Doctor has gotten arrested at NASA, and has to call in President Nixon (Stuart Milligan)  to bail him out, which he does with the help of River and Rory. The part of this scene, at the end, where Rory breaks the little model, is priceless.

Back at the Haunted Mansion, Canton is going through the files in Dr. Renfrew’s office. Canton asks Dr. Renfrew what he has been doing, as the place has. Renfrew replies that “the child, she must be cared for. It’s important. That’s what they said.” Canton inquires as to who they are?

Meanwhile, Amy is continuing her EXTREMELY unwise solo exploration of the upper level. She happens upon a metal reinforced door. Suddenly, a viewing slot opens in the door. A strange woman wearing a futuristic eye patch looks to the right and says “No. I think she’s just dreaming.” to no one in particular. (Remember this woman. SHE WILL BE IMPORTANT LATER, BUT NOT IN THIS EPISODE! CURSE YOU MOFFAT!) Anyway, the slot closes and then disappears from the door. Amy opens the door and finds herself in what can only be the little girl’s room. There’s a bed and some furniture and some toys and some pictures. But, as she approaches the pictures she is stunned to see a picture of HERSELF HOLDING A BABY! As she struggles to come to grips with this image, the astronaut enters. Amy demands to know who the astronaut is, saying she doesn’t understand. The astronaut lifts the visor on the helmet to reveal the little girl. She pleads for help, but is quickly joined by two Silence. Amy screams and the door slams shut.

Suddenly, there is a knock on Dr. Renfrew’s door. He answers it. Canton asks who it was, and as he moves towards the door, a Silent enters the room. Canton activates his palm recorder and asks the Silent to identify itself. He asks the Silent if it is armed, as Amy screams for help. The Silent answers that “they have ruled this world since the wheel and the fire. We have no need of weapons.” Canton pulls out his gun and shoots the Silent, adding the smart ass comment “Welcome to America.” Again. fantastic dialogue. Canton runs off the help Amy while the Silent is incapacitated.

Meanwhile, back in the Oval Office, The Doctor tells Nixon that he has to TAPE EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENS IN THIS OFFICE, EVERY WORD! He tells him he has to trust him and nobody else. So, the Doctor is responsible for the creation of the Watergate tapes. That’s just plain hilarious. Anyway, River interrupts, saying Canton is calling. So, off we go in the TARDIS to the orphanage.

At the Orphanage, Canton is approaching the room Amy screamed from. Canton hear her cries for help coming through the door, so he is about to shoot the lock. Suddenly, the Doctor arrives, with Rory and River in tow, and sonics the door open. As they enter the room, the little girl is seen hiding around the corner, out of the spacesuit. Inside the room, they don’t see Amy, but they see the empty spacesuit.  The still hear Amy’s voice however, so they are looking around. Suddenly, they see the blinking red light on the carpet. Rory picks up Amy’s nano-recorder, which has been removed from her hand. Rory wants to know why he can still hear her and River asks if it’s a recording. The Doctor scans it with the sonic and he says it’s still live, that what she is describing is what she is seeing. Rory tells her they are coming, the Doctor says she can’t hear him. Amazingly, Rory finally gets some guts and stands up to challenge the Doctor saying she can always hear him and she always knows that HE is coming for her. Good for you, Rory! Suddenly, Amy pleads for the Doctor to get her out of this. Rory says he will bring him. Dr. Renfrew appears in the doorway and says he thinks someone has been shot.

The Doctor rushes to Renfrew’s office and comes face-to-face with the injured Silent. The Doctor confronts the creature, asking it to identify itself. “Silence, Doctor. We are the Silence.” is its answer. We see a clever package of flashbacks from Series 5 highlighting the mentions of the Silence.

Suddenly, we are back in Area 51 and the door to the Doctor’s prison opens. An entire platoon of guards raise their weapons as Canton comes out and requests the presence of Doctor Shepherd. The lead guard says he needs to talk to Colonel Jefferson. But Canton says “No, you really don’t” and plays the “Nixon card” again. Out walks “Tricky Dick” to the strains of Hail to the Chief, the soldiers all looking suitably stunned, as President Nixon feels it necessary to explain to them just who he is.

Meanwhile, back in what can only be the warehouse, a black and white TV is playing the build-up to the Apollo 11 launch. The Doctor, Rory and River are there. The Doctor and River are examining the spacesuit, with Rory is standing off to the side holding Amy’s nano-recorder. River says there are about 20 different types of alien tech inside the spacesuit, including basic life support. The phone calls to the President are explained because the communications system in the suit defaults to the highest authority. “The little girl gets scared, the most powerful man on the planet gets a phone call.”  The Doctor is examining the envelope he got at the beginning of the adventure. River tells him he won’t learn anything from it. He tries to get more out of her, but she tells him their lives are back to front. He says they need to find out what the Silence are doing. They talk about the strength the little girl must have to force her way out of the suit. Suddenly, the Doctor realizes that the Silence influenced humanity to go to the Moon because the needed a spacesuit.

Back at Area 51, Doctor Shepherd treats the Silent, then forgets he has seen when he turns away to exit. Canton pulls out Amy’s phone and begins to take video of the Silent as it speaks. Canton sends a clip to the Doctor of the Silence saying “You should get us all out of sight.” Rory continues to listen to Amy through her nano-recorder. She makes some ambiguous statements, which make Rory fell a bit insecure. Rory asks the Doctor if he can save Amy. Rory and the Doctor have chat about the 200o years he spent as a centurion in Series 5.

In the Oval Office and around the world, people watch as the Moon Lander descends to the surface. Now, we switch to Amy’s location. She is just waking up. Before her we see the “proto-TARDIS” similar to the one in “the Lodger” and a whole bunch of Silence. She is bound into some kind of futuristic looking chair. The Silence tell her they are honoring her. She tells them they’re in trouble now. The Silence try to undermine her confidence by telling her she has been there several days. They try to force her to sleep.

As she is trying to fight the sleep command, the grinding of the TARDIS’ engines can be heard. The TARDIS materializes and the Doctor emerges. He recognizes the proto-TARDIS, even referencing “The Lodger.’ “Very Aickman Road”, he says. So, if you’re thinking this is the part where the Doctor swoops in, saves the day and defeats the monster, you’d be right. But, it’s how it’s done in this case that makes all the difference. We all know that the Doctor uses his cleverness to save the day, but in this case, the plan is particularly clever. The Doctor comes out of the TARDIS with River and Rory in tow, with a TV. Just before the real fireworks start, there is another great bit of flirting between River and the Doctor, which Amy interrupts. As Rory tries to release Amy, the Doctor explains the plan. He uses the Silence’s greatest strength against them. Normally, people just forget about them when they are not looking at them, but the Doctor uses the device he installed on Apollo 11 to interrupt the feed from the Apollo lander so that Canton can insert the video clip taken earlier of the Silent in the cell, just as Neil Armstrong takes the first step on the Moon, a moment no one will ever forget. The Silence have just raised an army against themselves. Humanity is about to throw them off the planet. And the Doctor is clearly loving this: “And one whacking great kick up the backside for the Silence.” The Silence become enraged and the shooting starts. The Silence do their scary “force lightning” thing, while River just starts blowing them away. Meanwhile, Rory has a moment of understanding as he tries to free Amy from the chair. The Doctor comes by and uses the sonic on her restraints and Rory and Amy duck into the TARDIS. This is where teh awesome scene from the trailer of River spinning around and shooting comes from, and the full version looks even more awesome. River is shooting away, while the Doctor is waving the sonic at them, hoping it is doing something. River dismisses him with a hilarious exchange: RIVER: “What are you doing?” DOCTOR: “Helping.” RIVER: “You’ve got a screwdriver. Go build a cabinet.” DOCTOR: “That’s really rude.” RIVER: “Shut up and drive.” So, one more spin cycle and all of the Silence are dead. Rory peeks out the door aghast and there is so more great dialogue. RORY: “What kind of Doctor are you? RIVER: “Archaeology. Love a tomb.”

Back inside the TARDIS, River begins pushing switches and pulling levers,a gain showing up the Doctor when it comes to flying the TARDIS. Rory confesses his insecurity to Amy, and shows her the nano-recorder recovered from the orphanage. They share a tender moment.

They arrive back at the Oval Office and the Doctor says his goodbyes to canton and Nixon, asking Nixon to work something out regarding Canton’s marriage. Before he leaves, Nixon asks the Doctor if he will be remembered, to which the Doctor replies “They’re never going to forget you.”, adding “Say hi to David Frost for me.” As the TARDIS fades away, we find out the person wants to marry is a black…MAN! Are we sure Russell is not still secretly influencing the script? ANyway, Nixon replies “I think the Moon is far enough for now.”

Now we’re back at Stormcage and River is being returned to her cell. River talks about living up to a promise and that the Doctor will understand soon. She calls him back as they go to leave and she kisses him. He acts surprised, but she seems more so. The Doctor says they have never done that before. He leaves saying “there’s a first time for everything.” As the TARDIS disappears, a sullen River says “and a last time.”

Back inside the TARDIS, The Doctor sends Rory to get some couplings, which gives him the chance to talk to Amy. She says there are things she can’t remember (we are shown flashbacks to the room, the picture, the girl in the astronaut suit), but that she’s fine. The Doctor asks her why she told him she was pregnant? She says she thought she was. He wants to know why she told him? She says because he’s her best friend. He asks if she told Rory, who is standing outside the console room holding the nano-recorder, which is still working. She tells the Doctor she is worried about the effect travel in the TARDIS might have. Suddenly, Rory gets caught eavesdropping. he and Amy make up and the Doctor begins to plot their next move, saying it’s all about the little girl. They can try to find out who she is, he says, or they can just go have some adventures. Option two is decided upon , as the Doctor secretly scans Amy. The scan reveals that her pregnancy is in flux, appearing and disappearing. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? I have NO IDEA!

The episode’s final scene takes place 6 months later. A tramo is rifling through some garbage, when the little girl comes staggering through the alley. The tramp asks her if she’s ok? She says she’s dying, but she can fix it. A familiar golden glow surrounds her hands and then…SHE REGENERATES! WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON. There has been as much regeration in the first two episodes of this series as there was in David Tennant’s ENTIRE RUN! I can’t wait for all the pieces to come together, because man, does my head hurt.

THE VERDICT: Taken together with Episode 1, this story forms a complete adventure, with a ton of twists and turns. This episode holds back on the shocks, but ramps up the scares. The scenes in the orphanage are some of the creepiest ever filmed in Doctor Who, and the Dr. Renfrew character will draw obvious and, I’m sure intentional comparisons to the Renfield character in Bram Stoker’s novel, Dracula. The Silence really prove their ruthlessness in this one. Again, as in episode 1, there are plot points and questions we are not likely to see the significance of or get the answers to, until the end of this episode 13, in the fall. The layers of River and the Doctor’s relationship are slowly peeling away, and it seems like River is getting sadder as we get closer to the truth. Matt Smith and Alex Kingston play off each other marvelously, and I’m very interested to see where it will go. Matt Smith also continues to develop the character of the Doctor. I particularly enjoyed the sense of satisfaction the Doctor seemed to get from beating the Silence. Also the characters of Amy and Rory continue to grow, with Amy seemingly ready to crack from the weight of the secrets she is keeping. Rory also got fleshed out a great deal and finally stood up to the Doctor. I applaud Steven Moffat for these minor, yet important character developments. I also have to applaud Steven Moffat for the incredibly sharp script and dialogue. The fact that the script can transition from horror to humor so easy is a great credit to his writing skill. To elicit gasps and laughs in the same episode is a rare skill I just wish he could deliver the awesome dialogue without having to make my head hurt so much. So, although I’m sure we haven’t seen the last of the Silence, for now, we have. Next week, I”m looking forward to a good old fashioned Pirate ghost romp, and hopefully, my head won’t hurt as much afterward.

Series 6 continues this week with Episode 3 – The Curse of the Black Spot.