*****SPECIAL NOTE TO READERS IN THE UNITED STATES*****

THIS EPISODE HAS NOT AIRED YET IN THE UNITED STATES.

DUE TO BBC AMERICA’S SPECIAL MEMORIAL DAY PROGRAMMING, THIS EPISODE WILL NOT

AIR ON BBC AMERICA UNTIL JUNE 4th.

THIS REVIEW CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS, INCLUDING A FULL PLOT SUMMARY.

DO NOT READ IF YOU ARE LOOKING TO AVOID SPOILERS. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!!

It’s the second part of the “gangers” story that began in “The Rebel Flesh.” It’s also the final episode before the “game changing” mid series finale. Does this episode redeem Matthew Graham’s story? And just how shocking is the finale set-up scene at the end of this story? These questions will be answered…right now! Here’s my review.

As with previous reviews, the plot summary will be in regular type, my comments will be in bold.

After a quick catch-up clip package, we open back in the Chapel of the monastery. The “Flesh Doctor” is experiencing pain and disorientation as it works it’s way through all of the Doctor’s regenerations. At one point we even hear TOM BAKER’s VOICE come out of Matt Smith’s mouth. “Would you like a jelly baby.” This is such a classy nod to the show’s rich history. This sequence also includes a phrase used by the Third Doctor and the voice of the Tenth Doctor, David Tennant. Finally, with a loud yell, the “Flesh Doctor” pushes the real one aside. He springs up, his eyes ringed in red. And, 2 minutes in, we’re into the opening titles. This is one of the shortest pre-title sequences I can ever remember seeing.

On the other side of the vortex, we rejoin the action. As the “Flesh Doctor” continues stumbling around holding his head, the “gangers” continue to pound against the door to the chapel. Suddenly, they stop. Out in the hallway, we   say the “gangers” assessing the situation. You’d swear you can almost see the wheels turning in their heads. Amy calls for the Doctor to work on a  plan. Suddenly, the “Flesh Doctor” stabalizes. The Doctor runs him through a test to insure his identity. The Doctor: “Cybermats?” “Flesh Doctor”: “Invented by the Cybermen. They kill by feeding off brainwaves.” Amy asks if they have guns, Frank says no, they mine acid. Hey, what’s that burning smell? Acid is eating through the door, which begins smoking. The Doctor and the “Flesh Doctor” are now standing side-by-side, identical Time Lord twins. Now begins a hilarious scene of a conversation between the two Doctors where they finish each others sentences. The Doctor is clearly loving having two of him around. The Doctors’ plan is to save everyone. By the way, in a “blink and you’ll miss it” moment, both Doctor’s simultaneously tell Amy to “Breathe.” Why is this signifcant? You’ll find out soon enough. Amy believes they’re trapped, but the Doctors conclude that there must be underground tunnels, and the find a grate which they use to escape. The “gangers” break into the room just as the Doctor is resealing the grate. During this scene, the Doctor uses anoth of his never to be uttered again phrases: Yowza! The “Flesh Doctor hilariously calls him on it. In the chapel, “ganger” Cleaves suffers a debilitating headache.

In a corridor, ” ganger” Jennifer discovers some oozing circles on the stone wall, and she seems to have some sort of mental distress. As she continues down the hallway, Rory peeks out from the corridor. Rory has been absolutely terrible at this whole sneaking around and adventuring thing for almost the entire time we have known him. How did he suddenly get so proficient? Rory follows after her.

The Doctors, Amy and the other “originals” are continuing to make their way through the corridors. Suddenly, as they stop in a corridor, they begin coughing. The Doctors explain that it is due to the acid interacting with the smoke, which creates “choky gas.” Cleaves tells them they can get above it if the reach the Evac Tower, and they set off.

Back in the chapel, “ganger” Cleaves is still suffering from her headache. She tells them that the “originals” will be heading for the Evac Tower. She says it is easy for them to defend the doorway.

The Doctors and the “originals” reach the Evac Tower. As the Doctors and Cleaves set about restoring the power, Jimmy recalls that it is his son, Adam’s birthday.

In the chapel, “ganger” Jimmy is having the same reminiscence. Suddenly, “ganger” Jennifer comes in and says that they must remember. She says the eyes are the last part of a ganger to be destroyed and that those eyes are always asking why. “Ganger” Dicken speaks of “over 10,000,000 gangers in India.” “Ganger” Jennifer is thinking about revolution, a thought which “ganger” Cleaves wants no part. “Ganger” Jennifer asks if she remembers all the times she was decommissioned? It turns out that none of them do, except for Jennifer. Which is why she’s the only truly loony one. Jennifer manages to unite them anyway under the gangers’ “us or them” credo. Jennifer announces that she has a plan. Uh, oh. What’s the most dangerous type of loony? A crafty, intelligent one.

Meanwhile, in the Evac Tower, Cleaves and the Doctors are working on restoring the power. More hilarious scenes featuring twice the Matt Smith! Meanwhile, Amy is beginning to develop an uncharacteristic and disturbing prejudice towards the “flesh” Doctor.  She even calls him “almost the Doctor.” The Doctors get the power working and Cleaves attempts tog et a signal to the mainland. Getting through, she tells them to send a shuttle for evac and to wipe out the gangers once they are clear. Listening in from the Weather Station, “ganger” CLeaves now sadly realizes that fighting seems to be inevitable.

Meanwhile, “ganger” Jennifer tries to activate the thermostatic override, but the computer does not recognize here as human.

Back in the Evac tower, Amy declares they are not leaving without Rory. The Doctor sets up a delayed phone call. And continues to glare at the “ganger” Doctor. Suddenly, Amy hears a noise and gets up to investigate. She walk over to a corner of the room where a slot opens in the wall to reveal…..EYEPATCH LADY! This seemingly innocuous character will get a name and become very important in the mid-series finale next week. The Doctor, clearly noting Amy’s anguish, asks her what’s wrong. Amy comes clean about the Eyepatch lady, but the Doctor tell her not to worry. The “ganger” Doctor meanwhile experiences the same mental trauma as “ganger” Cleaves, saying “it’s in my head” andleaves the room. Amy follows him into the hallway. She tries to tell the “ganger” Doctor about the Doctor’s death, but he grabs her, clearly upset. He pushes her up against the wall and simply screams “why?” over and over. He finally lets her go, and she runs back into the room, clearly shaken. As he comes back in, The Doctor reveals he sensed it to, but not as hard as the “ganger Doctor” The “ganger” Doctor reveals that the Flesh is angry and wants revenge. This revelation leads the “originals” to turn on the “ganger’ Doctor.

Meanwhile, Rory is still searching for Jennifer. Hearing her voice, he enters a room and is confronted by two Jennifers. One of them says that she is real and the other is flesh. Another fine mess for Rory to get himself out of.

Back in the Evac Tower, the Shuttle say that they can’t get low enough for a pick-up. Amy says she’s going to look for Rory. The Doctor says they can track him with the Sonic Screwdriver, since humans and “gangers” give off different signals. Amy uses this information to aim yet another shot at the “ganger” Doctor. The Doctor asks her if she’s prejudiced, a comment she brushes off. I don’t think I like this ugly side to Amy.

Rory is trying to figure out which Jennifer is real, meanwhile. Rory notices that one of the Jennifers is limping. He asks to see her leg. She lifts up her pant leg to reveal a burn, she says was sustained in the harness. The other Jennifer attacks her. Cat Fight! MEOW! They struggle back and forth until one Jennifer manages to cause the other to fall over into a puddle of acid. It turns out that this, apparently, is the “ganger” Jennifer, who melts back into a puddle of flesh goo. Rory and Jennifer then leave the room together. Anybody else think that this is a little bit too easy and convenient?

back in the Evac Tower, one of the cameras finally catches a visual of Jennifer and Rory. Cleaves says that they are heading for the thermostatic control room. I smell a trap…. Amy wants to go get them. The Doctor decides to send the “ganger” Doctor on the mission. Buzzer agrees to accompany him. The Doctor tells Amy he need her to trust his “ganger” version.

Jennifer and Rory reach the thermostatic control room. Jennifer says they need to clean the air and they can restart the oxygen from there. Or should I say, as I’m sure most of you have figured out by now, “Jennifer.” She leads Rory along and he goes right along with whatever she says. She needs a big strong man to turn the wheel for her, and Rory is only too happy to oblige. In fact, he even makes a hilarious comment about “breaking out the big guns.” By the way, does he remember he’s married? Using Rory, Jennifer shuts off the cooling vents. Cleaves collapses. The Doctor tells her that it’s an inoperable parietal clot. Things start sparking as the acid begins heating up.

The ‘ganger” Cleaves is able to re-route the shuttle and cancel the annihilation of the gangers.

Meanwhile, Jennifer and Rory enter a room that is usually sealed, but has been open by the explosions. Inside is a heap of discarded gangers. Rory bends down to look at one of the faces, one of Jennifer’s previous gangers. Suddenly, its eyes snap open. This is a creepy scene. Rory asks how the company could do this. Jennifer replies “who are the real monsters?” A very weighty, philosophical question in the middle of a sci-fi show. It only works in a few shows. This is one of them. Rory wants to make people aware of this. Jennifer says she has a plan. I bet she does…

The “ganger” Doctor and Buzzer follow a faint lifesign through a courtyard. Around a corner, they find the body of the real Jennifer. The lifesign faded just before they reached her. She’s dead. But if she’s dead, that means the Jennifer that Rory’s with now is…UH OH! Suddenly, Buzzer CLOCKS the Doctor over the head with his flashlight, citing Cleaves’ “us and them” credo. For the record, Buzzer is an idiot” The “ganger” Doctor collapses unconscious next to Jennifer’s body.

Cleaves, Amy, Jimmy, Dicken and the Doctor enter the same hallway Jennifer saw the circles of slime on the wall in, except now the circles have turned into eyes. The Doctor says they are there “to accuse.” They eyes follow the party down the corridor. They are CREEPY.

Buzzer is back wandering through the interior corridors, when he hears Jennifer’s voice. He sees the “ganger” Jennifer standing over a the pile of discarded gangers. He confronts her, telling her she killed “Our Jen.” She says she got stronger and she can grow. Her mouth stretches wider and she rushes towards him. He screams. Bye, Bye Buzzer! Now both buzzers are dead.  DEATH TOLL: Both Buzzers, Jennifer, 1 “ganger” Jennifer.

The Doctor’s party arrive at the thermostatic control room. The Doctor says he can’t stop it and the place is going to blow sky high sometime between 5 seconds and 1 hour from now. Thanks for narrowing that down. As the console begins sparking and alarms begin sounding, the party runs from the room.

Back out in the corridor, they finally reunite with Rory. Rory says Jennifer has found a way out, through the underground crypt. A crypt, in Doctor Who, what could possible go wrong? They follow Rory.

Outside, the “ganger’ Doctor wakes up to find “ganger” Cleaves, Frank and Dicken waiting for him. They tell him he’s one of them now, and he says that they should call him John Smith.

Rory and the party reach the acid vat chamber, and as Rory tries to explain something, Jennifer grabs him and locks the door on the others. She reveals to Rory that she is a ganger. As the gangers leave with Rory, Cleaves tells her ganger about the clot.

The Doctor tell the party that the vat is going to overheat and fill the room with acid, and that he can’t stop it.

Back in the mess hall, Rory is livid with Jennifer for deceiving him. For her part, she is rather smug about it. Nice to get to see Arthur Darville flex his emotional acting muscles here. The shuttle announces they are beginning final approach. Jennifer says the humans will be melted and the factory destroyed. She says that when they get to the mainland they will begin the revolution, catching the humans off-guard.Jennifer tells the “ganger” Doctor to “join the revolution.”Rory says he has to go get the humans out. But, as he tries to leave, the “ganger” Doctor stands in his way, shoving him back.

Back in the acid vat room, they are trying to lower the cover onto the vat. The acid eats through the cover though and gas begins to escape.

Back in the mess hall, Rory keeps trying to leave and the “ganger” Doctor keeps stopping him. The Doctor keeps saying “ring, ring.” Suddenly, as if on cue, the phone rings. The Doctor answers it. It is the delayed holo-call he placed earlier in the episode. A hologram of Jimmy’s son, Adam, appears in front of the Doctor, who asks him about his birthday. Jimmy rises, shocked, as the Doctor tells him to talk to his son. As Adam talks to “ganger” Jimmy as if he were the real one, Jimmy runs back towards the acid vat chamber. Jennifer says the Doctor “tricked him into an act of weakness.” The Doctor says he “helped him into an act of humanity.” What a great line. He asks if anyone else likes the sound of that. “Cleaves” orders “Dicken” to drain the acid from the well. “Jennifer” is incensed by the defection, but “Cleaves” tells her she’s become “the stuff of nightmares.” Clearly insane now, “Jennifer” flees claiming she will still take her revenge.

Back in the acid vat chamber, Jimmy is trying to hold down the cover, as the gangers race to the rescue. Just as the gangers get the door open, Jimmy cries out as a jet of acid hits him square in the chest. You knew he was a goner, he’s the one with the kid. “Jimmy” cradles the body of Jimmy in his arms. Jimmy gives “Jimmy the ring off of his neck saying “be a dad.” Then, he dies. This is a really touching scene, very well written. DEATH TOLL: Buzzer, Jennifer, Jimmy, “Ganger” Buzzer, 1 “Ganger” Jennifer.

The whole party now reunites in the mess hall, where holo-Adam is still asking for his daddy. Rory and Amy finally reunite, and she smacks him for all of her anguish while he was missing. “Jimmy” talk to Adam. The “Doctor” says “Jimmy” will be coming home today. Then, he says they have to move.

In a hallway, “Jennifer” is hunched over and breathing heavily. She intercepts the party in the corridor and begins to morph into a four legged creature. The Doctor encourages everyone to run. The run into section of corridor with 2 doors. The one to the room they are in doesn’t lock. But, Dicken says, the one at the other end does. He sprints down the hall to the door, but the door is stuck. he pulls at it until the handle comes off. He finally manages to pull the door shut, locking him in with the Jennifer Creature. His scream is heard from behind the door. DEATH TOLL: Buzzer, Jennifer, Jimmy, Dicken, “Ganger” Buzzer, 1 “ganger’ Jennifer.

The Doctor, “Cleaves” and “Dicken” brace the door, as the “Doctor” walks towards the back of the room. With a might crash, the TARDIS finishes it’s trip through the acid pool and lands right in front of him. They should really find out what the TARDIS is made of, and make all of our military vehicles out of it. This ship will survive ANYTHING!

The “Doctor” unlocks the door and “Dicken” and “Frank” go inside. “Cleaves” tells her “original” to go. The Doctor says that he and “Cleaves” need to stay long enough for them to dematerialize. All the while, The Jennifer Creature is banging her head against the door. Amy can’t believe the Doctor would be willing to sacrifice himself. The “Doctor” asks if he should stay instead. Amy says although she misjudged him, “you’re not him.” Then, the “Doctor” reveals that they swapped shoes. The Doctor in front of Amy is the real one, and the one bracing the door is the flesh. They did it to see of they would be treated equally. They had to learn about the flesh, which they could only do through her eyes. Amy runs over and embraces the “Doctor” saying he’s twice the man she thought he was. The Doctor has some crpytic final words for her: “Push, Amy. But only when she tells you to.” The two Doctor’s have some last words. The “Doctor” says his death has arrived, but, the Doctor says this one we’re not invited to. Remember, Amy told him about seeing his death when she thought he was the “Doctor.” The Doctor talks about his molecular memory surviving. Does that mean we might see him again. “Cleaves” decides to stay as well, and the Doctor, Rory and Amy run for the TARDIS. The TARDIS dematerializes. The “Doctor” and “Cleaves” open the door to find the creature wating. The “Doctor” turns on the Sonic Screwdriver and the creature explodes into goo, with both of them melting shortly after. FINAL DEATH TOLL: Buzzer, Jennifer, Frank Dicken, All ganger Jennifers, Ganger Buzzer, Ganger Cleaves, Ganger Doctor.

Inside the TARDIS, the Doctor stabilizes the ganers for good, making them people and he gives Cleaves a vial to cure her clot.

On a distant seashore, Jimmy is reunited with Adam.

Next, the TARDIS lands outside of the Morpeth Jetsan press room. Cleaves and Dicken are going in to set the record straight about the flesh and make the deaths of their comrades mean something.

Suddenly, the Doctor tells Amy to breathe again, and she experiences a massive stomach pain. The Doctor tells Rory to get her into the TARDIS.

Inside the TARDIS, the Doctor tells Rory she’s having contractions. Rory wants an explanation, the Doctor says she’s having a baby. he said he needed to see the flesh in its early days, that’s why he scanned it and why they went to the monastery in the first place. He meant to drop them off first, but there were, in his words “shenanigans.” First time I can remember hearing that word on TV outside of South Park. OK, So here it comes, the moment that almost made me fal lout of my chair. This is one of the most brilliant ploit twist scenes EVER! The Doctor says that he needed enough information to block the signal to the flesh. “What signal?” Amy asks. “The signal to you.” the Doctor replies. That’s right kids, buckle up, cause here we go! The Doctor orders Rory to stand away. He is confused and defiant, but the Doctor is insistent. “Given what we’ve learned, I’ll be as humane as I can. But, I need to do this and you need to STAND AWAY!” Startled by the Doctor’s tone, Rory moves away. Amy tells the Doctor she is properly scared. The Doctor tells her not to worry, that they are coming for her and they will find her. Amy says she’s right here, but the Doctor says she hasn’t been there for a long, long time. He pulls out the Sonic Screwdriver and points it at her. She pleads with him, but he activates the SONIC and AMY DISSOLVES INTO A PUDDLE OF FLESH! This is one of the most shocking things I have ever seen in this show. Words cannot express how brilliant that twist is.

Suddenly, the real Amy wakes up. She is dressed all in white and is lying on a white bed of some sort. A slot in the wall opens and again we see …EYEPATCH LADY! She tells Amy that her little one is “ready to pop.” She tells AMy to push and at the end of the room is a strange green light. Amy screams and the screen goes black, then displaying the words “TO BE CONTINUED” There is no “Next Time” trailer.

THE VERDICT: Whew! Ok, now that I’ve caught my breath, let’s answer those two questions put forth at the beginning of this review. Question: “Does this episode redeem Matthew Graham’s story? Answer: Yes. The action ramps up quite a bit here and there’s a lot of raw emotion and more than a few twists. There are also some very sad and genuinely heartfelt moments, and some real hilarity when it comes to the double Doctors. Question: “Just how shocking is the finale set-up scene at the end of this story?” Answer: OH MY GOD! It is a plot twist I didn’t see coming in a MILLION YEARS! Matthew Graham and Steven Moffat are to be congratulated for the last scenes, the EXTRAORDINARY sequence which flips everything we thought we knew about this series on its head and sets up what I can only imagine will be an epic mid-series finale as the Doctor and Rory move worlds to save Amy. And, as if that weren’t epic enough, It is also time for River Song to reveal her identity to the Doctor. I would also like to commend Doctor Who for tackling what is traditionally a very thorny issue. Doctor Who is usually at its best when it is tackling relevant social issues, such as pollution in series 3’s “Gridlock” and a situation similar to this one in the series 2 two-parter “The Impossible Planet” and “The Satan Pit”, which introduced the Ood. Like the gangers, the Ood proved themselves much more than they were thought to be. Here it is the combined wisdom of two Doctors that finally brings the two factions together. Unfortunately, there are more casualties on both sides before the hostilities cease. And, in the end, both Jennifer’s perish. They also lose the real Jimmy, Buzzer and Dicken. The best part of this episode is the unflinching eye it turns on prejudice, through Amy’s treatment of the “ganger” Doctor. It never fells like prejudice to Amy, it seems perfectly natural to her that she feels this way. It’s the fact that Matthew Graham uses one of the “heroic”: characters in such an unheroic situation and manner that makes it truly inspired. Though the legacy of this episode is going to be those last five minutes, the 40 that preceded them should also be lauded for their unflinching, brutal take on all too current problems.