Review: Doctor Who 6.7: A Good Man Goes To War

I'm sure that "late" doesn't cut it.
    A Good Man Goes To War is burdoned with a dual purpose - a climax to not only the clumsy arc of this demi-series, but also to the story of River Song and questions surrounding her identity. Maybe it's a bit of a cop-out to say so, but I'm really quite tired at this point - the show was always better as independant stories with tenuous links at best, so each story could be marked on their own merits. When the show turns over to this overly serialised nature, it makes viewing (and reviewing) more difficult.
     Amy's baby having been born and named Melody, Amy awaits her rescuers in a future human base known as Demon's Run. The Doctor appears to the Cybermen (only a cameo, unfortunately), a Silurian (and her maid) and a Sontaran. As the soldiers, belonging to the 51st Century Church from all the way back in S5, ready ot fight the Doctor, we're shown The Headless Monks, a mysterious race of robed warriors. The army is being controlled by Madame Kovarian, who appeared throughout this demi-series, and by Colonel Manton. As the Colonel gives a speech to the troops revealing the literal nature of the Headless Monks, The Doctor appears and inflicts his Silurian army, with the help of his Sontaran friend, Silurian Madame Vastra (Neve McIntosh) and her maid Jenny (Catrin Stewart, Misfits) - the subjects of a sly cunnilingus joke - and trader Dorium. A motley menagerie of cameos and guest characters, this episode notably feels a lot more flashy and expensive than the rest of the series.
     The Doctor and Vastra look at Melody's DNA, discovering that because she was conceived in the TARDIS she got partial Time Lord DNA. Before they can think further, the Headlessmonks slaughter quite a few people, wnader off again and then it is revealed that Amy's baby is a 'Ganger as well and thus the real baby has been taken by Kovarian, off to Earth in the 1960s. Disheartened, a previously reluctant River Song pops in and gives an undeserved rant about how dangerous the Doctor is, before telling him her true identity - she's the Time Lord offspring of Amy and Rory.
    And I, like many others, didn't see this as much of a surprise. It had been rather obvious for a while, and the name Melody Pond in itself was enough for most perceptive viewers to work it out. Moffat advertised this cliffhanger as "gamechanging" - really? I'm not convinced.

Amy monologues.

    AGMGTW wasn't in any league bad, but it felt very fluffy and stuffed full of grandiose proclamations in lieu of any plot. What reason is there for bringing back such unconnected monsters for the sake of a few flash sequences? Was it to throw the Spoiler-Hounds off the scent? Whatever the reason, it turned this episode into something more aesthetic and Lowest Common Denomintor, despite the otherwise complex themes that the demi-series has been working with up until now. The episode depreciates on rewatching, when the adrenaline from the initital runthrough passes in favur of sly cynicism.
     I enjoyed the episode on a base level. It just disappointed on so many others.

Thanks.

P.S. No, Let's not Kill Hitler...