The Crimson Horror - Review

SPOILER WARNING

If you have not seen last night's episode of Doctor Who, please leave the blog and return later. The following review will contain spoilers.

Doctor Who - "The Crimson Horror" - Review

Anyone else think the leech, Mr. Sweet, was kind of cute? Like, seriously gross, but also kind of cute? Kind of?

*Cough* Anyway... I really, really enjoyed this episode. I thought it was both awesome and properly creepy at the same time. Definitely a lot creepier than "Hide." The pacing was wonderful, the one-liners amused me to no end, and the mix of horror and humor was wonderfully balanced.

I know there are some Whovians who might have a problem with The Doctor not showing up immediately, but I thought it was brilliant the way that was done. It was quite nice to see The Paternoster Gang going about their business on their own, without The Doctor around. I thought Jenny was especially wonderful, having to go undercover because she's the only human of the bunch. She was also quite savvy when it came to fighting off the "army of supermodels." I had not been expecting her to essentially rip off the Victorian dress and have a ninja suit beneath it. It made sense, I just hadn't been expecting that nice surprise.

I also really enjoyed the flashback of The Doctor and Clara getting involved in the mystery before The Paternoster Gang ever heard of it. They worked quite well while they investigated things, though I was surprised The Doctor decided to present them as husband and wife to Mrs Gillyflower. I think the best part of that flashback was the "old time film" overlay thing they did. Something similar was done with a flashback in My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic, "A Friend In Deed."

Anyway... Mrs. Gillyflower really creeped me out, especially after she revealed that Mr. Sweet was attached to her. I thought it was interesting that she was working under some religious fervor, which I hate with a fiery passion. I did not like how she treated Aida at all. That's another thing I fervently dislike: parents treating a "different" child as though they're trash. I did enjoy that Aida got her revenge on her mother, both in Mrs. Gillyflower's death and then her own destruction of Mr. Sweet.

Now for some references. I caught a reference to a Fifth Doctor Companion, Tegan Jovanka, while The Doctor was talking to Clara about a "gobby Australian." I quite liked Tegan so that was a nice surprise. There was also a reference to "The Snowmen" at the end of "The Crimson Horror." A photograph of the governess Clara appeared on the children's computer, to which Clara objects. Clara herself obviously doesn't remember the conversation she and The Doctor had last episode, due to wibbly-wobbly, timey-whimey reset buttons. That she discovered a previous Clara so soon is interesting, thought she might largely forget about it due to the blackmail going on.

Speaking of blackmail, I'm not sure how I feel about Clara's charges knowing about her time-traveling. I'm also not sure how I feel about there being pictures of her during her adventures so readily available. I can't wait to see how this mess is resolved next week. From the looks of the trailer, it's going to be some weirder than usual Cyberman stuff.

Housekeeping

Tonight, I am planning on watching Once Upon a Time. If everything goes according to plan, the Initial Reactions post will be up immediately after Once Upon a Time.

As for The Vampire Diaries... due to the shenanigans of my life, I haven't gotten around to watching it yet. My plan is to watch it tonight and get a review up with my Once Upon a Time review tomorrow.

Love ya, Jessie.