anyone else feel weirded out how Mels was sooooo cool and calm as the doctor died….so used to her face as River saving him

Wow. Just : wow. It feels so good to have the show back, finally ! The episode was so fast paced it’s like it lasted only 5 minutes ! I didn’t think it was possible, but I love Alex Kingston even more now that I’ve witnessed the “birth” of River Song. For those who have invested in her story since Silence in the Library, I think the pay off, so far, was well worth it. The beginning of the diary was beautiful, the fact that River sacrifies her future regenerations for the Doctor, I loved it. The appearance of Rose, Martha (the most obvious promo picture of the three) and Donna, and the reason for it, was excellent. So the Silence is not a species but a religion : one of the most clever ideas Moffat ever had, this is a welcome change from the way villains like the Daleks or the Cybermen thinks.
Choosing Hitler seemed a bit random, he appeared for a handful of minutes only, would’ve been the same with, say, Mussolini or Mao, but I’m OK with that.
The only problem I’ve got with that episode is the same I’ve got with A Good Man Goes To War : too many ideas, not enough time. First the headless monks, now the greatest war criminal in the universe and the tiny justice league (what about the Shadow Proclamation, by the way ? Shouldn’t they have intervened in this whole mess ?).
About the new mystery, the first question ever asked, aside from “Will you marry me ?”, so far I don’t see anything else.
But all in all, welcome back Doctor ! We missed you !

@Rose Weasley
could be in episode 13 the naked river perhaps? or if it was in episode 8 they might have it on the dvd as a deleted scene or summat.

I read once that gallifreyans have 12 or 13 regenerations.
So, if Melody give some more to the Doctor….
We have more time to enjoy his adventures…

Nice job Moffat…

Was a good start to the second half of the series. Wasn’t as good as I had expected.
I liked it when their was the reapearence of the older companians and i hope that happens again sometime. Also there were some very very cleaver lines in this episode. I think out of 10 it would probably have a 7 because it wasn’t terrible but it wasn’t spectacular.
Lookin forward to next weeks looks as if it will make up for my dissapointment this week

Too much, too quick, too complicated. No real story its like flash bang wallop its over. 35 years ive watched doctor who and now its a struggle to watch. Actors are great storylines are not. Losing viewers im not surprised get the act together steven moffit before its too late…

That was a very interesting episode. I found some moments to be absolute genius, while others seemed slightly dull. Alex Kingston was brilliant, simply brilliant. I loved the Mels piece of the story, though it was slightly disappointing to learn that she and the Doctor don’t meet for those twenty-odd years of her life. I have to wonder, though, who she was living with during those years. Was it Madam Kovarian, and was that when she was trained? How did she know that Amy and Rory were her parents if her memory was “jumbled?” Also, when she gave up her “remaining” regenerations, did that mean that the Doctor took them over or that they were burnt out by bringing him back to life? (Note: she would have died in the Library with or without them)

I felt that the Tessalecter (is that how to spell it?) seemed relatively unimportant, though it did give us important information about the Silence (that was an excellent twist! A religious order…) and Melody’s murderous tendencies. I think that the question mentioned, if it is the first and oldest question, is “WHY?”. Isn’t that the first thing that anyone asks? If that is true, then it must have something to do with the Flesh, as that was a theme throughout the two Ganger episodes. We know that Kovarian has ties to the Flesh, so this would make sense.

I think I’ll enjoy the episode a bit more once I’ve seen it again. It was a bit of an information overload, but it was Doctor Who, so I loved it. And I also think that Steven Moffat will not be so obvious as to have River actually kill the Doctor. I still think she kills Rory…

Maybe the first question ever asked is “Who is the Doctor?”…

Having watched it a second time, I have this to say:

It was wonderful.

Overall I thought it was a good episode. I liked Mels. I liked that they established her as being a “fun bad girl” all of her life. Hitler was only a necessary part of the story to establish the miniature “justice” team, which I didn’t care too much for. But as someone said there had to be a setting somewhere. My favorite thing that Steven Moffat did was remove the annoying “introduction” during the opening credits. I hated that! Amy’s introduction made the show sound like “Amy’s Adventures in Time guest starring The Doctor”. Second favorite, I love the long coat. I do like the main story arc, however.

Wow! What an episode! So many questions answered! The only bad thing is now that we got these questions answered, that means that Steven the mighty genius that he is, is going to throw another whopper at us… I am really curious how he is going to get the doctor out of the other death… There is no time lords left to get the doctor anymore regenerations… What do you all think.. My mother thinks that the doctor that died in utah was the ganger… But if it was the ganger wouldn’t the body have melted in the fire? So confused! Must have answers….

The Question is one that we have all asked ourselves at one time or another:

“Why? Why am I here? Why do I exist? Who am I?”

Only when this question is answered can any of us find peace. And for the Order, when it is answered “Silence will fall”

And I think that only one person has the answer within them: a certain little girl called Amelia Pond

Let’s kill Hitler hasn’t come out yet were I am, but I’ve watched lots of “Spoilers” it looks good, still lots of questions to be answered, which will be answered in the following episodes to come in this series half.
Should be good. Can’t wait.

“All will be revealed”

in my opinion, the doctor’s name is the ultimate question, as “there’s only one situation where he could” (tell anyone his name)and the point of hitler was so that the tessellecta would come to that time. my only complaint about the episode was when the tardis regenerated inside the tessellecta, so it shrunk, despite not being able to change due to the broken chameleon circuit.

@Tommy
The ‘Amy introduction’ was an inclusion by BBC America. We didn’t have it in England.

I think the Question (with a big Q) is linked to the wedding of River Song. I think Steven Moffat found a way to link this to the Doctor’s name, which can only be pronounced on one occasion. I loved when the Tesselecta said that it was “hidden in plain sight”. Moffat also mentionned a big secret revealed in the finale, and that maybe we have known about it all along. And of course Karen added that the finale may deliver the biggest twist so far.
Anyway, what I really loved in this episode (aside, I’m repeating myself, from Alex Kingston’s stellar performance) is that the new pieces of the River Song puzzle all fit together very nicely, from the diary to her amazing skills with weapons without forgetting her bad girl attitude.
One more thing though, the River Song identity (as well as Melody/Mels) and her love story with the Doctor are both paradoxes. She may never have been called River Song if the Doctor hadn’t known it from her future and the fact that she basically confirmed they were lovers in A Good Man Goes To War obviously helped triggering the Doctor’s presumed declaration of love in Let’s Kill Hitler, thus making her fall in love with him.
Does it make sense ?

I’ve just watched it and WOW.

I’ve read everyone’s criticisms and they’re valid – I think Moffat’s main problem in writing is that he always thinks too big. So many of his stories could really do with more time to do them justice. That said, I did really enjoy it. Shame we couldn’t have had more from the Teselecta, and the whole 1930s Berlin seemed purely incidental – this story could have happened anywhere, anytime. But no matter.

What this episode really gave me was lots of excuse to cheer Alex Kingston on. She is fast becoming my favourite companion, and getting to see the ‘birth’ of River Song was just a joy. I admit I guessed Mels = Melody Pond from the BBC clips, but actually seeing her regenerate was fantastic. It was a beautiful portrayal of a very young River – all angry and flirty and unaware of who she was going to be. And I did love the very first spoiler. Nice touch, Moffat.

As for the big reveals – Silence, yep, love it, nice move. The apparent confirmation that River kills the Doctor? Nope, don’t buy it. It’s never going to be that simple. The first question? Well, I reserve judgement on that bit. And the marriage proposal? I cannot wait to see what comes of that.

8/10, because I’m so happy Team Tardis is back in my life.

Chirping birdies right at the start of the episode. The Doctor’s ability to regenerate disabled. Are the Doctor and his friends still choosing between the “real” world and a “false” world, but they don’t even know it? Perhaps the Dream Lord has been much more busier than any of us have been thinking. If Lake Silencio in Utah is located in the “false” world, then yes the Doctor can die there, but he’s not in the “real” world, so it doesn’t matter. Where did the Doctor go during those “32 minutes”? Where ever it was, it required a nice tux. Had he just gotten married for some reason? So who does shoot the Doctor at Lake Silencio? River? The Dream Lord? The Doctor? “LKH” was a whole bunch of confusing fun! I really hope Moff gives us a really great, fully comprehensible answer to all of this.

I’m a little confused:
River is Amy and Rory’s daughter – Got That

River regenerated from Mels – who was Amelia/Amy’s friend – throughout her life !!!!

Mels must have regenerated from Melody who wasn’t born until Mels was about 20?????
Like I said – I’m a little confused – can anyone explain?

In Let’s Kill Hitler alone, Moffat answered the following questions :
- Who taught River how to fly the TARDIS ?
- Who is the little girl who regenerated in Day of the Moon ?
- How was the River Song identity created ?
- What is the true nature of the Silence ?
- Who kills (or is supposed to kill) the Doctor ?
- How did River become an archeologist ?
- What happened to River between her abduction as a baby and her helping the Doctor in his adventures ?
Not bad for a single episode, and, if you’re willing to accept paradoxes, everything fits in the grand scheme rather nicely. So, even if this series finale is not a two-parter, now I’m pretty sure we won’t be disappointed.

@Emerald

I also loved when the doctor said “Spoilers”, but the fact that this River didn’t even know what a spoiler was… I found it strangely unsettling. Of course the River I love only appeared at the end of the episode, but still… I mean, “Spoilers !” is her signature word (try to picture Céline Dion not remembering “My Heart Will Go On”’s lyrics !). And it was nothing compared to her betrayal, oh that icy look when she explained to the Doctor she had just poisoned him with a kiss. I think with that episode, Alex Kingston is now my favourite actress to have appeared in the revived series, the close second being Catherine Tate.