2 days ago3 min read

Doctor Who Series 6, Episode 8 Review: Let's Kill Hitler

What did you think of this episode?

Sonic!
Good!
Bumpy-wumpy!
Exterminate!

Now Let's Kill Hitler is a tricky one to review. Did I enjoy it? Yeah, I think so, was I confused? Yep! Was it a daring, fun episode? Yep! Was it satisfactory in its reveals for the series? Nah, I don't think it was.

Mels is an absolute bell end!!

This is probably my main issue. The woman is a fucking smirking, pretty nasty prat. I am adding her to my list of Doctor Who characters who I dislike greatly. Mels meet Adam Mitchell and Edwin Bracewell, guys, this is Mels, I think you three will get along swimmingly. Baring in mind she is sharing an episode with Adolf Hitler that takes quite some doing!

Why don't I like her then? She doesn't make sense for starters! She seems more interested in the Doctor than Amy, she seems to know the Doctor saves the day all over time and space, despite never meeting him and basing her Doctor knowledge on her friends meeting eating fish fingers and custard with him for an hour one night.

She is obnoxious, impulsive to ridiculous levels and is a thoroughly unbelieveable and unlikeable character. The fact that Amy and Rory hang out with her seems unlikely as well. I live in a place a bit like Ledworth, if some dick was stealing buses and the like, then they would certainly not be hanging out with people like Amy and Rory. Who steals a fucking bus anyway?! Alright, I know there is a Lady Christina flying around in one somewhere, but that is a whole different story. Mels should be locked up for a long time to have a good old think about what a dick she has been!

"Well let’s see. You’ve got a time machine, I’ve got a gun. What the hell. Let’s kill Hitler."

The Impossible Astronaut and Day of the Moon set expectations to a level that could never be reached and all the answers were more obvious than I think everyone thought. The obvious answers were River was the little girl, River killed the Doctor, Mels was River and River was Amy and Rory's daughter. There was not a single thing that was revealed that took my breath away. At least give Melody and Mels different names?!

Given the emotional weight of Amy and Rory losing their daughter in A Good Man Goes to War, it’s baffling how little emotional depth is explored here. Mels’ introduction, transformation, and subsequent regeneration into River Song happen so quickly that there's no time to process or feel anything genuine. The fact that we are told they technically raised their kid to be a bus stealing wanker doesn't wash with me.

It is probably my biggest issue with this episode and the entire second half of this series, where the hell is the emotional fall out of all these life changing events? Do Amy and Rory even react to most of it? It doesn't seem it to me.

They lost Melody as a baby, and now she’s grown up, regenerated, and they barely seem fazed by it.

"Well. I was on my way to this gay gypsy bar mitzvah for the disabled, when I suddenly thought, gosh. The Third Reich’s a bit rubbish. I think I’ll kill the Führer. Who’s with me?"

I think this episode gets a lot of hate, and I don't think it's because it was bad, it's a bloody fun episode, I think it is because we expected epic twists and turns and as things were revealed they all turned out to be pretty dissapointing. The main reason for that is nothing really affected the Doctor, knowing River's parents made no difference to him.

The plot tries to do too much at once. Hitler is introduced and promptly shoved in a cupboard (which, admittedly, is a funny moment). Then we get the Teselecta, a human-piloted justice robot that feels like a random, convoluted addition to an already crowded episode.

I will forever struggle to put my finger on whether I like this episode or not. It will forever be a connundram to me. Were there some cool things in it? Hell yeah! Was it slightly confusing and a tad dissapointing on the lore front, double hell yeah.

Alex Kingston and Matt Smith put in a shift, and they are great, but I don't know. Maybe River just isn't for me. Nothing against Alex or Steven, I just feel bringing her back slightly ruined the vibe from the library two parter. Some things are best left unsaid.

RATING: Bumpy-wumpy!

BEST LINE: "Oh Pond, haven’t you figured that one out yet?"