New Who Review #92

The Power of Three

This story was a blast. I enjoyed seeing the doctor stuck on earth because these mysterious cubes have decided to invade slowly over the course of a year. It felt like a different kind of story that we have been seeing from 11 so far. This is the introduction of one of my fave characters Kate Lethbridge Stewart. She's gonna keep appearing in unit story's from now and I'm so happy that we can have her. The actual monster was the Shakri and It was an ok enemy but not really a memorable one as this was more focused on the ponds and the Doctor. The nurse guys were very creepy and weird to look at. Overall a great story that introduces one of my fave characters and is a genuinely fun time. 8/10

"The Power of Three" is one of my favorite episodes from childhood (I watched this on a loop for a bit when I was younger) that is just as good as I remember. If it wasn't for the flimsy villain at the end, it would legitimately be one of my favorite episodes of all time. I adore 11, Amy, and Rory being all domestic. Due to the nostalgia of rewatching this and knowing what comes in the next episode, this rewatch is making me more sad than any DW episode I've rewatched within the past year. I miss the days when there would be three-season gaps between UNIT episodes, and they were used well and focused on science and not working in what is functionally Avengers Tower (or whatever it's called, I rarely watch Marvel movies). I think that "The Power of Three" definitely needs to come right before "The Angels Take Manhattan," but it was definitely a missed opportunity to have it be the third episode of the season (I think "A Town Called Mercy" wasn't very good, and I would be perfectly happy if this episode took its place). I wish this episode was more popular in the cultural consciousness (or Doctor Who in general, since I'm from the US), because placing a bunch of small black cubes around the school building would be an excellent senior prank, but I'm sadly one of three people at my school who would get the joke.

genuinely my fav 11 episode + one of the main reasons i like 11, even if the resolution is a bit weak. 8 1/2 out of 10 honestly

It’s important we focus on the fact that the first 30 minutes of this show is blisteringly good. Taking a breath to spend some quality time with Rory, Amy, The Doctor and the brilliant addition of Brian, is exactly what the show needs at this point. It’s a coda before the end.

The introduction of Kate Lethbridge-Stewart and reintroduction of UNIT is brilliantly done, and used skilfully to ramp up the tension and mystery. Chibnall absolutely smashed it, delivering a really strong first half hour in what has been a mixed series so far.

The key mystery gets a good payoff. It would only need a bit of nipping and tucking to be a perfect story. Though one cannot ignore how ridiculously bad the baddie is. I know that they are having to edit around an uncooperative and incredibly unprofessional actor. But once you understand that the cubes were there to stake out an alien invasion you don’t really need much more. You could almost sub in any villain and make this story sing - it’s such a shame it couldn’t stick the landing.

This doesn’t overshadow how brilliant most of this episode is. Getting a final chance to see Matt Smith’s Doctor in normal life, which despite Closing Time I don’t think we’ve seen effectively handled since The Lodger. That clash of an extraordinary man in ordinary contexts is still as wonderful as it was in series 5.

The Doctor back in time and setting up “a date” for Amy and Rory is so sweet. I love the costumes! And that it’s interrupted by an offscreen Zygon.

It’s a shot of energy after A Town Called Mercy.

This did feel very RTD with the alien threat on Earth, UNIT, the news bulletins, the pop culture references etc. and that meant that it had both the good and bad aspects of his run.

I thought the overall plot and the way it was handled was a bit daft and the ending wasn't very good either but the Amy/Rory subplot was well done and it was very funny in parts.

This story is difficult to appraise at times. It's host to some genuinely compelling character drama focused on 11, Amy, and Rory; it has a really fun mystery going on; the slow invasion and the domestic scenes it allows are both enjoyable. It just really sucks that the episode crashes and burns at the final hurdle. This is generally attributed to behind-the-scenes drama. Could it have been worked around regardless? Maybe... but it'd be a rare director and producer who could actually pull that off, if so.

All things considered, it's worth noting that The Power of Three is still watchable despite this problem, and for all that it has a frustrating ending, I'd say it's still decent on the whole. It has its fair share of memorable moments and also does a pretty good job of setting up the Ponds' imminent departure.