Doctor Who : The Rings of Akhaten

Series 7

Last week the Doctor found Clara in modern England and thwarted an old foes plans.

This week he comes back to Clara for yet another adventure, this time to the Rings of Akhaten!

***SPOILERS***

The episode actually starts with the Doctor "stalking" Claras parents. We find out that the leaf that the Doctor found in the last episode was the leaf that brought Clara's parents together, it fell into her fathers face and her mother saved him.

We also learn that Clara's book "101 Places to See" was her mothers book and that her mother died in 2005.

Back to the modern time the Doctor picks Clara up and asks her where she wants to go. Being offered the whole of time (and space!) Clara's mind goes blank ("like when someone asks you what your favorite book is and you forget everything you've ever read") but she finally decides she wants to go somewhere "awesome" so the Doctor brings her to the Rings of Akhaten during the festival of Offerings.

Clara finds herself in a market place filled with other species, all gathered for the festival, she learns that the marketplaces uses memories as a currency and whilst the Doctor disappears she see's a child running away and follows. The child is called Mary and is the Queen of Years.

Clara finds out that the child is worried about not doing what she has to do properly so Clara tells her that she'll do a good job and the child is lead away. During the ceremony were Mary has to sing to her "Grandfather" she is suddenly transported away and the Doctor and Clara follow. To save the Queen of Years they have to buy a space Moped, the Doctor won't part with his sonic screwdriver so Clara gives the merchant her mothers ring.

They end up outside the Pyramid on another, rocky, planety thing? (OK it might have been described what it was but I didn't hear, basically think of the rings of Saturn, rocks being lived on etc, etc...) inside the Pyramid is Mary and her grandfather... A mummy. The God is waking up and there is nothing anyone can do. After defeating the mummy and his sidekicks the Doctor realizes that actually the mummy wasn't the God at all but the sun.

The Doctor sends Clara and Mary away and sacrifices his memories for the life of the people on the planets. After Clara realizes that the Doctor isn't following them back she rushes to his side and offers up her mothers leaf, not only the memories it holds but the infinite possibilities of what could have happened.

After eating the power of the leaf the sun basically implodes and the Doctor and Clara go home.

There is a nice bit at the end were the Doctor tells Clara she reminds him of someone who died and Clara tells him she'll only travel with him as herself she doesn't want to be a substitute for someone else.

So my opinion?

I liked this one a little more then last week but not enough to rate it any higher. Both were just average episodes.

Lovely alien planet, nice ideas, brilliant to see so many different species but to be honest the story was a bit flat. Then again that could be what he was going for.

So things I love about the episode?

For a start I loved the thought that an alien species would trade in memories not money. I think it is an interesting and very different way to do things, it also ties in nicely with the theme going on of the Doctor and his memories.

Getting to see a different way of life, different ceremonies on an alien planet is a lot more interesting then the same old Earth bound stories.

Clara, have to say Clara is a brilliant companion. She isn't enthralled with the Doctor but with the places he can show her, with the adventure, with in my opinion living her life for her and her mother. She has responsibilities at home but she wants the amazing adventures and she wants them on her terms. She doesn't want to be a replacement for anyone, she doesn't want to be there to sit around and praise the Doctor, she wants to be there for the adventure and as herself.

The episode was a lot better paced then last weeks and the story didn't feel tacked onto anything else.

It was just a purely average episode, that isn't a bad thing, and there was nothing that really stuck out like a sore thumb like last weeks which is to its advantage.

I also loved the Next Week Trailer because when the HECK did Tobias Menzies film for Doctor Who?! If that is Tobias (and I'm 100% sure he is) I will love Gatiss forever (even though he probably didn't cast him).

The big question I want answered though is what memories did the Doctor give to the god/creature? It must have been a lot so which ones? He had already forgotten the Great Intelligence without the help of some parasite world sucking memories from him so what else has he forgotten?

In all quite a nice little episode.