Okay, so the episode opens showing an idyllic, little cottage and inside we see a very pregnant Amy. The TARDIS materializes in the garden and we discover that it’s been five years since Amy and Rory have traveled with the Doctor. Amy and Rory show the Doctor around their sleepy little village and the Doctor seems to be so bored that he falls asleep on a bench (well, they all do). They then wake up in the TARDIS. Was it all a dream or are they dreaming now? That’s the question put forth by the Doctor’s newest adversary, the Dream Lord. He has given them two realities. One, the world of the TARDIS, excitement and adventure, the other, a mundane, quiet life in the boonies. They have to decide which reality is real and which is false and they have a limited amount of time to do so because they are in real peril that will destroy them all.
This is one of the least bombastic episodes of the season, which makes for a nice change of pace. It’s not really effects heavy, instead relies on a lot of dialog instead of explosions to move the plot forward. Simon Nye wrote some really great lines for this episode, some of them you’ll have to get on the second viewing because they just whiz right on by. My favorite is the Doctor’s line, “You haven’t changed a bit, apart from aging…” Toby Jones (Dobby from Harry Potter for the American readers…) is actually very creepy as the Dream Lord. There’s a hint that he may return which would be interesting concerning the true nature of his character. The other thing that I found really touching was the moment in which Amy realizes how much she has taken Rory for granted and how much she really loves him. Why? We don’t know, Rory is still played as kind of a goober, but he does seem to have a strong, inner quality like Mickey. The other thing I really liked, and as was mentioned in Confidential, was turning something ordinary into something scary. In this case, old people. Can you imagine now, every little British child who saw that episode now being terrified of getting a hug from Nan because an eyeball is gonna pop out of her mouth and eat him? Awesome! What did you guys think?

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