I’ve tried to keep this largely spoiler free, any story points are purposely left vague.

Every year a Doctor Who episode comes around that makes me think to myself “this is the one that will get the Hugo awards nod.” Last year I felt exactly the same way about Vincent and the Doctor, and it was at least nominated. I’m not going to go out and say that it was a perfect episode, but in my honest opinion The Girl Who Waited is the best episode of this season so far. It has been a while since we’ve had an episode so emotionally gutting that it seemingly left many fans sobbing at the end. I did not thankfully cry, but was struck with the immense sense of emotional uneasiness usually left for when I finish watching something like Children of Men or District 9, not a show deemed a “kid’s show” by many. Keep in mind that I by no means want the entire series to play out like the last episode, but these emotional “adult” episodes keep fans buzzing and keep the show pretty exciting.

What a comeback for Tom McCrae as well. When he last let his pen touch paper in the Doctor Who realm we ended up with Rise of the Cybermen/The Age of Steel; neither was a really bad episode, but neither pushed the show the same way they could have. I remember hearing that that two-parter was somehow related, even adapted, from the Big Finish audio drama Spare Parts, I don’t see how as that particular audio episode was AMAZING, and the TV variant was average. Perhaps the only bad thing I can say about the whole thing is that McCrae himself was obviously very pleased with himself after the episode aired, and managed to make himself look like a total arrogant jackass on the Confidential episode this week. For my money, one has to write a series of great episodes before one can act that smug (LOL). A lot can be credited for both the acting and the direction from all involved, as with the faltering of either would have resulted in a very different animal.

So anyway, back to the episode…We finally saw the return of the Doctor’s moral ambiguity and alien POV to the show this week. Many times lately, we have been witnessing a Doctor that somehow sees himself as a superhero or “space Jesus”-like character, flying around saving kittens in trees and helping old ladies cross the road. While this Doctor isn’t as edgy as say, Captain Jack Harkness, he has no qualms manipulating folks for the better good, a quality not really seen in large part since Sylvester McCoy’s run on the show many years ago. The scenario in question involved the Doctor lying to his most trusted companions only to place them with a horrendous decision to overcome at the end. Without spoiling the actual plotline, a memorable moment had Rory yelling “you’re turning me into you!” and Amy screaming “I trusted you!” both pretty intense for said “children’s show”. This should come as no surprise for long time and even recent fans, as we have learned many times that rule number one is “the Doctor lies”.

Here’s hoping the next few episodes are up to the quality of this one, and with a Cyberman episode, the return of Craig, and the answers we need sooo badly I don’t see how it won’t.