Doctor Who 7x8 The Rings of Akhaten Reaction

Lovely episode and so nice that the doctor finally gets to release some of grief he's had bottled up inside, also such a beautiful song sung by the queen of years🥲

Absolutely one of my favorite episodes. Even the intro is so heartfelt, and i love the choral singing, and the doctors speech just everythin about this episode is so emotionally packed.

This is a beautiful ep to react to on the 20th anniversary of NuWho.

Yes, those are Amy's glasses

I often watch reactions last thing at night so don't always get to reply but I wanted to write now I look forward to yours. Everyone loved the speech but the rest had a very mixed reception. Critically panned but all those people are wrong and I will fight anyone who slights it with bare knuckles. The song was Murray Gold GOLD, for people who can't afford the prom. The leaf? One man challenging a god with a leaf and winning: that's the whole bloody point! The bloody point! Space vampires, Marxist uprising, weird space goblin markets selling fruit, (hello Christina Rossetti reference), and flyer bikes. I know you'll love Akhaten because you have good taste and awareness.

The Beano (and also The Dandy) come from Dundee, Scotland, just a 20 minute drive from where I live. Other things that also originate in Dundee that you may of heard of are The Adhesive Postage Stamp Marmalade Computer Games - Lemmings and the Grand Theft Auto Series

What do you think of the Doctor’s new outfit this season, with the longer burgundy jacket?

Did anyone else get a strong Star Wars vibe when the Doctor & Clara were walking through the market with all the different aliens? Really enjoyed your reaction Juliette, thanks as always.

So now you know The Long Song and finally I can tell you about this little video: In 2020, when many suffered during the CoViD-Lockdowns, someone from Doctor Who Magazine organised a cover version of the Long Song, with a choir of more than 300 fans who recorded themselves at home, singing to a playback. Everything was professionally mixed and here's the result, I think you should definitely watch it, with or without reacting to it: https://youtu.be/zGNrKMiwzAw (Make sure to listen to the very end, there is an acapella version during the titles) I just re-watched it myself and remembered what an amazing sign of connectedness during those days of isolation and utter uncertainty it was.

I must admit that I find it hard to get past the ridiculousness of the leaf and how Clara's dad gushes about it being the most important leaf in the world, as well as how it helped resolved the plot. Even for Doctor Who it seems bizarre that they played something so over the top and mockable straight like that. Not that there isn't a lot of good as well like the Doctor's speech, plus the first outright mention in the revival of the Doctor's granddaughter (one of the original companions and the first to leave, with the actress now being the only survivor of the initial main cast) though she was alluded to way back in the Empty Child when the Doctor is able to relate to Dr Constantine no longer being a father or grandfather.

I love the Doctor's speech in this episode. Matt Smith really sells the characters age ❤️