A Good Man Goes to War & Let's Kill Hitler review

I was initially going to review these two as separate episodes, since there was a three-month break between them and they don’t feel like two parts of the same story. Rather, they feel more like two distinct, standalone episodes linked by the wider story arc which has spanned the last two series.


This, I suppose, is a good example of how Stephan Moffat sets up a Doctor Who series. RTD had a 13-episode run with a few clues dropped into the odd episode that all came together in the finale, like the chameleon circuit in series 29 or the disappearance of planets in series 30. It was 13 episodes with a general destination. Moffat takes it a step further, with one clear storyline spanning the series, broken up into 13 parts.

Moffat’s way is more challenging for the writers. Rather than bringing together a handful of plot points you thought were insignificant at the time, they have to drip feed the audience with consistent nuggets of information. Otherwise, it gets boring and frustrating and people will turn over and watch Miss Marple.
With the series going on a summer hiatus after A Good Man Goes to War, though, Moffat could not get away with a little titbit of information or a minor revelation. He had to have a major plot development and end on a hell of a cliffhanger if the viewers were going to return in three months. So, did he? Well…