Doctor Who Series 7, Episode 7 Review: The Rings of Akhaten
- doctorbrick
- Feb 28
- 3 min read
Updated: Mar 20
What did you think of this episode?
Sonic!
Good!
Bumpy-wumpy!
Exterminate!
Leaf it out!!! Bad puns aside, I actually think if you took the leaf out of this episode it would be a bloody banger.
However, I will let you enjoy this absolute treat from Doctor Who royalty, Murray Gold, as I review The Rings of Akhaten...
It is so good isn't it? Murray Gold, you really are the GOAT!
Revisiting The Rings of Akhaten for this review left me pleasantly surprised by how much more I enjoyed it this time around. While it has its flaws, the sights and sounds of this episode give it emotion and atmosphere, and I am going to put this in my highly underrated episode list.
There are lots of different aliens wandering around, there are stalls and peasants and God's and Queens. There is so much going on. Normally you get a quick glimpse at a section of an alien world, but this lot stuck around for us.
"Stay back, I’m armed. With a screwdriver."
Really though, it is the music that makes this episode! Murray Gold’s score is breathtaking, especially the Long Song which tied in with some Matt Smith epicness makes for a very special moment. Unfortunately for me, the episode stumbles right at the death, and right after the Doctor's epic speech.
Maybe I have read it wrong, maybe I didn't fully understand, but first up I have Clara merrily jumping on a hover bike thing - the woman couldn't log onto WiFi the last episode, now she is whizzing across the sky on a flying machine - with ease and without a care in the World. I can let that go, but I just didn't buy all the leaf stuff, sorry Clara!
"No. We don’t walk away. But when we’re holding on to something precious, we run. We run and run fast as we can. And we don’t stop running until we are out from under the shadow."
The idea that a God couldn't be finished off by the Doctor's past, present and future, but could by a leaf Clara has kept hold of felt like a bit of a stretch to me. While I appreciate the attempt at an emotional resolution, it doesn’t land as strongly as it should. I get that this is the silly blue box show, these things are to be expected, I love the show for being what it is, for not being like any other show out there, but sometimes it does make me want to slap myself around the face.
I won't lie though, this was a bloody good episode!!!
RATING: Sonic!
BEST LINE: "Okay then. That’s what I’ll do. I’ll tell you a story. Can you hear them? All these people who lived in terror of you and your judgment. All these people whose ancestors devoted themselves, sacrificed themselves to you. Can you hear them singing? Oh you like to think you’re a god. But you’re not a god. You’re just a parasite. Eat now with jealousy and envy and longing for the lives of others. You feed on them. On the memory of love and loss and birth and death and joy and sorrow, so… so come on then. Take mine. Take my memories. But I hope you’re got a big a big appetite. Because I’ve lived a long life. And I’ve seen a few things. I walked away from the last great Time War. I marked the passing of the Time Lords. I saw the birth of the universe and watched as time ran out, moment by moment, until nothing remained. No time, no space. Just me! I walked in universes where the laws of physics were devised by the mind of a madman! And I watched universes freeze and creation burn! I have seen things you wouldn’t believe! I have lost things you will never understand! And I know things, secrets that must never be told, knowledge that must never be spoken! Knowledge that will make parasite gods blaze! So come on then! Take it! Take it all, baby! Have it! You have it all!"
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