A Good Man Goes to War
The episode follows the cliffhanger of "The Almost People", which reveals Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) had been operating a Flesh duplicate of herself and is in fact held in a remote location and about to give birth.
Aided by additional Silurian and Judoon forces, the Doctor and his allies, who owe him debts, secure the base, find Amy, and reclaim Melody from Kovarian.
The TARDIS is blocked by a force field, and her army of Headless Monks attack, killing many Silurians, fatally wounding Strax and Lorna, and beheading Dorium before they can end the battle.
"[2] The Fat One and Thin One refer to the Doctor sending the Atraxi away from a planet before calling them back "for a scolding," an incident which took place in "The Eleventh Hour.
"[2] In the seventh series opener "Asylum of the Daleks" it is revealed that Amy's experiences on Demons Run rendered her infertile.
[4] The episode's idea stemmed from lead writer and executive producer Steven Moffat wondering if the Doctor, who was typically a pacifist, could be provoked enough to assemble an army.
[5] The Headless Monks were first mentioned in "The Time of Angels", added to that episode's script to help explain the monastic look of the Delirium Archive the Doctor and Amy were visiting.
[5] Similar troops also known as "Clerics" appeared in "The Time of Angels"/"Flesh and Stone";[2] Moffat stated it seemed many armies in the future in Doctor Who were of religious origin.
Dorium previously appeared in "The Pandorica Opens", while Henry and Toby Avery from "The Curse of the Black Spot" and the Spitfire pilot Danny Boy from "Victory of the Daleks" make cameos.
[20] IGN's Matt Risley described it as an "epic" mid-series finale which "opened with a grandstanding, wonderfully OTT pre-credits tease and didn't really let up from there".
Club hailed it as an exciting, captivating episode that skillfully balances answers and new mysteries, keeping viewers engaged and likely to discuss it for years to come.
He saw secondary characters such as Lorna Bucket, Strax, Madame Vastra and Jenny Flint contributing to the episode, and Demons Run with its Anglican Marines and Monks adding depth to the setting.
[22] Dave Golder of SFX felt it "saved" the sixth series and offered "a satisfying slice of fantasy television which ticked lots of boxes: it featured dashing, daring storytelling which was bold and confident; it looked fantastic, there were some hilarious lines and the performance of the star upped his wattage a couple of notches once again".
[21] Neela Debnath of The Independent was also favourable, praising the use of the cliffhanger and felt the complicated nature of the episode "draws people more into the show and gets them thinking about it".
[23] Digital Spy's Morgan Jeffery praised the pre-titles sequence, the cast performances, and "a terrific 50 minutes of entertainment".
[18] Similarly, Gavin Fuller of The Daily Telegraph thought that even though the episode was good, there was a lack of significant background motivation for the villains.
He also pointed out that the revelation of River being Amy's grown-up child might clash "with a series where loss has often been brushed off as soon as the next couple of episodes".
"[24] On a less positive side, Dan Martin of The Guardian praised the final reveal and found plenty to love, but stated that he did not feel emotionally connected to the Marines and Lorna due to the fast-paced storytelling.
Unlike other reviewers, Martin expressed disappointment in Smith's Doctor, comparing him unfavorably to David Tennant's portrayal.
[28] Two of the new characters introduced in the episode, Vastra and her assistant Jenny, have proven quite popular among fans, with numerous forums and SFX calling for the BBC to commission a spin-off series.
