I have to admit I that liked this episode. I'd say it was an improvement from last week. No more recycling old plots and the focus was on exploring the nature of the Daleks and the Doctor. Of course it was drawing parallels to previous Dalek-stories, especially series one episode 'Dalek'. I think this is seen most clearly in lines "you would make a good Dalek" (from 'Dalek') and "you are a good Dalek" (in this episode). And maybe he is a good Dalek. After all, he is a creature that is capable of killing a lot of people and has a lot of hatred inside but most of the time chooses not to act on this. Yet Twelve is different to his previous incarnations as he is a lot darker.
So at the centre of the episode is the question of good and bad. Is the Dalek good or bad? What about the Doctor? And I think Clara's answer is a good one. He isn't good but he is not bad either. But he tries to be a good man and that's what matters.
His darkness can also be seen in the way he speaks. His comebacks or one liners are pretty dark. This makes him a lot more dickish than Ten or Eleven. I mean, the Doctor has always been little bit of a dick but Ten and Eleven often felt bad about it. We don't know Twelve well at this point so it's hard to say what his character truly is. So far he seems very comfortable with the idea of letting someone sacrifice themselves for him. But then again, I love black humour so I think he's funny.
The opening scene reminded me a lot of 'Parting of the Ways' and the Dalek armada. With one very notable exception. The budget. Yes, the budget has increased over the years but for some reason it has really hit me in the first 2 episodes. The explosions, the space sequences, Victorian London, the dinosaur and all the visual effects seem really well done.
I liked Journey. Yes, she is a soldier and answers to violence with violence but I was still slightly disapointed when the Doctor turned down her plea to take her with them. She might have been an interesting addition to the team. But then again, considering that Clara is not around all the time and Journey would have nowhere to go, then she would be spending a lot of time only with the Doctor and they probably would be a bad influnce on one another.
So I guess we are not getting a new companion anytime soon, or maybe not before Clara leaves (which I think is supposed to happen at the end of this series). But I would not mind if Danny joined them for a little while. I have to say I like him already and I think he would have a lot in common with the Doctor considering that they both are ex-soldiers, though Danny's trauma is a lot more recent.
I wish we would learn more about this "heaven". So far it seems to be developing just the way the Silence-plot was; not very subtle reminders that there is a bigger plot here but without giving any new information about it. Not a fan... The only "clue" I can piece together at this point (because I'm looking for anything, no matter how ridicilous it might be) is that the people who have ended up there are the people who have to dies in order for the Doctor to save the day. Yeah, I have no idea where this plot is going and I'm gonna guess that next episode is not going to give any answers either.
I'm still not committing myself to the rest of the episodes but I guess I'll be back next week for Robin Hood, with explosions. Is it just me or is this starting to feel like Doctor Who done by Michael Bay? I don't remember this many explosions in the past episodes...
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