5 Best Episodes
5. The Girl Who Waited
The Girl Who Waited, written by Tom MacRae, brilliantly utilises minimalism to provide an evocative character study and one of the better Nu-Who episodes. Being one of the small budget episodes, the set design was merely white boxes that strangely exude the perfect atmosphere to the episode. Something about it just feels right; I couldnt help but think of the video game Portal when watching it. The episode is more focused on the paradoxes that time can have rather than moving specifically into the logistics of how the two Amys came about. The moral choices as well as the emotional ones provide a powerful conclusion that is one of the shows more genuinely evocative moments. In the past some Who episodes have strained to for such a climax but the episode hits its mark perfectly. The change of pacing from bigger budgeted, faster more upbeat episodes to this atmospheric, slow progressive episode does the series great benefit. It allows a sombre slow down and variation, allowing the viewer to maybe take a breather from all that running around. The episode is certainly one of character rather than spectacle This was also Karen Gillians best performance up to the date of the episode, blending a heavy contrast between the youthful, passionate self and the exhausted, embittered older interpretation of Amy. Its a well handled distinction that may have felt underwhelming had it not been for Gillans performance. One cannot underestimate the significance of this. The story is flat without it. Overall The Girl Who Waited on first impression may seem an unenthusiastic experience, but under the surface lies a magnificently scripted, beautifully acted episode that has since gone on to deserve the praise it has now come to hold.