#ofc earlier and later season had similar problems. but imo never as potent as the quality rollercoster that was season 6

[verloonati]

A very funny thing about a good man goes to war is that like on paper, the idea of the doctor going all out and calling in all of their debt to fight overwhelming odds and save a friend sounds amazing. It's like, in a at the time 50 years old show this shit writes itself.

But instead of focusing this episode on Amy's trauma (Wich barely ever comes up after that given howuch of it is used purely for the sake of the twist and not like character stakes) moffat chose to focus it on the doctor "rising higher and falling lower than ever before". Wich uh, should not be the point of this story.

Instead of giving us a meaningful reunion of well loved characters, (like stolen earth/journey's end did two series before) they just brought back the pirates from that very forgettable episode and the airplane guy from that Churchill wankfest episode. A gimmick that moffat already used in the opening sequence of Pandorica opens where everyeaningful side characters of the season (and at this point the era) pass along that painting that barely have any impact on the plot (by Wich I mean it could easily have been anything else that initiate the plot and make as much sense). So because he already did this he has to introduce new characters Wich well if you're gonna play out the doctor calling in their debt, using said debt to introduce more than half side characters of the episode and introduce them as if the viewer was anticipating their return is a definitely weird move.

Instead of giving us a real enemy to fight, the church of the silence never really feels that intimidating. The headless monks are clearly just there so the doctor can hide under a hood. And having rory destroy a whole cyber legion just for kicks undermines the threat level of the church in comparison (that man can threaten a whole ass cyber legion what are some human soldiers on a teeny tiny base gonna do?). Where journey's end gave us daleks with a whacky plan to destroy reality, with internal conflicts and dynamics, a good man goes to war never feels that much like the church is actually that powerfull. All they got is an hostage

Of course a lot could be said about the way this episode threat homosexuality in side characters as a comedic punchline. Wether it's the nameless soldiers that get beheaded or vastra and Jenny first appearance their homosexuality is supposed to be laughed at.

And then again there's the "rise higher and fall lower than ever before" shit Wich Is? Very fun in the broader context of the show? The episode end with a tiny base evacuated with no casualty and a baby kidnapped. When you consider the shit the seventh doctor pulled against the old gods, and how far he went to manipulate his companion, what the eighth and war doctor sacrificed and the atrocities they commited in the war In heaven and the time war, the shit 8 pulled in the divergent universe. How desperate 5 was on androzani, how 4 faced the guilt of allowing the daleks to exists, how 6 got put on trial and made to believe he failed to save his friend. How ten almost become fucking rassillon 2, how twelve chose to wait in a torture chamber for 4 billions year and the moment he got out fucked up his whole society and his own laws to save his friend, how ten got gollumified for a whole year before getting up by a genkidama powered by the trust and love of his friend telling people about him, even how thirteen faced the litteral embodiment of time whilst her parent set the universe on fire for the hell of it. How litteraly seven episodes before eleven got trapped in a box by his enemies and had to manually turn off and then on again the timeline. Yeah I don't think winning a rock and losing a baby that you still know will be fine is that special among all of this.