Oh. Well, turns out I'm not going to Vancouver today... so you get my review! You lucky people!

Well, the episode was just stunning. Full of the timey-wimey goodness that I now come to expect from our dear Moff. He teeters on the edge of too much crap going on, but never falls to his death on the jagged peaks of confusion and nonsense below. Very nice. It IS a bit two steps forward one step back with these kinds of big arching Moffat stories, but he handles it well enough that I just don't mind at all. The only thing I might complain about is that not enough time is given to certain things, because there's just SO MUCH (brilliant stuff) to fit in. Like, for instance, one thing I'd like to see: the Ponds' reaction to River's big reveal at the end of the last episode.
Did River get them back to Leadworth? That must have been an AWKWARD teleport home I can tell you...

Anyway, I forgot Rory had a mini Cooper (not a tiny Gwen, the car) and I love it. I want to name it Oliver and take it home. Even if cars... can't... make crop circles... BUT I CAN IGNORE THAT.
And new coats are cool. Very cool.

Oh, lord, but when Mels pulled up? It took me... 3? 4 seconds to despise her? Then my next thought was "Oh Jesus, if she's the next companion I'll shoot myself. There's a difference between awesome and cocky brat. How many times?! Over my dead body will there be another Lady Christina that we're actually supposed to LIKE." But of course, over the course of the episode I found out that no, we're not supposed to like her. Thank Christ.
It was actually nice not liking River for once. Seeing horrible, childish, psychopath River really shows just how much the Doctor inspired her to be better. And it was fun! Unstable is always entertaining. "I was on my way to this lesbian gypsy bar mitzfah for the disabled and I just thought... third reich's a bit rubbish." BAM. SLICE OF FRIED GOLD.
Or, her idea to slowly make herself a bit younger, just to "freak people out" was a fun little way to explain Alex Kingston being a bit younger in Forest of the Dead. OH THE WRITING.

And the Doctor going over 'the rules' that River likes to quote in earlier episodes is just great. I was kind of wondering when/where she was getting them from. I love that kind of circular paradox crap. KEEP IT UP MOFF.

I like that the whole Nazi thing wasn't over-addressed. They could have done (and I was expecting) something like The Fires of Pompeii which was a big ol' moral dilemma episode. But it was hardly about Hitler at all, really, but just enough to really say "we hate this man unreservedly and completely" and it sort of left it there. Or, well, in a cupboard. Which is just fine with me. What I was dreading was them revealing the Hitler was actually some alien or something, which would have been immensely crap. WELL HANDLED. Really, Berlin 1938 was just a way to have them run into the Justice Department, which is just SO US, isn't it? We have time travel, so let's... punish dead people! Oh we're such idiots... miniaturized cross people. Like the ones I'm SURE live in my Etch-A-Sketch.

But Rory Rory Rory... just when I thought you couldn't get more awesome. Not only did he just have the cutest backstory with Amy, but he punched Hitler and told him to sit down and shut up. Then put him in a cupboard. Then he stole a motorbike and mocked Amy with a hilarious Scottish accent. I almost expected him to yell "IT BELONGS IN A MUSEUM!" he was so bad-ass.

But, I think, one of my favourite bits of this episode was the different voice interface holograms. The Doctor reacting to himself was brilliant, and reacting to Rose was even better. I LOVE that the very mention, or sight of her in this case, is no longer met with a total emotional breakdown. Sanity and humour has been restored. Also, very nice use of publicity stills instead of actors. Aren't many situations where you can get away with that...
And it was ever so sweet to see Caitlyn Blackwood again as wee Amelia. She's just so cute and wee and Scottish and lisp-y!

OH. OH. But the best bit, as always, was Matt's acting. He always surprises me with how GOOD he is. Just absolutely touching and hilarious and just... the Doctor. Through and through. No question. Or, perhaps... THE question? I'm calling it right now that the question is "Doctor who?" I mean, "Hidden in plain sight"? Yeah?
Anyway, ALSO, we know where River got the Doctor's name from now! MYSTERY SOLVED! Do you know how much it drove me MAD when he said "There's only one time I would tell someone my name, only one time I could." And I was left wondering what that circumstance could POSSIBLY be. His death. Duh. Jeez. The Moff does make me feel like an idiot sometimes. APPARENTLY (I never watch Confidential anymore) he told her that he loves River, not his name. Gotta say, either would make sense. Still moving and lovely and a brilliant epiphany moment for Mel. Quite touching. I'd be lying if I said I didn't cry a bit when the Doctor died.

And hey, since I'm adding stuff, I loved the scene where Mels had just got out of jail, and Amy and Rory were scolding her. Not only was it an adorable Rory moment, but the Ponds were acting just like her parents. Which they are. Superb. And it's just interesting to think how much our friends do kind of raise us in a way.

Also, "Hello Benjamin!". Just got that. Hilarious.

I liked how forgiving the Doctor was about his own death. Gorgeous stuff. Could have used a bit more of that kind of positive thinking when 10 kicked it. Just sayin'.

Final score... 9/10. Definitely.

Next week somehow doesn't quite excite me... but DANIEL MAYS YEY. That's his name, right? Anyway, I loved him in Ashes to Ashes. So creepy and awesome.