This episode opens with Maebh Arden, a young girl, running through a forest in fear; she comes across a familiar blue box and knocks on the door. When The Doctor answers she tells him Clara sent her. He is a little busy though; he wanted to land the Tardis in London not some forest. Maebh points out that the problem isn't with his navigation but with London; they are in Trafalgar Square! Meanwhile Clara, Mr. Pink and Maebh's class have spent the night in the Natural History Museum; when they come to leave they are equally surprised by the trees. Having got together with The Doctor they must figure out what caused the sudden appearance of the trees and more importantly what they should do about them.
After a couple of really good episodes it isn't surprising that this one isn't quite so good. That's not to say it was bad; the 'lost in the woods' setting gave the episode a nice degree of creepiness that most people can appreciate without needing monsters that might actually scare younger viewers. Indeed this felt like an episode more targeted at those younger viewers; the fact that most of the cast are young is more likely to appeal to them; older viewers may find the children a little irritating though; but not as irritating as Clara and Danny's bickering. Certain aspects of the story are best not thought about too deeply; most notably where is everybody else, trees or no trees it is still meant to be the middle of London; surely there would be lots of people about! The ultimate environmental message may not be the most subtle but it made a change for the doctor to be dealing with a benevolent situation. Overall a decent enough episode that suffers in comparison to the previous two.
After a couple of really good episodes it isn't surprising that this one isn't quite so good. That's not to say it was bad; the 'lost in the woods' setting gave the episode a nice degree of creepiness that most people can appreciate without needing monsters that might actually scare younger viewers. Indeed this felt like an episode more targeted at those younger viewers; the fact that most of the cast are young is more likely to appeal to them; older viewers may find the children a little irritating though; but not as irritating as Clara and Danny's bickering. Certain aspects of the story are best not thought about too deeply; most notably where is everybody else, trees or no trees it is still meant to be the middle of London; surely there would be lots of people about! The ultimate environmental message may not be the most subtle but it made a change for the doctor to be dealing with a benevolent situation. Overall a decent enough episode that suffers in comparison to the previous two.