Smile had some really good things going for it. I really liked the idea that you always have to be happy or the emoji-bots would kill you, the idea that the emoji-bots and the Vardys weren't bad but were just not programmed correctly, the human race escaping from a doomed Earth, the emotion buttons that only others could see, and the creation of a new species at the end of the episode, but Smile just fell flat.
The emoji-bots had a good concept behind them (smile or you die), but I think their design really brought down the episode. They weren't threatening at all and frankly looked silly when they were "attacking," which removed the tension from the entire episode.
Peter Capaldi and Pearl Mackie gave good performances, but they weren't given much to do aside from walk around the city for the entire episode. The ending was pretty clever, hitting the reset button and creating a whole new species, but the last 15 minutes or so felt thrown together, with new elements popping up out of nowhere like all the people waking up, everyone suddenly getting ready to fight, and the kid being the first one to show up out of everybody else. All of those new developments just felt like they were included in the episode to give it some sort of climax after a relatively dull 30 minutes, even if the ideas employed were strong.
I've seen people praising the episode for it's great visuals, but in my opinion it wasn't that good looking. The locations were good, but that's about it. None of the shots really stood out for me, but I did like how the opening scenes in the Tardis were filmed. Murray Gold's score, which is usually great, also wasn't very good. It felt silly and playful in scenes that were probably supposed to be tense or more serious.
Overall, "Smile" wasn't really bad, but it was a pretty big disappointment and wasn't nearly as good as the previous installment. At times, it was even boring. It started off very promisingly, with a cool location, a harder sci-fi feel, good, if short guest performances, and an interesting hook right before the title sequence, but after that nothing happened until the final ten minutes. This episode had a lot of really good ideas behind it, but unfortunately it lacked in its execution, spending its time leisurely showing us around a futuristic city instead of exploring some of the strongest sci-fi concepts the show has had in a long time. I'm not trying to say that I don't want to see the Doctor and Bill having fun and getting to know each other, but "Smile" seems to have wasted it's potential when it could have been much better.
5.5 out of 10.
The emoji-bots had a good concept behind them (smile or you die), but I think their design really brought down the episode. They weren't threatening at all and frankly looked silly when they were "attacking," which removed the tension from the entire episode.
Peter Capaldi and Pearl Mackie gave good performances, but they weren't given much to do aside from walk around the city for the entire episode. The ending was pretty clever, hitting the reset button and creating a whole new species, but the last 15 minutes or so felt thrown together, with new elements popping up out of nowhere like all the people waking up, everyone suddenly getting ready to fight, and the kid being the first one to show up out of everybody else. All of those new developments just felt like they were included in the episode to give it some sort of climax after a relatively dull 30 minutes, even if the ideas employed were strong.
I've seen people praising the episode for it's great visuals, but in my opinion it wasn't that good looking. The locations were good, but that's about it. None of the shots really stood out for me, but I did like how the opening scenes in the Tardis were filmed. Murray Gold's score, which is usually great, also wasn't very good. It felt silly and playful in scenes that were probably supposed to be tense or more serious.
Overall, "Smile" wasn't really bad, but it was a pretty big disappointment and wasn't nearly as good as the previous installment. At times, it was even boring. It started off very promisingly, with a cool location, a harder sci-fi feel, good, if short guest performances, and an interesting hook right before the title sequence, but after that nothing happened until the final ten minutes. This episode had a lot of really good ideas behind it, but unfortunately it lacked in its execution, spending its time leisurely showing us around a futuristic city instead of exploring some of the strongest sci-fi concepts the show has had in a long time. I'm not trying to say that I don't want to see the Doctor and Bill having fun and getting to know each other, but "Smile" seems to have wasted it's potential when it could have been much better.
5.5 out of 10.