History YMMV / DoctorWhoS30E9ForestOfTheDead

* FranchiseOriginalSin: This episode, along with its predecessor, is very much a prototype of the sort of storylines that Creator/StevenMoffat developed during his time as showrunner: There's River Song, the Doctor as an [[InvincibleHero invincible]] [[ScienceHero mega-genius]] and the most important person in the Universe (who is apparently so scary that he makes ''barely sentient living shadows'' go OhCrap and run away), and a [[KudzuPlot complex and multilayered storyline with multiple plotlines and character arcs happening at once]]. It's considered one of the best, if not ''the'' best RTD-era New Who story, [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools and for good reason]], but for fans who consider Moffat's tenure a step down in the show's quality, this storyline, for better or for worse, is pretty much where it all started.

** In 2021, ''Series/WandaVision'' also featured a married woman in a false reality viewable on a television, who had two children in a drastically accelerated manner. [[spoiler: Although in this instance, the woman in question used magic to manufacture this for herself. Whereas the false reality in this episode was manufactured for Donna without her knowing.]]

** In 2021, ''Series/WandaVision'' also featured a married woman in a false reality viewable on a television, who had two children in a drastically accelerated manner. [[spoiler: Although in this instance, the woman in questioned used magic to manufacture this for herself. Whereas the false reality in this episode was manufactured for Donna without her knowing.]]

* HarsherInHindsight: The ending is pretty bittersweet already, but then [[Recap/DoctorWhoS33E13TheNameOfTheDoctor some years down the line]] it turns out River wasn't so happy about being, in her words, "left like a book on a shelf" by The Doctor.

* SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome: When the Doctor realizes why he gave River his screwdriver, to "save" a copy of her into the virtual world.
* TearJerker: River's death. Increasingly so as Series 5 and 6 continued and we found out just how close she and the Doctor are. It was a TearJerker even before all that, but going back after watching Series 5/6 and watching that scene again makes it worse. She gets a proper goodbye in [[Recap/DoctorWho2015CSTheHusbandsOfRiverSong "The Husbands of River Song"]], (well, proper for her anyways), the events of which take place before this episode for her, long after for the Doctor, [[spoiler:the two of them spending a ''twenty-four year'' long final day together]].
** Learning that EveryoneLives in the computer was another tear-jerker, for the opposite reason.
** Lee [=McAvoy=] spotting Donna walking away after the Library patrons were rescued, but being unable to call out to her due to his stutter. The poor man clearly remembered Donna as the love of his life, and whatever peace he'd made with his speech impediment is probably lost forever now that it's cost him his chance to be reunited with her. It's made worse after "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E13JourneysEnd Journey's End]]" when even the memory of him gets wiped from Donna's mind along with all the rest of her interactions with the Doctor.
* WhatAnIdiot: You can't blame poor Lee [=McAvoy=] for his stutter, but you'd expect him to ''get off the freakin' teleporter'' and run to Donna. He's got several seconds, that's more than enough time to think of the obvious Plan B and execute it. But no, he just stands there still trying what's already failed until he gets teleported off the planet, never to see her again.

** In 2021, ''Series/WandaVision'' also featured a married woman in a false reality viewable on a television, who had two children in a drastically accelerated manner.

* TearJerker: River's death. Increasingly so as Series 5 and 6 continued and we found out just how close she and the Doctor are. It was a TearJerker even before all that, but going back after watching Series 5/6 and watching that scene again makes it worse. She gets a proper goodbye in [[Recap/DoctorWho2015CSTheHusbandsOfRiverSong "The Husbands of River Song"]], (well, proper for her anyways), the events of which take place before this episode for her, long after for the Doctor, the two of them spending a ''twenty-four year'' long final day together.

* HilariousInHindsight: In 2021, ''Series/WandaVision'' also featured a married woman in a false reality viewable on a television, who had two children in a drastically accelerated manner.

* FranchiseOriginalSin: This episode, along with its predecessor, is very much a prototype of the sort of storylines that Creator/StevenMoffat developed during his time as showrunner: There's River Song, the Doctor as an [[InvincibleHero invincible]] [[ScienceHero mega-genius]] and the most important person in the Universe (who is apparently so scary that he makes ''barely sentient living shadows'' go OhCrap and run away), and a [[KudzuPlot complex and multilayered storyline with multiple plotlines and character arcs happening at once]]. It's considered one of the best, if not ''the'' best RTD-era New Who story, [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools and for good reason]], but for fans who (perhaps unfairly) consider Moffat's tenure a step down in the show's quality, this storyline, for better or for worse, is pretty much where it all started.

* FranchiseOriginalSin: This episode, along with its predecessor, is very much a prototype of the sort of storylines that Creator/StevenMoffat developed during his time as showrunner: There's River Song, the Doctor as an [[InvincibleHero invincible]] [[ScienceHero mega-genius]] and the most important person in the Universe (who is apparently so scary that he makes ''barely sentient living shadows'' go OhCrap and run away), and a [[KudzuPlot complex and multilayered storyline with multiple plotlines and character arcs happening at once]]. It's considered one of the best, if not ''the'' best RTD-era New Who story, [[TropesAreTools and for good reason]], but for fans who (perhaps unfairly) consider Moffat's tenure a step down in the show's quality, this storyline, for better or for worse, is pretty much where it all started.

* TooSpicyForYogSothoth: When the Vashta Nerada, a pseudo-LivingShadow conglomeration of creatures thats name translates roughly into "The Shadows that melt the flesh", with good reason, which exist apparently ''everywhere'' in the universe, corner the Doctor, he gives the BadassBoast "I'm The Doctor, you're in the biggest library in the universe, look me up" not only does the Vashta Nerada stop for a second, ''but starts backing off as well!''.

** Lee [=McAvoy=] spotting Donna walking away after the Library patrons were rescued, but being unable to call out to her due to his stutter. The poor man clearly remembered Donna as the love of his life, and whatever peace he'd made with his speech impediment is probably lost forever now that it's cost him his chance to be reunited with her.

* CrowningMomentOfAwesome: When the Doctor realizes why he gave River his screwdriver, to "save" a copy of her into the virtual world.
* HarsherInHindsight: The ending is pretty bittersweet already, but then [[Recap/DoctorWhoS33E13TheNameOfTheDoctor some years down the line]] it turns out River wasn't so happy about being, in her words, "left like a book on a shelf" by The Doctor.

* TearJerker: River's death. Increasingly so as Series 5 and 6 continued and we found out just how close she and the Doctor are. It was a TearJerker even before all that, but going back after watching Series 5/6 and watching that scene again makes it worse. She gets a proper goodbye in [[Recap/DoctorWho2015CSTheHusbandsOfRiverSong "The Husbands of River Song"]], (well, proper for her anyways), the events of which take place before this episode for her, long after for the Doctor, the two of them spending [[spoiler: a ''twenty-four year'' long]] final day together.

* TearJerker: River's death. Increasingly so as Series 5 and 6 continued and we found out just how close she and the Doctor are. It was a TearJerker even before all that, but going back after watching Series 5/6 and watching that scene again makes it worse. She gets a proper goodbye in [[Recap/DoctorWho2015CSTheHusbandsOfRiverSong "The Husbands of River Song"]], (well, proper for her anyways), the events of which take place before this episode for her, long after for the Doctor, the two of them spending a ''twenty-four year'' long final day together.

* TearJerker: River's death. Increasingly so as Series 5 and 6 continued and we found out just how close she and the Doctor are. It was a TearJerker even before all that, but going back after watching Series 5/6 and watching that scene again makes it worse. She gets a proper "Good-Bye" in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS33E13TheNameOfTheDoctor "The Name of the Doctor"]], (well, proper for her anyways), the events of which take place after this episode for both her and the Doctor.

* TearJerker: River's death. Increasingly so as Series 5 and 6 continued and we found out just how close she and the Doctor are. It was a TearJerker even before all that, but going back after watching Series 5/6 and watching that scene again makes it worse. She gets a proper "Good-Bye" in ''DoctorWhoS33E13TheNameOfTheDoctor'', (well, proper for her anyways),the events of which take place after this episode.

* TearJerker: River's death. Increasingly so as Series 5 and 6 continued and we found out just how close she and the Doctor are. It was a TearJerker even before all that, but going back after watching Series 5/6 and watching that scene again makes it worse.
** She gets a proper "Good-Bye" in ''DoctorWhoS33E13TheNameOfTheDoctor'', (well, proper for her anyways),the events of which take place after this episode.

** She gets a proper "Good-Bye" in ''DoctorWhoS33E13TheNameOfTheDoctor'', (well, proper for her anyways.)

* FridgeLogic: Several things.
** The Vashta Nerada are clearly voracious, and apparently everyone but the Librarian escaped... so what have they been eating for all this time?
** Why did Donna's face appear on the interface? She seemed too disgusted with the whole idea earlier to have donated it.
*** The library chose a face the Doctor would most want to see.
** Why ''does'' a library have a self destruct system? And why does the Doctor never use it as a bargaining tool? He could have used the "look me up" speech to ensure cooperation, but gained a lot more in negotiation if he agreed to save the library for a price. The Vashta Nerada want meat so much, I'm sure an interstellar civilisation such as the humans that built the Library could teleport in sufficient quantities to keep the shadows happy without readers being fed on. Throwing chicken bones into dark spots could become a game.