History YMMV / DoctorWhoS33E7TheRingsOfAkhaten

** In particular, the leaf scene in the climax has been rather...''[[RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgement controversial]]'' with fans. Some argue it's a powerful scene that was set up well, gives Clara's character a chance to shine and fully showcases her heart and humanity for the first time (which we'd be seeing a lot more of the following season); others argue that it's a TastesLikeDiabetes ending (in an already sugary sweet episode) which completely undercuts the Doctor's [[HamAndCheese epic speech]] moments earlier.

** In particular, the leaf scene in the climax has been rather...''[[RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgement controversial]]'' with fans. Some argue it's a powerful scene that was set up well, gives Clara's character a chance to shine and fully showcases her heart for the first time (which we'd be seeing a lot more of the following season); others argue that it's a TastesLikeDiabetes ending (in an already sugary sweet episode) which completely undercuts the Doctor's [[HamAndCheese epic speech]] moments earlier.

* BrokenBase: The fandom ''creamed'' this episode in a popularity poll taken in ''Magazine/DoctorWhoMagazine''. Lowest-ranked overall out of ''any'' Eleventh Doctor stories at the time, and one of the lowest on the list, period.

* CrowningMomentOfAwesome: The two climatic scenes where the Doctor and Clara bare their souls to the Old God to defeat him - the Doctor by deriding the parasite and letting him feast on his memories, and Clara by giving up the most priceless heirloom and memory she has of her late mother - both of which are backed by some of Murray Gold's best music, "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVk_dJVaobE The Long Song]]" and "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJqnGpkaqrM Infinite Potential]]".
* CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming: Throughout the episode, Clara shows she is companion material, by being compassionate enough to reach out Merry and brave enough to become involved in alien business far beyond her. The final ten minutes cement this by showing she's selfless enough to sacrifice an important heirloom of her dead mother to save a world that is not her own thousands of years into the future. The Doctor and Clara bond over their experience of baring their souls to the Old God, their new friendship set in stone, and to show their gratitude for Clara saving their lives, the people of Akhaten return her late mother's ring to her. Really, the last ten minutes of the episode are an emotional high for the Doctor, Clara and the audience.

* CrowningMomentOfAwesome / CrowningMusicOfAwesome: The two climatic scenes where the Doctor and Clara bare their souls to the Old God to defeat him - the Doctor by deriding the parasite and letting him feast on his memories, and Clara by giving up the most priceless heirloom and memory she has of her late mother - both of which are backed by some of Murray Gold's best music, "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVk_dJVaobE The Long Song]]" and "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UJqnGpkaqrM Infinite Potential]]".

* VindicatedByHistory: Downplayed example. "The Rings Of Akhaten" still has it's share of detractors, but it's become much more warmly received and appreciated over time by the fandom than it was during its broadcast year, partly because of the fun world-building, partly because of the rich character development for Clara, and partly because the Doctor's impassioned speech towards Akhaten has become one of the Eleventh Doctor's most iconic moments in his tenure.

* BrokenBase: The fandom ''creamed'' this episode in a popularity poll taken in ''Franchise/DoctorWhoMagazine''. Lowest-ranked overall out of ''any'' Eleventh Doctor stories at the time, and one of the lowest on the list, period.

* HamAndCheese: The story is incredibly cornball to many, but there is a beauty in watching the Doctor give an oratory assault on a flaming ball of doom. Even the episode's detractors point to Matt Smith's "Akhaten Speech" as one of his best performances.

* VindicatedByHistory: Downplayed example. "The Rings Of Akhaten" still has it's share of detractors, but it's become much more warmly received over time than it was during its broadcast year, partly because of the fun world-building, partly because of the rich character development for Clara, and partly because the Doctor's impassioned speech towards Akhaten has become one of the Eleventh Doctor's most iconic moments in his tenure.

* CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming: Throughout the episode, Clara shows she is companion material, by being compassionate enough to reach out Merry, and brave enough to become involved in alien business far beyond. The final ten minutes cement this by showing she's selfless enough to sacrifice an important heirloom of her dead mother to save a world that is not hers thousands of years into the future. The Doctor and Clara bond over their experience of baring their souls to the Old God, their new friendship set in stone, and to show their gratitude for Clara saving their lives, the people of Akhaten return her late mother's ring to her. Really, the last ten minutes of the episode are an emotional high for the Doctor, Clara and the audience.

* HamAndCheese: The story is incredibly cornball to many and very contrived with the leaf, but there's a beauty in watching the Doctor give an oratory assault on a flaming ball of doom. Even the episode's detractors point to Matt Smith's "Akhaten Speech" as one of his best performances.

** In particular, the infamous leaf scene in the climax has been rather...''[[RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgement controversial]]'' with fans. Some argue it's a powerful scene that was set up well, gives Clara's character a chance to shine and fully showcases her heart for the first time (which we'd be seeing a lot more of the following season); others argue that it's a TastesLikeDiabetes ending (in an already sugary sweet episode) which completely undercuts the Doctor's [[HamAndCheese epic speech]] moments earlier.

** In particular, the infamous leaf scene in the climax has been rather...''[[RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgement controversial]]'' with fans. Some argue it's a powerful scene that was set up well, gives Clara's character a chance to shine and fully showcases her heart for the first time (which we'd be seeing a lot more of the following season); others argue that it's a TastesLikeDiabetes ending (in an already sugary sweet episode) which completely undercuts the Doctor's [[HamAndCheese epic speech moments earlier.

** In particular, the infamous leaf scene in the climax has been rather...''[[RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgement controversial]]'' with fans. Some argue it's a powerful scene which gives Clara's character a chance to shine; others argue that it's a TastesLikeDiabetes ending (in an already sugary sweet episode) which completely undercuts the Doctor's [[HamAndCheese epic speech]] moments earlier.

* HamAndCheese: The story is incredibly cornball to many and very contrived with the leaf, but there's a beauty in watching the Doctor give an oratory assault on a flaming ball of doom.

* TastesLikeDiabetes: The biggest reason why this episode is shredded by critics is because the story is relentlessly sweet to the point of [[{{Glurge}} overstaying its welcome]].

* TastesLikeDiabetes: The biggest reason why this episode is shredded by critics is because of how sickeningly sweet the story becomes.

* MemeticMutation: The Doctor's angry bowtie-fix and DeclarativeFinger have spawned the [[http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/listen-here-you-little-shit "Listen here you little-" reaction image]], despite neither captions being said in the episode.

* BrokenBase: The fandom ''creamed'' this episode in a popularity poll taken in ''[[Franchise/DoctorWhoMagazine]]''. Lowest-ranked overall out of ''any'' Eleventh Doctor stories at the time, and one of the lowest on the list, period.

* {{Padding}}: Between the long speeches that the main characters tend to give and the various shots of the choir singing, it often feels like a 25-minute Classic Series episode padded out to fill 45 minutes.

* TheScrappy: Quite possibly the most disliked episode of Series 7. This episode was also voted the worst in a Doctor Who Magazine poll.