The Pandorica Opens/The Big Bang is another absolutely perfect story in Series 5. And amongst the many interesting things about it, I think that chief among them is that it's an absolutely perfect story as long as it's viewed in context to the rest of Series 5, where it becomes something truly special.
To elaborate, this episode works by riffing on the fairy tale style that the series has been using for the past 12 episodes. We see the Doctor as the good wizard, the man who goes to stop the monsters, not with guns but with the magic of words, giving a speech to keep them pre-occupied whilst he sorts out other problems. But it takes an interesting turn as Amy starts to openly recognise things as being fairy tale-esque, such as the fact that the Pandorica is derived from Pandora's Box. It draws to attention the fact that something is wrong, which is further accentuated by the fact that the TARDIS is malfunctioning significantly worse than usual, as if there's something acting upon the story itself, changing the way in which we view the programme.
And then it all goes fantastically pear shaped. We realise that the Doctor has wandered into a trap, an impossible trap that he's got no escape from. It feels again like it's riffing on the structure of Series 5; a vast quantity of the series has been based around the Doctor remaining perfectly in control of the situation and trapping the villains, not the other way around. So when we see the majestic and magical figure of the Doctor, it feels like a genuine low point because we haven't really seen this Doctor lose to such an extent. And then, to make matters worse, the Universe explodes along with the TARDIS. It gives a certain sense that the stakes are so much higher this time around, because the events have already happened, and it's up to the Doctor to save the Universe once more. But first, he's got to do something completely wonderful.
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