 The episode was met with generally positive reviews from television critics . Dan Martin of The Guardian praised the episode for its " action , tension , horror and River Song in a business suit , " but felt it " sags a little around the middle . " Martin believed the scenes with Amy and Delaware in the orphanage were the " fear factor " of the episode . He later rated it the fourth best episode of the series , though the finale was not included in the list . Morgan Jeffery of Digital Spy stated " after the sensational opening gambit that kicked off the series premiere , it 's perhaps unsurprising that ' Day of the Moon ' starts with a similarly thrilling onslaught of action . " Jeffery was positive towards the nano @-@ recorder , which provided the episode with " a number of unsettling moments in which characters listen back to their own terrified exclamations about the Silents . " However , Jeffery felt the final scenes " expose this episode 's chief flaw — quite simply , too much is left unresolved . " In conclusion , the reviewer stated " While ' The Impossible Astronaut ' aced the set @-@ up , ' Day of the Moon ' falters slightly in providing the resolution . " Jeffery rated the episode four stars out of five . 
