Doctor Who 5.07: Amy's Choice
May. 15th, 2010 10:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
selenayNow that was quite the episode!
This episode was called "Amy's Choice", but it felt like a very Rory-significant episode as well. His ideal life is so different from what you feel would be Amy's ideal and she seemed by turns happy and uncomfortable in it. He seemed to gain strength as the episode went on, going from bumbling to brave quite naturally. The scene in the baby's bedroom where he cuts off the ponytail demonstrated that he's finally getting Amy and understanding her.
I think that that he's been in love with the idea of the feisty, strong woman that Amy is but didn't want the reality of what that would mean. He wanted to tie her down and fit her into the life that he'd always imagined, even though a wife who settled in that life wouldn't have Amy's passion and excitement. By the end the episode, though, he had finally accepted that Amy is who she is and that's why he loves her. It was lovely.
Oddly, it's Rory's death a minute later that was the other stand out moment. The episode was very much about Amy's choice between Rory and the Doctor so there was always going to be a moment like this. Maybe it shouldn't have taken Rory's death to make her realise her feelings, but in some ways I think that was the only thing that would do it for her. Amy has grown up with the Doctor as her heroic ideal, the Raggedy Doctor being her childhood dream and then the true Doctor becoming her adult dream. Rory had always been competing against that and falling short, but the Doctor isn't a forever sort of her person. He's a romantic, heroic ideal who is safe to dream about because he won't stay.
Rory has also been there throughout her life but he's a real person, unlike this imagine of the Doctor that she held him up against. It possibly had never occurred to her that he might not always be there just because he's there, he's Rory, and she never had to think about losing him.
The way that she looked up and quietly said "save him" was quite heart-breaking. That was what caught me. There were no tantrums, no wailing and screaming, just quiet devastation. It was beautifully played and perfect for Amy.
Rory's quiet little 'oh' when he worked out what Amy was telling him at the end was also utterly lovely. He knew deep down that her feelings weren't as deep as his, or at least that she was confused about it all, so it was quite sweet the way he quietly acknowledged that she really does love him.
Is it weird that I'm hoping Rory stays around for the rest of the season? He's a fabulous character and Team Tardis works beautifully with him around. It's also nice to see a companion have the realisation that the Doctor isn't what she wants. I was a little worried there, just for a moment, that Moffat was pulling an RTD but he actually picked a really great way to resolve it all.
I didn't figure out that the Dream Lord was the Doctor until he pointed it out. Feel free to poke fun at me for that. It makes some things much more poignant.
That scene in the village where the Dream Lord tells the Doctor that he is the thing the Doctor hates the most throughout the universe. I'd been assuming that it was an old enemy. That was the moment when the Doctor realised who the Dream Lord is, I think, and it says a lot about him.
Deep down, the Doctor is possibly one of the darkest characters in the entire show.
This was an intense, emotional episode for all the characters. It looks like next week's could also be rather dark. Moffat isn't afraid to have episodes that go to some dark places, which is one of the things that I've always appreciated about his writing and I'm loving about his take on Doctor Who. Simon Nye seems to fit quite neatly into the Doctor Who way of telling stories.
Now, how many children are going to refuse to go to Sunday lunch with their grandparents after watching that?
This episode was called "Amy's Choice", but it felt like a very Rory-significant episode as well. His ideal life is so different from what you feel would be Amy's ideal and she seemed by turns happy and uncomfortable in it. He seemed to gain strength as the episode went on, going from bumbling to brave quite naturally. The scene in the baby's bedroom where he cuts off the ponytail demonstrated that he's finally getting Amy and understanding her.
I think that that he's been in love with the idea of the feisty, strong woman that Amy is but didn't want the reality of what that would mean. He wanted to tie her down and fit her into the life that he'd always imagined, even though a wife who settled in that life wouldn't have Amy's passion and excitement. By the end the episode, though, he had finally accepted that Amy is who she is and that's why he loves her. It was lovely.
Oddly, it's Rory's death a minute later that was the other stand out moment. The episode was very much about Amy's choice between Rory and the Doctor so there was always going to be a moment like this. Maybe it shouldn't have taken Rory's death to make her realise her feelings, but in some ways I think that was the only thing that would do it for her. Amy has grown up with the Doctor as her heroic ideal, the Raggedy Doctor being her childhood dream and then the true Doctor becoming her adult dream. Rory had always been competing against that and falling short, but the Doctor isn't a forever sort of her person. He's a romantic, heroic ideal who is safe to dream about because he won't stay.
Rory has also been there throughout her life but he's a real person, unlike this imagine of the Doctor that she held him up against. It possibly had never occurred to her that he might not always be there just because he's there, he's Rory, and she never had to think about losing him.
The way that she looked up and quietly said "save him" was quite heart-breaking. That was what caught me. There were no tantrums, no wailing and screaming, just quiet devastation. It was beautifully played and perfect for Amy.
Rory's quiet little 'oh' when he worked out what Amy was telling him at the end was also utterly lovely. He knew deep down that her feelings weren't as deep as his, or at least that she was confused about it all, so it was quite sweet the way he quietly acknowledged that she really does love him.
Is it weird that I'm hoping Rory stays around for the rest of the season? He's a fabulous character and Team Tardis works beautifully with him around. It's also nice to see a companion have the realisation that the Doctor isn't what she wants. I was a little worried there, just for a moment, that Moffat was pulling an RTD but he actually picked a really great way to resolve it all.
I didn't figure out that the Dream Lord was the Doctor until he pointed it out. Feel free to poke fun at me for that. It makes some things much more poignant.
That scene in the village where the Dream Lord tells the Doctor that he is the thing the Doctor hates the most throughout the universe. I'd been assuming that it was an old enemy. That was the moment when the Doctor realised who the Dream Lord is, I think, and it says a lot about him.
Deep down, the Doctor is possibly one of the darkest characters in the entire show.
This was an intense, emotional episode for all the characters. It looks like next week's could also be rather dark. Moffat isn't afraid to have episodes that go to some dark places, which is one of the things that I've always appreciated about his writing and I'm loving about his take on Doctor Who. Simon Nye seems to fit quite neatly into the Doctor Who way of telling stories.
Now, how many children are going to refuse to go to Sunday lunch with their grandparents after watching that?
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no subject
Date: 2010-05-16 01:41 am (UTC)The Doctor as the Dream Lord--I didn't realize it, either, but it makes so much sense. They're very much alike, and the Doctor, of all people, knows just how much of a front he puts on. He was mocking himself, bitterly, all his self-hatred that lies underneath the vanity and arrogance spewing out. It's a great insight into the Doctor, who is, indeed, the darkest character on the show.
no subject
Date: 2010-05-16 11:14 am (UTC)The Doctor has to really fight his dark side. We know what happens when it comes out (WoM). The Dreamlord (why didn't we pick up on that name sooner?) is much smaller than the Doctor, so his dark side is a relatively small part of his psyche.
The two dreams being the Doctor's and Rory's. It's obvious why Rory dreamed the perfect life with Amy and a baby. The Doctor's being a frozen tardis? Is this indicative of him wishing to have nothing change; to keep everything as it is? For a man who has seen so many people come and go, nothing being permanent for him, the eternal nomad; wishing he could keep this time when he is happy, seems natural.
As to Amy's choice. Perhaps it is the Doctor's subconscious manifesting itself to force Amy to choose between the two. The Doctor knows that he can't give Amy forever. He doesn't want to give Amy forever and she has man that loves her very much, but she can't see that. The Doctor tried to get her to realise in the previous episode, but that didn't quite work out as planned, so he was probably figuring out what to do next when the pollen struck.
So Amy has now realised that she does want Rory, but she wants to live a bit first. Rory, hopefully has realised that the Doctor is not a threat, but also he might need to compromise his dream a bit to keep Amy happy.
Sorry for rambling. Hope that makes sense.