Thoughts on "The Impossible Astronaut." (6x01)
Disclaimer: As I'm not entirely caught up with the previous seasons, I expect that my interpretation of the events in the current season may or will be skewed. So please bear with me. :)
"The Impossible Astronaut" (6x01)
A part of me feels silly for feeling so lost, and confused, and dazed, and heartbroken, and mad over the events in "The Impossible Astronaut." After all, we were fairly warned. This season isn't going to be all roses and skips in the park; it's going to be dark, and unsettling, and mindboggling. And plus, the episode was the first of a two-parter. No duh we're going to have more questions than answers! But still, I feel the need to vent, to siphon, to validate what I felt - what I'm still feeling - after having watched the episode last night, because I'm human, and emotional, and a major sucker for good, twisted stories and good, twisted storytelling.
I knew from the beginning that the episode was going to be dark. The synopsis hinted as much. As did several Tumblr blogs. But I had no idea that the episode was going to be this twisted. Within the first ten minutes of the episode, the Doctor is killed. This is no hallucination, no bad dream. Or is it? Brmm brrrrmmmmm. The Doctor, the future self of the 900-year-old one in Amy's present, is killed. And by the hand of someone the Doctor knew and was expecting.
This simple observation exploded in my head into a hundred different splintering questions. How did the Doctor know he was going to his death? (Or, to counter: Did he know he was going to his death?) How does anybody know they're going to die, where and when? Was the death fated? Or was it a result of a wrong decision? (Like those choose-your-own-ending books from the '90s.) Who sent the invitations? Was it really the future Doctor? What does the sender want to accomplish, hope to accomplish? Can the Doctor's death be rewritten? Or by trying to change history, will the Doctor and co. actually ensure the death? (I'm thinking Oedipus.) Who are the creepies? What is the point of them? What is the extent of their powers? (We already know they make you forget the moment you look away. But what exactly do you forget? How much of your memory is erased? Can they not only erase your memory, but alter it? Make you remember things that didn't really happen, or that you didn't do?) How are they wrapped up in the Doctor's death? Is Amy really pregnant? (I don't think so... she and River both felt nauseous right after seeing the creepies. Hence my question about the creepies' powers. So what if she put on a few pounds?) Why is it so important that the Doctor know this, or rather hear this? Who is the girl? Why is she calling Nixon? Why is she with the creepies? What is she doing in the astronaut suit? How is she even in the astronaut suit? She's too small for such a huge thing. Is she what she appears to be? Is she really a little girl? Is she even human? Is she even real? Is she a hologram? Is she an illusion? Is she the same astronaut Amy and co. saw killing the future Doctor? What do the creepies want with NASA's gear and the moon landing? What are they doing in those underground tunnels? Why do they disappear? Why do they make you forget? What is their mission, their intention, their motive? What beef do they have with the Doctor?
And on and on and on.
I tried to come up with a theory last night - something, anything, to explain what happened in the episode - but I just couldn't do it. There's just too many questions, too many uncertainties, too much to double-guess. And not enough info, not enough context, no confidence in the "facts." (Because, really, what did we just see? Time playing out naturally, or time being rewritten? What are we absolutely certain of? What did we assume to be certain?) Basically: we have no freaking way to figure out what just happened, until more information and context is presented to us in future episodes. And even then, I don't think everything will be made clear. Which kills and intrigues me.
MOFFAT, YOU BRILLIANT HORRIBLE SADISTIC WONDERFUL WRITER, YOU.
P. S. - Thoughts and comments welcomed! I don't care if it's just incessant flailing, or incoherent speech, or half-formed thoughts, or Jennifer, you idiot! You've got it all wrong!. I just want to hear something. No one in my offline social circle follows Doctor Who, and it's going to drive me straight up a wall if I'm to be left alone with all my thoughts.
"The Impossible Astronaut" (6x01)
A part of me feels silly for feeling so lost, and confused, and dazed, and heartbroken, and mad over the events in "The Impossible Astronaut." After all, we were fairly warned. This season isn't going to be all roses and skips in the park; it's going to be dark, and unsettling, and mindboggling. And plus, the episode was the first of a two-parter. No duh we're going to have more questions than answers! But still, I feel the need to vent, to siphon, to validate what I felt - what I'm still feeling - after having watched the episode last night, because I'm human, and emotional, and a major sucker for good, twisted stories and good, twisted storytelling.
I knew from the beginning that the episode was going to be dark. The synopsis hinted as much. As did several Tumblr blogs. But I had no idea that the episode was going to be this twisted. Within the first ten minutes of the episode, the Doctor is killed. This is no hallucination, no bad dream. Or is it? Brmm brrrrmmmmm. The Doctor, the future self of the 900-year-old one in Amy's present, is killed. And by the hand of someone the Doctor knew and was expecting.
This simple observation exploded in my head into a hundred different splintering questions. How did the Doctor know he was going to his death? (Or, to counter: Did he know he was going to his death?) How does anybody know they're going to die, where and when? Was the death fated? Or was it a result of a wrong decision? (Like those choose-your-own-ending books from the '90s.) Who sent the invitations? Was it really the future Doctor? What does the sender want to accomplish, hope to accomplish? Can the Doctor's death be rewritten? Or by trying to change history, will the Doctor and co. actually ensure the death? (I'm thinking Oedipus.) Who are the creepies? What is the point of them? What is the extent of their powers? (We already know they make you forget the moment you look away. But what exactly do you forget? How much of your memory is erased? Can they not only erase your memory, but alter it? Make you remember things that didn't really happen, or that you didn't do?) How are they wrapped up in the Doctor's death? Is Amy really pregnant? (I don't think so... she and River both felt nauseous right after seeing the creepies. Hence my question about the creepies' powers. So what if she put on a few pounds?) Why is it so important that the Doctor know this, or rather hear this? Who is the girl? Why is she calling Nixon? Why is she with the creepies? What is she doing in the astronaut suit? How is she even in the astronaut suit? She's too small for such a huge thing. Is she what she appears to be? Is she really a little girl? Is she even human? Is she even real? Is she a hologram? Is she an illusion? Is she the same astronaut Amy and co. saw killing the future Doctor? What do the creepies want with NASA's gear and the moon landing? What are they doing in those underground tunnels? Why do they disappear? Why do they make you forget? What is their mission, their intention, their motive? What beef do they have with the Doctor?
And on and on and on.
I tried to come up with a theory last night - something, anything, to explain what happened in the episode - but I just couldn't do it. There's just too many questions, too many uncertainties, too much to double-guess. And not enough info, not enough context, no confidence in the "facts." (Because, really, what did we just see? Time playing out naturally, or time being rewritten? What are we absolutely certain of? What did we assume to be certain?) Basically: we have no freaking way to figure out what just happened, until more information and context is presented to us in future episodes. And even then, I don't think everything will be made clear. Which kills and intrigues me.
MOFFAT, YOU BRILLIANT HORRIBLE SADISTIC WONDERFUL WRITER, YOU.
P. S. - Thoughts and comments welcomed! I don't care if it's just incessant flailing, or incoherent speech, or half-formed thoughts, or Jennifer, you idiot! You've got it all wrong!. I just want to hear something. No one in my offline social circle follows Doctor Who, and it's going to drive me straight up a wall if I'm to be left alone with all my thoughts.