Imaginary Friends
A dragon lives forever, but not so little boys
Painted rings and giant's rings make way for other toys.
One grey night it happened, Jackie Paper came no more
And Puff that mighty dragon, he ceased his fearless roar.
--Puff the Magic Dragon
We're told that our imaginary friends have to fade away as we grow away--that their deaths are a natural part of our lives. On some level, I suppose it's true that we have to give up childhood to become adults. But I've never wanted to believe that the two are mutually exclusive, that keeping one's ties to childhood is a sign of arrested development.
I loved Puff the Magic Dragon as a child, but it's always made me sad. Puff is essentially abandoned by his creator, and the additional verse where he finds a new friend always felt tacked-on and not quite right. I always felt like it dumbed the song down somehow--undermining its message without really ameliorating the pain.
The Big Bang hits the same nerve for me as Puff the Magic Dragon does, but in a different way. It's so, so happy, to the point of being a little bit heartbreaking. Series 5 has dealt with some of the same themes as Puff the Magic Dragon does--of Fairy Tales, of magic, of imagination and childhood and play. It has the same lead-up to the seemingly inevitable conclusion. Amy is growing up. The universe needs saving. Nothing seems to be left for the Doctor but to step into the cracks.
And he does. He says his goodbyes to Amy the child so that Amy the woman can go on with her life. But Amy the woman remembers him and calls him back. So he comes, and he watches her dance with her husband, and he dances with the children. And then, content, he prepares to go.
Amy and Rory won't hear of it. So what is their first act as a married couple, as adults? They bid the world goodbye and fly away in the TARDIS.
It's a beautiful ending, but more than that, it's a beautiful statement about what growing up really means. About never losing your faith or your sense of whimsy. About not abandoning people who sacrifice for you and play with you and love you from the bottom of their hearts.
It made me want to run and give my parents a hug. It made me remember that happy endings are possible.
It reminds me of this verse:
"Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these." -Matthew 19:14
Painted rings and giant's rings make way for other toys.
One grey night it happened, Jackie Paper came no more
And Puff that mighty dragon, he ceased his fearless roar.
--Puff the Magic Dragon
We're told that our imaginary friends have to fade away as we grow away--that their deaths are a natural part of our lives. On some level, I suppose it's true that we have to give up childhood to become adults. But I've never wanted to believe that the two are mutually exclusive, that keeping one's ties to childhood is a sign of arrested development.
I loved Puff the Magic Dragon as a child, but it's always made me sad. Puff is essentially abandoned by his creator, and the additional verse where he finds a new friend always felt tacked-on and not quite right. I always felt like it dumbed the song down somehow--undermining its message without really ameliorating the pain.
The Big Bang hits the same nerve for me as Puff the Magic Dragon does, but in a different way. It's so, so happy, to the point of being a little bit heartbreaking. Series 5 has dealt with some of the same themes as Puff the Magic Dragon does--of Fairy Tales, of magic, of imagination and childhood and play. It has the same lead-up to the seemingly inevitable conclusion. Amy is growing up. The universe needs saving. Nothing seems to be left for the Doctor but to step into the cracks.
And he does. He says his goodbyes to Amy the child so that Amy the woman can go on with her life. But Amy the woman remembers him and calls him back. So he comes, and he watches her dance with her husband, and he dances with the children. And then, content, he prepares to go.
Amy and Rory won't hear of it. So what is their first act as a married couple, as adults? They bid the world goodbye and fly away in the TARDIS.
It's a beautiful ending, but more than that, it's a beautiful statement about what growing up really means. About never losing your faith or your sense of whimsy. About not abandoning people who sacrifice for you and play with you and love you from the bottom of their hearts.
It made me want to run and give my parents a hug. It made me remember that happy endings are possible.
It reminds me of this verse:
"Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these." -Matthew 19:14