"Don't be fair to the Daleks when they're firing me at a planet!"
So, new Doctor Who - I rather liked it, actually, especially after such a long hiatus. I'm also loving that ABC iView are now streaming it immediately after the UK airing. Yay, legally obtained television!
I’ve made some of my pet peeves about Moffat known before, and one of those is that he loves to skip over what I consider to be important stuff. Amy tells the Doctor she’s preggers and shoots the Astronaut? Bam, three months later. Flesh!Amy melts and wakes up about to give birth? We never see Rory’s reaction or what happens to Amy immediately afterwards. River tells Amy and Rory she is their daughter? We have no idea what happens next, Amy and Rory are back on Earth waiting for the Doctor’s report.
And here, we have no build up to the deterioration of their relationship except for the final episode of Pond Life (and even then, it was sudden, and meant to be sudden and a shock after the voicemail/bedtime/Ood hijinks). But, that’s Moffat I guess, he likes to get on with the plot/action/consequences, and I know sometimes there’s no time for character scenes when there’s Dalek asylums to visit.
The Divorce. Now, let me just say that I was not opposed to it in principle - after all, I love angst, especially even the overdramatic kind, but I do wish there had been more build-up, or even that the reconciliation happened over several episodes. Is the “letting you go” because Amy can’t have children overdone and cliche? Yes. Was it unrealistic? I don’t think so.
I’ve seen a lot of criticism that Rory would never leave/divorce Amy after everything they’ve been through, 2000 years, blah blah. But I think Amy kicking him out would strike at the very heart of his insecurities that he maybe thought he was over. The core of Rory’s love for her, after all, is wanting Amy to be happy, to give her what she needs, even if it hurts him (i.e. Day of the Moon and swearing to bring the Doctor to her when Amy calls for him, despite it visibly breaking Rory’s heart.) Add to that anger and frustration at not knowing why she was kicking him out, I can see him stepping back and shutting down. Although in Pond Life it definitely seemed like he walked out on her and I wonder whether that will be re-visited. As far as I know, Pond Life was shot after the episodes as Karen was wearing a wig for Pond Life, but didn't seem to be wearing one in the "break-up" scenes.
As for Amy “letting him go” - I can see that as well. When she says “I can’t have children” he says “I know” - he was aware of her infertility so it wasn’t a case of her letting him go first for fear of him leaving her when he found out. It was done with the knowledge that he wouldn’t leave her because of it, and Amy’s fear that it would eventually lead to anger and resentment on his part that would break their relationship in a much more brutal way. It's telling that in The Doctor's Wife the fears House played on was Rory hating her for everything he'd been through and given up for her, so it makes sense that those fears would still be there. I think Amy made a pre-emptive strike to spare herself pain that, and yes, because she thought of it as a sacrifice for Rory’s sake.
I’ve also seen a lot of comments re: adoption, but really, I don’t think it was an issue of “having children” or even “having biological children” - Amy says “I can’t ever give you children” and I think she meant emotionally as much as physically. Whatever happened at Demon’s Run and with Melody/River meant she was physically infertile, but also scarred her emotionally to the point where she just couldn’t go through another pregnancy or have another child by any means.
And, really, I don’t blame Amy for slapping Rory after the 2000 years/I love you more than you love me comment, because really, it’s an awful thing to say. I don’t think Rory was throwing those 2000 years in her face or his frustration or feelings were unjustified, but really, it’s not fair to say to someone that your love is stronger or more enduring. Bad form, Rory, and as much as I love him, I probably would have slapped him too. Although I did love him trying to be “cold and logical” by giving her the bracelet, yet so transparently still in love with her and putting her life above his own.
So do I wish that the divorce/reconciliation had been handled better? Yes. But do I think Karen and Arthur killed it and made me 100% believe in it? Absolutely.
And can I just say how utterly amazing Rory was in this episode? Trying to reason with the Daleks by giving them their “eggs” and then being so shit scared of almost being killed he can’t remember his own name? So much love. I think that it why Rory is my favourite companion, is that one moment he can be utterly unimpressed and nonchalant (“how much trouble are we in?” “to be fair that is your M.O” and “what colour?”) and then the next minute be so terrified he doesn’t know his name. It’s a nice contrast to Amy’s (imo, false) bravado of “who’s scared? Geronimo” - although I do love Amy as well and all of her emotional problems.
I really will miss the Ponds *sigh*
So Oswin. I liked her, didn’t love her. I’m not a huge fan of when guests/companions are written as out-Doctoring the Doctor in their first appearance. JLC seems like a pretty good actress although I much preferred upset/scared/defiant/dalek Oswin to snarky/flirty/“feisty” (ugh) Oswin. If I never hear the word “feisty” again to describe a female character it will be too soon. Good subterfuge and subversion by Moffat, but really, in Amy and Rory’s last five episodes, I would have preferred to the focus to be on them rather than the new companion.
Not sure I really got the Dalek Asylum either - if the spaceship crashed a year ago why did they only now realise it? Or was the “one year” part of Oswin’s illusion she created for herself, perhaps. How come the Daleks are all too “scared” to go down to the Asylum but then ten minutes later the Doctor proclaims that “scared isn’t Dalek”? Why can the forcefield only be deactivated froim inside the planet?
But I do like that the Asylum really wasn’t that big a threat but it was more the idea of all these damaged Daleks that scared them and that they ended up being more pathetic than anything. The convo about hatred being beautiful as perhaps being the reason they couldn’t kill the Doctor was quite well done.