The legs, the nose, and Mrs. Robinson
OMG YOU GUYS THAT MADE ME SO HAPPY!!!!!!!
There really was so very much to love in the episode, and I'm on tenterhooks!
I loved the juxtaposition of light and dark in the episode. There's the stunning, sun-soaked vistas of Monument Valley contrasted with the dim Oval Offfice and the pitch-black building and tunnels at the end.
Events, too, are both light and dark. There's a lovely picnic scene followed by the death and dark funeral of the Doctor. Then, a fun romp in the Oval Office followed by a death in the White House bathroom. There's banter and typical Doctor geekery in the spooky building followed by River's heartbreaking story and Amy shooting a little girl. I relished every moment of it.
Just beautiful.
So sad...
There are a lot of rumors and speculation floating around, and there are a few I just can't get behind. I'm going to give my two cents on everything that's been flying around.
1. River is Amy/Amy & Rory's daughter - I've never been a fan of "River is Romana, or the Rani, or ______" theories. I strongly believe that River is herself. Unlike Amy's, her life makes perfect sense in a weird way, it's a self-fulfilling prophecy. She meets the Doctor when he has no idea who she is, and she remembers his future. When she meets the Doctor for the first time, he's remembering her future. I love the symmetry.
2. River is the girl in the astronaut suit - A lot of people are saying this because of all the talk last season about "killing a good man," and assume that means the Doctor. You have to really suspend your disbelief for this to be true. For one, why wouldn't River remember killing the Doctor as a girl in a spacesuit? If she didn't remember, what does she think she's in Stormcage for? For another, the murder took place in 2011, why would she be imprisoned in 2154 for a murder committed in 2011? Do the Shadow Proclamation even have jurisdiction on Earth? I seem to recall that was the reason the Judoon had to take Martha's hospital to the moon (sometimes this show sounds ridiculous, I love it).
3. It was Canton/Amy/Rory/the Silent in the spacesuit - No, I think it's still the little girl. Now if only we knew who she is...
4. Amy isn't pregnant - I can get behind this one hundred percent. I know Moffatt (and the cast) has said that everyone's hiding something, but I don't believe Amy's secret is pregnancy. She had a bit of nausea sure, but so did River. I agree with those who say that the nausea is an after-effect of the Silent(ce?), that she interprets as a sign of pregnancy. If you notice, before she tells the Doctor, there are no clear indications this is true, and the revelation seems to have just occurred to her. Bolstering this idea is part of the synopsis from episode two, namely:
For the world is occupied by an alien force who control humanity through post-hypnotic suggestion and no one can be trusted.
Post-hypnotic suggestion! I think that says it all.
5. Future!Doctor had a plan - Another theory I'm behind wholeheartedly. You can see the heartbreak in his eyes at the picnic, dreading having to put his companions through the upcoming ordeal. You can visibly see his shoulders slump when facing the astronaut, he definitely knew what was coming, and he has a plan to fix it, if not prevent his death entirely.
6. The faux TARDIS is the same one from "The Lodger" - Well, it's not the same, the other one blew up. But I'm pretty certain it doesn't belong to the Silent either. The reason the "Lodger" one couldn't leave Earth was because the crew was dead. Next week's synopsis would have us believe that the Silent are everywhere. Why would the ship go into crash protocol if the crew were still hanging about on Earth? I think the Silent found the faux TARDIS or killed the original crew, and are trying to get it working again, to no avail. I wonder then, if the little girl is another crash protocol (doesn't make sense, we can see her face, and the trailer for next week suggests she is solid, not a hologram), and why the Silent seem to be huddling in the tunnels.
WHO ARE YOU!?!?
Other thoughts:
The music was wonderful! The astronaut motif was haunting and emotionally gut-wrenching.
Next week looks amazing! I can't wait to see what the marks on the faces mean. Or why River is at the Empire State Building, and Amy in a disused orphanage, and Rory at the Hoover Dam. It looks incredibly epic, and I want it to be next week now!
Screencaps by rawr_caps
*****
Day 27 - Why are you doing this 30 day challenge.
I chose to do this meme to try and get myself into writing something every day. It didn't quite work out as planned. I took a few days off from writing whenever life got in the way, and now I seem to have gotten into the habit of posting every other day. I'll need to find something else that inspires me to write everyday.
There really was so very much to love in the episode, and I'm on tenterhooks!
I loved the juxtaposition of light and dark in the episode. There's the stunning, sun-soaked vistas of Monument Valley contrasted with the dim Oval Offfice and the pitch-black building and tunnels at the end.
Events, too, are both light and dark. There's a lovely picnic scene followed by the death and dark funeral of the Doctor. Then, a fun romp in the Oval Office followed by a death in the White House bathroom. There's banter and typical Doctor geekery in the spooky building followed by River's heartbreaking story and Amy shooting a little girl. I relished every moment of it.
Just beautiful.
So sad...
There are a lot of rumors and speculation floating around, and there are a few I just can't get behind. I'm going to give my two cents on everything that's been flying around.
1. River is Amy/Amy & Rory's daughter - I've never been a fan of "River is Romana, or the Rani, or ______" theories. I strongly believe that River is herself. Unlike Amy's, her life makes perfect sense in a weird way, it's a self-fulfilling prophecy. She meets the Doctor when he has no idea who she is, and she remembers his future. When she meets the Doctor for the first time, he's remembering her future. I love the symmetry.
2. River is the girl in the astronaut suit - A lot of people are saying this because of all the talk last season about "killing a good man," and assume that means the Doctor. You have to really suspend your disbelief for this to be true. For one, why wouldn't River remember killing the Doctor as a girl in a spacesuit? If she didn't remember, what does she think she's in Stormcage for? For another, the murder took place in 2011, why would she be imprisoned in 2154 for a murder committed in 2011? Do the Shadow Proclamation even have jurisdiction on Earth? I seem to recall that was the reason the Judoon had to take Martha's hospital to the moon (sometimes this show sounds ridiculous, I love it).
3. It was Canton/Amy/Rory/the Silent in the spacesuit - No, I think it's still the little girl. Now if only we knew who she is...
4. Amy isn't pregnant - I can get behind this one hundred percent. I know Moffatt (and the cast) has said that everyone's hiding something, but I don't believe Amy's secret is pregnancy. She had a bit of nausea sure, but so did River. I agree with those who say that the nausea is an after-effect of the Silent(ce?), that she interprets as a sign of pregnancy. If you notice, before she tells the Doctor, there are no clear indications this is true, and the revelation seems to have just occurred to her. Bolstering this idea is part of the synopsis from episode two, namely:
For the world is occupied by an alien force who control humanity through post-hypnotic suggestion and no one can be trusted.
Post-hypnotic suggestion! I think that says it all.
5. Future!Doctor had a plan - Another theory I'm behind wholeheartedly. You can see the heartbreak in his eyes at the picnic, dreading having to put his companions through the upcoming ordeal. You can visibly see his shoulders slump when facing the astronaut, he definitely knew what was coming, and he has a plan to fix it, if not prevent his death entirely.
6. The faux TARDIS is the same one from "The Lodger" - Well, it's not the same, the other one blew up. But I'm pretty certain it doesn't belong to the Silent either. The reason the "Lodger" one couldn't leave Earth was because the crew was dead. Next week's synopsis would have us believe that the Silent are everywhere. Why would the ship go into crash protocol if the crew were still hanging about on Earth? I think the Silent found the faux TARDIS or killed the original crew, and are trying to get it working again, to no avail. I wonder then, if the little girl is another crash protocol (doesn't make sense, we can see her face, and the trailer for next week suggests she is solid, not a hologram), and why the Silent seem to be huddling in the tunnels.
WHO ARE YOU!?!?
Other thoughts:
The music was wonderful! The astronaut motif was haunting and emotionally gut-wrenching.
Next week looks amazing! I can't wait to see what the marks on the faces mean. Or why River is at the Empire State Building, and Amy in a disused orphanage, and Rory at the Hoover Dam. It looks incredibly epic, and I want it to be next week now!
Screencaps by rawr_caps
*****
Day 27 - Why are you doing this 30 day challenge.
I chose to do this meme to try and get myself into writing something every day. It didn't quite work out as planned. I took a few days off from writing whenever life got in the way, and now I seem to have gotten into the habit of posting every other day. I'll need to find something else that inspires me to write everyday.