"Amy's Choice" reaction post
Jun. 11th, 2010 05:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dbskylerJust some quick thoughts about "Amy's Choice" that I finally feel ready to get down:
-- If I've heard correctly, that was the first time that writer Simon Nye ever wrote for Doctor Who. That's amazing. He really showed a deep understanding of the show, and of the character of the Doctor.
-- Overall, it was a strong episode that I really enjoyed. It's well-constructed and it holds up to multiple viewings, plus it's an episode that I actually wanted to watch multiple times. In fact, it gets even more interesting to watch once you know that it's the Doctor's psyche that's on display.
-- I suspected that the TARDIS was the real world the first time through, but I wasn't sure. That actually says a lot about Moffat's storytelling right there -- I honestly believed that it was possible that we were seeing an episode set five years in the future, and that somehow it would get all tied in without us getting stuck with pregnant!Amy (or mother!Amy) for the rest of the series.
-- I had no idea who the Dream Lord was going to be. I wondered if it would turn out to be the Black Guardian, or someone from the First or Second Doctor's era whom I don't know (like the Mind Robber or something, but I haven't seen that episode so I don't know if that would've made sense). Having it be the Doctor himself was very intriguing.
-- I love the little digs the Dream Lord got in, all of which are even more poignant once you know who he is. "The old man prefers the company of the young" and "Friends are people you stay in touch with" were two especially telling lines of dialogue.
-- My one complaint about the episode is that there is no feeling at the end that anyone was ever actually in danger at any point. On the one hand that makes sense -- given that the Dream Lord is the Doctor, I actually like the idea that he would never harm his companions no matter what. But on the other hand, it would've been nice if they had all been doomed to die until the Doctor figured out that neither world was real. I suppose that if he hadn't figured it out they would've kept on dreaming, and doing that forever isn't such a great life, but if that was meant to be a horrific fate that the Doctor saved them from, that should've been underlined a little more. As it was, the ending seemed more like "Sorry, I'll try not to dream so loudly next time." Still very interesting, but in Doctor Who I feel a little cheated unless we get an averted catastrophe or two.
-- As for Amy choosing Rory over the Doctor, it's interesting that it appears to be exactly what the Dream Lord wanted to happen all along. The creation of Rory's ideal life and the Dream Lord's conversation with Amy both point to encouraging Amy to recognize the drawbacks to life with the Doctor and her love for Rory -- a message the wide-awake Doctor delivers again at the end. But the whole "choice" thing wasn't that big of a thing for me; I guess I always just assumed she could have both Rory and the Doctor, especially since she doesn't seem stuck on the "I'll travel in the TARDIS forever" scenario we've seen with some other companions. Maybe the "choice" dilemma would've worked better if at the beginning of the episode Rory had given Amy an ultimatum -- come home with me right now or else -- which he would then recant by the end? But then I doubt that Rory would follow through on that, or that Amy would ever believe such an ultimatum.
-- If I've heard correctly, that was the first time that writer Simon Nye ever wrote for Doctor Who. That's amazing. He really showed a deep understanding of the show, and of the character of the Doctor.
-- Overall, it was a strong episode that I really enjoyed. It's well-constructed and it holds up to multiple viewings, plus it's an episode that I actually wanted to watch multiple times. In fact, it gets even more interesting to watch once you know that it's the Doctor's psyche that's on display.
-- I suspected that the TARDIS was the real world the first time through, but I wasn't sure. That actually says a lot about Moffat's storytelling right there -- I honestly believed that it was possible that we were seeing an episode set five years in the future, and that somehow it would get all tied in without us getting stuck with pregnant!Amy (or mother!Amy) for the rest of the series.
-- I had no idea who the Dream Lord was going to be. I wondered if it would turn out to be the Black Guardian, or someone from the First or Second Doctor's era whom I don't know (like the Mind Robber or something, but I haven't seen that episode so I don't know if that would've made sense). Having it be the Doctor himself was very intriguing.
-- I love the little digs the Dream Lord got in, all of which are even more poignant once you know who he is. "The old man prefers the company of the young" and "Friends are people you stay in touch with" were two especially telling lines of dialogue.
-- My one complaint about the episode is that there is no feeling at the end that anyone was ever actually in danger at any point. On the one hand that makes sense -- given that the Dream Lord is the Doctor, I actually like the idea that he would never harm his companions no matter what. But on the other hand, it would've been nice if they had all been doomed to die until the Doctor figured out that neither world was real. I suppose that if he hadn't figured it out they would've kept on dreaming, and doing that forever isn't such a great life, but if that was meant to be a horrific fate that the Doctor saved them from, that should've been underlined a little more. As it was, the ending seemed more like "Sorry, I'll try not to dream so loudly next time." Still very interesting, but in Doctor Who I feel a little cheated unless we get an averted catastrophe or two.
-- As for Amy choosing Rory over the Doctor, it's interesting that it appears to be exactly what the Dream Lord wanted to happen all along. The creation of Rory's ideal life and the Dream Lord's conversation with Amy both point to encouraging Amy to recognize the drawbacks to life with the Doctor and her love for Rory -- a message the wide-awake Doctor delivers again at the end. But the whole "choice" thing wasn't that big of a thing for me; I guess I always just assumed she could have both Rory and the Doctor, especially since she doesn't seem stuck on the "I'll travel in the TARDIS forever" scenario we've seen with some other companions. Maybe the "choice" dilemma would've worked better if at the beginning of the episode Rory had given Amy an ultimatum -- come home with me right now or else -- which he would then recant by the end? But then I doubt that Rory would follow through on that, or that Amy would ever believe such an ultimatum.
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Date: 2010-06-12 06:57 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-06-12 07:11 am (UTC)