Doctor Who 5x07: Amy's Choice

[kerravonsen]

Yes, I am very behind. C'est la vie.
I liked this episode. It was twisty in the plot side, but also twisty in the character side, which is what made it really good.

Doctor Who is cheesy enough that one really couldn't be sure which one was a dream. The village was like something one would come across in the Sarah-Jane Adventures, and the "cold star" is just the kind of bad science that the show gets away with all the time.

I really liked the double twist at the end, that
(a) they were BOTH a dream
(b) it was the Doctor's dark side that was the "Dream Lord".

So full of self-doubt, the Doctor is. That's why what the Dream Lord said cut him to the quick so much. I loved how this made the Doctor feel less perfect, more real.

It was so very poignant, how Amy basically said that she didn't want to live without Rory; that for her, crashing the van was no choice at all, because either way, it was the only way to see Rory again. And I love, love, love that it looks like we're going to have requited love in the TARDIS, no more companions pining after the Doctor, or jealous ex-boyfriends, because here the boyfriend is not ex- and not jealous (not jealous any more, at least). Thank goodness. Companions pining after the Doctor was starting to get old.

Again with the Peter-Pan-and-Wendy theme:
Rory: "We all have to grow up sometime."
Amy: "No we don't."


So now I see what folks meant about "wait and see" in regard to Amy and the Doctor.

Darn it, I still haven't made myself an 11th-Doctor icon!

Comments

[sallymn.livejournal.com]

I may need one too - Sis and I watched Amy's Choice on Sunday and we both thoroughly enjoyed it :)

[sahiya.livejournal.com]

My favorite episode of the season thus far, this episode is.

[kerravonsen]

That makes me worry about the episodes that follow...

[sahiya.livejournal.com]

Oh, no, that's not what I meant. I've enjoyed a lot of the episodes this season. This one just stands out for me.

[kerravonsen]

Whew!

[kalypso-v.livejournal.com]

I liked this episode very much, though I thought the plot didn't quite work, because I was always sure the village story couldn't be real. Yes, one can jump a story arc several years forward, or introduce a baby to the cast - Xena did both - but it didn't make sense given that we've already been told that the crucial date in the story arc is 26 June 2010, which is clearly the wedding day. So there had to be another twist, and I got rather impatient waiting for it - except that I adore Toby Jones (who I think would make a brilliant Doctor if they weren't so obsessed by having an action man) so I was hanging on his every appearance.

And I did like Amy's decision, and the fact that the Doctor went along with it, getting into the van with her even though he wasn't sure at the time whether that life was real (would he have died for good, or just wasted a regeneration?). Though I note he didn't ask for anyone's consent before crashing the TARDIS in the second dream!

And it did have one of the best Who lines ever, in context (see my icon).

[kerravonsen]

I agree that it was fairly obvious that the village story wasn't real, but that didn't make it boring, because I was interested in the characters' reactions to it all. I wasn't expecting there to be another twist, so I'm glad that it surprised me.

"Only one person"? I don't remember that (feels embarrassed).

[kalypso-v.livejournal.com]

About halfway through - just before the confrontation with the crowd on zimmer frames - the Doctor tells the Dream Lord that of course he knows who he is: "There's only one person in the universe who hates me as much as you do."

[kerravonsen]

Ah. Oh yes, very apropos.

[vilakins.livejournal.com]

I was pleased the cold sun wasn't real, but you're right: it's the sort of fantasy they use in DW. I didn't enjoy the episode as much as others--especially the most recent one--but I did like how much Amy and Rory loved each other.

[kerravonsen]

I'm glad there are other good episodes to look forward to.