Doctor Who: Amy's Choice...

[fajrdrako]

I don't think there's anything I can say about this episode outside the cut tag...

One thing I really don't like in movies, television or novels, is dreams. Funny, then, that I'm a fan of The Sandman, but maybe it's that comics, being a different sort of reality, present dreams differently. Or maybe it's just Neal Gaiman.

In any case, I don't like stories about dreams. Never could stand Alice in Wonderland.

So I had a whopping bias against this story as soon as it was clear we were in dreams. A level of discomfort... Though there were things about it that I liked very much indeed.

1. Amy's pregnancy! And the way she kept pretending to go into labour to freak out the men.
   
   
2. Rory's pony tail. I thought he looked terrific with it. Broke my heart when he cut it off.
   
   
3. The cold sun. Interesting, scary idea.
   
   
4. I liked it that both sceanrios were dreams.
   
   
5. I loved it that the Dream Lord turned out to be the Doctor's projection.
   
   
6. That being so, does it mean the Doctor set it up to make Amy choose Rory over him? Another stratagem to keep a companion at arm's length before she can get too close? Since I love the idea of shipping Amy with the Doctor (and Rory too), I'm not too crazy over that theme.
   
   
7. But I loved, totally loved, all the romantic stuff between Amy and Rory. They're cute together.
   
   
8. I had hoped that revisiting Leadworth would raise (and explain) things about it from the first episode of the season. But of course it couldn't, because it really wasn't Leadworth. I wanted to see Geoff and his Gran again. Where would they be, five years down the line? Is Geoff Prime Minister yet?
   
   
9. Does Rory really want to become a Doctor?
   
   
10. Would Amy really paint her baby's room that hideous shade of yellow? Poor kid.
    
    
11. I liked the castle.
    
    
12. It was creepy when the children all died.
    
    
13. Didn't like the old folk with creatures in their mouths. Hokey.
    
    
14. I liked the way the Doctor's fears, frustrations, and guilt came out through the voice of the Dream Lord. That being said... nothing much was resolved, and that strikes me as a tease on several levels. The Doctor's problems in relating to people always seems like a falsehood to me: if breaks my suspension of disbelief. The reason he leaves his companions has to do with the nature of serial television, not with his situation, and in attempting to write it into his psychological make-up usually misfires. Though it worked well in "The Doctor's Daughter", and very well through all of first series.
    
    
15. One of the reasons I don't like dream stories is that things don't make sense, because things don't have to make sense. It makes for cheap plotting.
    
    
16. My affection for Eleven had risen dramatically with "The Vampires of Venice", and sunk again with this one.
    
    
17. My budgies liked all the birdsong in the episode.