Doctor Who 6x11

[sholio]

We got caught up on the last few episodes of DW tonight. And all I can say is OH THANK HEAVENS THEY DIDN'T DIE. :D :D :D :D

I'd known for awhile that some sort of Companion shakeup was coming -- specifically I knew that Arthur Darvill was leaving, and suspected that Karen Gillan might be. I just didn't really know when. Or how. And this ... okay, there are some things about Moffat's tenure on DW that I'm not quite on board with, but this really worked for me. It reminded me a lot of Martha's departure, her decision to stop being in the Doctor's orbit, go out there and have a life that didn't revolve around him -- to be an equal and an independent person rather than a Companion. I liked that a lot. And I liked this a lot, for similar reasons.

I think I talked back in season five about how I had a hard uphill road in liking Amy (though I did come around eventually) because I was frustrated by how her world not only revolved around the Doctor, but she had no life at all apart from trying to get back to the Doctor whenever she wasn't with him. And I really liked that this episode ended up with Amy, basically, growing up -- not being stuck all her life as the girl who waits, but internalizing that he isn't the center of the universe, and then moving on, going off and having a life somewhere else. She'll always treasure her time with him, always care about him, but that's not going to be her whole life. She has other things to do now.

I expect that Amy and Rory will continue to recur occasionally, as RTD-era Companions did, and I'm looking forward to that, but right now I'm just SO relieved that they didn't end up separated or dead or otherwise horribly broken. They're married, happy, and moving on (together) to whatever comes next for them. And I'm delighted about that.

(Or the show could throw me for a loop and they could come back and be Companions again next week. Who knows. Still, right now I'm on a happy relief high, and I'm really looking forward to finding out who/what the next Companion(s) might be!)

...

Also, husband had a positively brilliant guess as to who kills the Doctor: the Doctor does. And he's wearing the spacesuit to prevent a paradox. I ... am in awe, because that absolutely sounds like the kind of twist that the show would do. I have no idea why or how, but after the final scene with the Overgoat (sorry, too much Echo Bazaar) minotaur, it really does seem as if they might be setting us up for something like that.

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Comments

[naye]

Oooh, interesting thoughts!

...I actually didn't know Arthur Darvill was leaving. I don't know how I've avoided that spoiler, but. Yeah. I had no idea a Companion-shakeup was coming, so the ending took me by surprise! I'm still hoping that maybe they'll show up again - I mean, they have to. But then again, I am also very glad that they're alive, and happy, and unbroken. That is... good. SO GOOD.

I loved the episode, I thought it was creepy and poignant and powerful in lots of good ways.

ALSO. Oh, Orion is brilliant! That's... an excellent theory. EXCELLENT. Will have to go think really hard about it now. Hm.

[sholio]

I don't think it was a really well-publicized spoiler, but I stumbled across it somewhere. There's more information on this discussion on my LJ, actually (totally non-spoilery now, since the only advance spoiler is, well, that he's leaving *g*) ... and hey, xparrot totally called what actually happened. XD I remembered that someone on my flist had guessed it, that what was going to happen was Amy and Rory settling down somewhere.

I've seen some reactions on my flist that are upset about the general heteronormativity (dammit, LJ spell check, that IS SO a word XD) of Amy and Rory's ending -- "growing up" = "settling down with a husband" -- but, I don't know, I am sympathetic to that (and maybe even a little conflicted about my own very positive reaction to their happy ending), and yet I don't really see that as being the defining feature of either Amy's departure or the relationship that she and Rory have. He came along with her for years through all kinds of dangers because it was something that she wanted to do and he wanted to be with her while she did it. Then she got to a mental place where she was ready to bid farewell to the time-traveling lifestyle and was more on the same page with Rory in wanting a safer, more pedestrian life ... again with him. But they waited to settle down until she was ready for it. I am only seeing good things here!

... and isn't Orion clever? He said that, and I went "... oh. Wow. That would fit SO WELL." I'm still not sure how it fits with all we know about River and her timeline, but I was thinking there was going to be a twist in there somewhere -- they've been so blatantly signposting "River killed the Doctor!" that there had to be more to it than that. And this strikes me as very much a Who sort of twist.

[wemblee.livejournal.com]

I have nothing to say except LOLOL OVERGOAT.

[sholio]

*giggles* I have no idea if the Overgoat is actually anything useful in Echo Bazaar or if it's just there for amusement value, but it's a great word. :D

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

That parting had great timing since I've been itching to see a new companion step in. Nothing against Amy and Rory but I felt the show had become a bit too Amy centric, that instead of going around and saving the world/universe they were going around saving Amy.

I thought this parting interesting not just because it was such a quiet, simple parting with no one dying but because the Doctor was actively letting go as well. The Doctor was the one who made the decision to bring them home and was the one to make the "Can't travel any more because it's too dangerous" speech rather than the companion. I thought it was cool that it went both ways and that the Doctor is learning to let go just as much as the companions.

Ooh, nice theory :D What I'm wondering is if it's some kind of elaborate plan against the Silence or if this really is meant to be the Doctor's last adventure. The latter I kind of doubt, especially since they've set it up so that the Doctor could be faking his death for whatever reason.

[sholio]

Two seasons is a long run for the same Companion anyway. And one of the things I like about Who is that they mix it up all the time -- if you don't like one season, just wait 'til next season and things will be different. :D I've enjoyed the Amy & Rory era, but I'm looking forward to seeing what the next thing will be! (And yeah, I don't think that I feel as if the spotlight has been on Amy per se, but there has been a really discomfort-inducing Amy-in-distress theme to this season. I am pretty sure that past Companions didn't get kidnapped that much. LESS OF THAT, WRITERS, PLEASE!)

What will the next Companion beeeee~! I would love to see a Companion who's not from Earth this time, or from a very different era of Earth's history, or not human at all. So far, all of the New Who Companions have been from Earth in our time, and I'd love to see the dynamic shift with a character who finds modern Earth a little bit alien.

I'm wondering is if it's some kind of elaborate plan against the Silence

Oh, that is an interesting thought as well! The idea that the whole thing was staged for the benefit of the Silence or some other enemy ... HMMM. That is a possibility!

I do not for a moment believe that this is the Doctor's last outing, though. I really don't think that the writers would box themselves in like that, not with the show doing very well and remaining quite popular.