Doctor Who: The Girl Who Waited

[kiki_eng]

I didn't hate it!

I was really expecting to, given the preview - where they showed this Cate Blanchett-esque warrior queen and had Rory doing this ~I must choose between two wives thing - and how I have been feeling about Moffat of late, but I did not.

I really liked older Amy. She was awesome - fierce, and hurt, and had built her own sonic device. Amy doing science and being a lone warrior was amazing. I loved warrior Amy. I loved her armor and her sword and her loneliness and her sad robot Rory. [It reminds me of SGA fic, actually, where (usually) Rodney loses John and then recreates him, in a VR or piece by piece, or any of a dozen other angsty heart-broken variations of that story, and just- Amy and Rory are that couple. They would do that. They have played out some of those stories. It would be so, so interesting, if decidedly unhappy television, to see one of them deal with that loss.] I loved her fighting. I loved her fighting the robots and I loved her fighting to live. Older Amy was fantastic.

I liked that it was older Amy who made that choice in the end. I liked that when it came down to it, it was not Rory making that choice. I liked that. That was also the point in the episode that I shouted "Star Trek!" They did The Glass scene. The Glass scene of "slash is what happens when..." They did that scene.

I, liked that, I think, for how it reinforces that argument? ...I am really, seriously thrown by that, though. It just feels so iconic to me that I feel that they must have known what they were doing.

The Doctor was really interesting in this episode. I liked the coat. (We've seen the coat before; it was nice then, too.) The Doctor was dark. That was interesting. I really enjoy how fiercely he ships Amy/Rory. So, there was a nice mix for me, this episode? I liked the kind of range that we got from him and the episode was really neat, just for how he went from giddily bouncing to hurt to hurting. I've been liking the exploration they've been doing recently of The Doctor fucks people up. That's been really good for me.

So, yeah, I liked this episode.

Comments

[readbystarlight]

Oh my God, you are so right about the glass scene, I didn't make that connection! And I was surprised too about liking it, though I feel like they've been hitting me over my head with "the Doctor lies" and puts people in bad situations, and the episodes have all been pretty scary/suspenseful episodes since the break (including next week). Though I also did like older Amy as well she was pretty bad ass.

[kiki_eng]

I'm kind of okay with The Doctor lies. as a thing. I mean, it is not a subtle theme at all, if that is what they are going for, but I'm good with it. I had not actually noticed the suspense thing (I keep getting thrown out of episodes.) but you are right. I feel like the first half of the season was a lot more light, so I guess it's a consequence of the episode re-sequencing that they did? Or that there are halves, I think?

Older Amy was excellent. I kind of want AU fic where she doesn't wait.

[calvinahobbes]

Wow, wow, wow. I definitely have to watch it again, but my main reaction was clearly DNW. The whole thing. Just, the whole thing is exactly what I hated the very most about Donna. And I was honestly expecting people to hate it? But it seems that everyone is surprised by how they didn't? I don't know, I have to think about this one!!

[calvinahobbes]

Okay, okay. I don't want to harsh your squee or like or whatever, so feel free to ignore the paragraph below. And I do see your point about, well, everything -- Karen was amazing, Arthur was amazing, the Rory!bot was a cool if skeevy idea...

But I basically agree with the things that are being said in t'wing's post, but not in an angry way? More like in a -- this was not my Doctor kind of way. And I really hated that Amy had to die JUST BECAUSE, or rather to underline (yet again) that the Doctor has Guilt. And I felt that it was all about Rory's grief about her death and not at all about her.... IDK, I am not angry or about to break up with the show or anything like that -- I am just really... weary of this sort of storyline :o/ (And I didn't catch the Glass ref, and if it was conscious I am maybe a little sad that they'd convert a huge Slash moment into something het-centric...?)

Sorry for moping all over your post! I should really just make my own post.

[kiki_eng]

:) No worries. I had harshed my own squee within something like fifteen minutes of posting that entry. (I just really, really didn't feel like writing about that at the time - I essentially went No. Bugger this. I am going to go read happy fic.)

Yeah. I don't know what to feel about the Glass thing. It's interesting to me and I wonder a lot about writer or directorial intent. I am wondering where the heck that came from, because, yeah - I kind of feel like you can't have done that not knowing about Kirk/Spock, but, I also haven't seen anyone else bring it up. I haven't seen slashers bring it up, so, it is very much possible that it was done without that awareness. (I feel like there is this whole giant post that you could write about original source material, slash, and intent. Text and fandom, a conversation, or something. ...because there's the interviews that people like RDJ and James McAvoy have been giving, fandom in Supernatural, and a chunk of other things, this included. - Moffat has talked about fanfic on twitter, I believe.) There is a really skeevy layer with the slash to het thing if there was that intentionality. ...and yeah, I don't know.

I would be interested in reading that post.

...and thingswithwings' post has a lot of really good points, and I think she is dead right in saying that this season is all about Rory. ...and we have seen a couple Amys die now, and I think it has been the less interesting version that's survived each time. I also feel like plastic Rory would have been a more interesting character to keep than the one we have and I prefer an Amy without parents. I think that Moffat gets a thrill out of finding neat and elegant "solutions", twisting things around and wrapping things up, and I think part of what he's doing by writing like that is making things boring; I think he's limiting both himself and the characters. I think this episode is a rewrite of some of RTD's stuff (which I liked better; I hate this rewriting time stuff so much) - just in terms of how the universe functions. Nine got the date wrong and Rose's mother put up desperate posters, searching for her daughter; he didn't go back. Eleven gets the date wrong and Amy's been alone for thirty-six years and then he undo-s her. I think an older Amy, who has lived, and suddenly (to the viewer and Rory and the Doctor) is that different person and has an age difference with her husband and everything else is a lot more interesting than the one we got to keep. She's more complicated.

This was also the fourth time, I think? that we had two Amys existing at the same time.

I enjoyed watching the episode, but it is very far from being without problems.

[kiki_eng]

Okay. So I am having weird techy posting issues with this.

Yeah, the Donna parallel was definitely something I noticed and didn't like. A lot of my positive reaction comes from We get to see Amy do things again! and trained down expectations, I think? (I haven't been liking some of the stuff that has been going on with Amy.)

I feel like there's a really strong fan divide on this episode? That most people either really liked it or hated it. I think that's largely down to what people have been feeling about the way that Amy has been being written and the gender stuff that has been happening? Some people have been looking at the episodes and growling things like What. Seriously. This is a thing now? That Amy is Rory's property and the Doctor asks permission to touch her? WHAT. (They did it again in Let's Kill Hitler.) The negative reaction that I've seen for this episode has all come from that place; I haven't seen people going after it for other faults or weaknesses.

[calvinahobbes]

Odd. I received a comment notif via e-mail for the previous comment just fine...

And like I said I can totally see your point, but yes -- it does feel just a bit too much like lowered expectations? Yes, Amy is awesome, but she only gets to be awesome in this really awful situation... So, yes, we agree.

It seems like there could be a strong divide? I am not seeking out commentary right now, just going back to reactions I openend in tabs. And it's exactly the gender stuff -- sort of on a systemic level, like I think t'wings says. (And yes, I noticed the permission thing in Hitler, and urgh.) While I agree that it's the gender politics that skeeve me, I'll also say I didn't find it a particularly thrilling episode? Compared to last week's ep, even, I thought it was lacking oomph on a narrative level... I think I am just going to pretend like this ep didn't happen -- which it didn't... O.o

[kiki_eng]

...possibly I am just having issues today; sorry about that.

I liked the palette of this episode.

I feel that the show may well let you keep that stance.