Sunday, 30 September 2012
The final farewell for Amy and Rory Pond, The Angels Take Manhattan was the
culmination of two and half series of adventuring with the Doctor. I didn’t
cry. Much.
Setting the tone for the bulk of the episode
was a very noir pre-titles sequence following a 1930s private detective,
trenchcoat and hat included, as he took a case from a shady pinstriped client
and encountered moving stone Angels. Brilliantly eerie and shot in a
fantastically terrorised version of the noir style, this rain-soaked opening
was a perfect way to start off the episode. He was even called Sam.
Then our favourite time travelling trio, trying
to have a relaxing picnic in Central Park, found themselves thrust into the
same situation. Taking a wrong turn while off to get coffee, Rory ended up
separated from Amy and the Doctor by 74 years. Poor guy. I sometimes mess up
navigating big cities too. This led Team TARDIS into an adventure bringing them
face to face with Professor River Song, Weeping Angels and their own deaths. In
Rory’s case, three times in one episode. A new record.
But the third time, though we didn’t see it,
was the one that counted. Banished to the past together, Amy and Rory were
properly Angelled – fated to “live to death” without being able to se the
Doctor again. The final page, a message from Amy to the Doctor, was a real
tearjerker and one of the most emotional pieces of writing I’ve seen on
television, and the Doctor breaking down after realising that he’s lost two of
his closest friends forever was a masterfully heartbreaking performance from
Matt Smith. Ending by tying the past few series together by returning to little Amelia in the garden... Sniff.
Unfortunately, this emotion didn’t fully manage
to cloud how little sense the episode made. While the emotional side of my
brain was wailing for the loss of the Ponds and the Doctor’s sad, lost, 1200 year old puppy dog face, the
logical side of my brain was doing what it does best and compiling a list with the header 'Plot Holes'. How
exactly did the Statue of Liberty stomp across half of New York without anyone
seeing it? Surely there must be hundreds, if not thousands, of people with
Liberty in their sight at any one time. How unlikely a coincidence was it that
the Doctor decided to read the book in his pocket at the time of Rory’s failed
coffee run? And if anyone cares to explain why the Doctor can’t go back to
visit Amy and Rory in their past lives, please go ahead.
Another qualm is that, after getting Amy to 1938 via ancient China,
the Doctor didn’t really do much. He just paced around angrily like a passive
aggressive giraffe as the plot advanced around him, with Amy and Rory kicking
off most of the major twists. I like it when the Doctor does clever things and
it feels like a shame that he couldn’t have done more to facilitate their sort-of
survival.

Though she wasn't the focus of this episode, it was nice to see River again, away from the complex timey-wimey timeline of hers which has pervaded her recent appearances. She had some nice interaction with the Doctor, now her husband, and hinted that she'll be seeing him again, which is cool - I wouldn't want her associated only with one set of companions, even if they are her parents, after she was set up to be someone who knows many of the Doctor's incarnations.
So it’s goodbye to the Ponds in a story that I did enjoy, but was
hoping to enjoy more. The emotional punch, while certainly powerful, is not helped by the illogical plot. It’s a shame that their exit couldn’t be as
strong as their entrance in the brilliant The Eleventh Hour, or as Moffat’s
recent Asylum of the Daleks, but Manhattan was nevertheless an entertaining
episode. Emotional Kieron Brain and Logical Kieron Brain will be in a heated
argument about whether it was really any good for at least a year.
Amy and Rory
have been an interesting take on the Doctor Who companion – the first time New
Who has had two companions for an extended period of time, with a deeply
explored relationship between the two. In ways they’ve been endearing, with
character moments such as Asylum’s teleporter scene really making us care about
their relationship, although there have been problems with their characterisation
– the mess of series six’s story arc didn’t do them any good. Overall, I’ve
thoroughly enjoyed following their developments as characters, from children to
young engaged couple to experienced travellers, and feel that now was the right
time for them to leave.
Farewell Ponds, come along soufflé girl!
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About Me

- KieronMoore
- Hi there. I'm Kieron. I write some things, including some about Doctor Who and some about films. Graphic novel about the Buddha coming soon. Also work in telly.

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