Amy Ponds of the 99% (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
allchildren) wrote2010-05-29 03:54 pm
allchildren) wrote2010-05-29 03:54 pm
Entry tags:
his machinations & his palindromes
Before I forget, writing group people, I'm about to make an intro post at ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
wordsout. LJ users, you can comment with OpenId or anonymously (just sign your comment).
I said a few weeks ago that Eleven is my Doctor and it may well be true; he is all the things I need in a Doctor. But I just rewatched the second half of S1 last night, for the second time in two weeks, and Nine Nine Nine Nine -- and ugh, Hipster Who, you are giving me the blarghs!
At "Amy's Choice" (iawheathershaped & my pdl here) it was apparent to me that this series has gone a bit off the rails. The episode was redeemed to me quite a lot by fan_eunice's incredible episode vid to Andrew Birrrrrd, but that couldn't solve what had become the obvious issue: what to do about Rory? "Amy's Choice" sought to drive home Amy's love for Rory after instilling doubt, but IMO it failed at that, made it look as though for Amy to choose him would be tantamount (ugh, editing! I need to do it sometimes!) to choosing a long slow miserable coma of a life, and was a really badly paced episode of television to boot. And then next week after Amy has supposedly squared with herself the decision that Rory is the one for her, she immediately expresses surprise that they're together in ten years time! It's not just that I'm not buying what you're selling, it's that you're selling it in a really unconvincing and self-undermining way.
It's a huge problem for all kinds of reasons. One thing, it invites inevitable comparison to Rose/Mickey, so that's now something to avoid repeating. Another, Rory's presence disrupts the chemistry of Just Matt & Karen which I think is the core of this series' appeal. And given the Peter Pan analogue chosen by Moffat, Rory represents Amy's return from Neverland, so to have him along gets us all thematically muddled. And (casting spoiler) if you happen to know that Amy is going to be the Companion next year, you know that if Amy is going to choose Rory it's not going to happen for a while yet. I think I had more but I can't remember.
So for a couple weeks, I'm just thinking: man, I really wish Amy hadn't kissed the Doctor! I would be so happy to imagine that (I WAS IMAGINING IT ANYWAY) and not introduce this whole derailing love triangle thing that forces Rory's involvement and begs for a way out.
It's very unsurprising that they chose to kill Rory, then. But erase him from Amy's life and memory entirely? That's... special. [ETA: Not that I think we've seen the last of him, but apparently when I wrote this I was not into finishing any of my thoughts.]
Of course there are Pandoricas yet to open! Episodes yet to go! Some of which will HAVE to be written by Moffat which is nice since apparently his showrunner skills do not include "getting anybody on his staff to write good episodes where the main characters make sense and are also likeable." Say what you will about RTD (and I'm sure I'll have some choice words as I head into the Ten section of the Tenwich) but series one is a series of 13 episodes that don't waver in quality and tie together flawlessly, whether he wrote them or not.
Blargh. (BTW, "reckless violent women disobeying the wise old men" motif of this episode? Go blargh yourself. Blargh.)
wordsout. LJ users, you can comment with OpenId or anonymously (just sign your comment).I said a few weeks ago that Eleven is my Doctor and it may well be true; he is all the things I need in a Doctor. But I just rewatched the second half of S1 last night, for the second time in two weeks, and Nine Nine Nine Nine -- and ugh, Hipster Who, you are giving me the blarghs!
At "Amy's Choice" (iaw
heathershaped & my pdl here) it was apparent to me that this series has gone a bit off the rails. The episode was redeemed to me quite a lot by fan_eunice's incredible episode vid to Andrew Birrrrrd, but that couldn't solve what had become the obvious issue: what to do about Rory? "Amy's Choice" sought to drive home Amy's love for Rory after instilling doubt, but IMO it failed at that, made it look as though for Amy to choose him would be tantamount (ugh, editing! I need to do it sometimes!) to choosing a long slow miserable coma of a life, and was a really badly paced episode of television to boot. And then next week after Amy has supposedly squared with herself the decision that Rory is the one for her, she immediately expresses surprise that they're together in ten years time! It's not just that I'm not buying what you're selling, it's that you're selling it in a really unconvincing and self-undermining way.It's a huge problem for all kinds of reasons. One thing, it invites inevitable comparison to Rose/Mickey, so that's now something to avoid repeating. Another, Rory's presence disrupts the chemistry of Just Matt & Karen which I think is the core of this series' appeal. And given the Peter Pan analogue chosen by Moffat, Rory represents Amy's return from Neverland, so to have him along gets us all thematically muddled. And (casting spoiler) if you happen to know that Amy is going to be the Companion next year, you know that if Amy is going to choose Rory it's not going to happen for a while yet. I think I had more but I can't remember.
So for a couple weeks, I'm just thinking: man, I really wish Amy hadn't kissed the Doctor! I would be so happy to imagine that (I WAS IMAGINING IT ANYWAY) and not introduce this whole derailing love triangle thing that forces Rory's involvement and begs for a way out.
It's very unsurprising that they chose to kill Rory, then. But erase him from Amy's life and memory entirely? That's... special. [ETA: Not that I think we've seen the last of him, but apparently when I wrote this I was not into finishing any of my thoughts.]
Of course there are Pandoricas yet to open! Episodes yet to go! Some of which will HAVE to be written by Moffat which is nice since apparently his showrunner skills do not include "getting anybody on his staff to write good episodes where the main characters make sense and are also likeable." Say what you will about RTD (and I'm sure I'll have some choice words as I head into the Ten section of the Tenwich) but series one is a series of 13 episodes that don't waver in quality and tie together flawlessly, whether he wrote them or not.
Blargh. (BTW, "reckless violent women disobeying the wise old men" motif of this episode? Go blargh yourself. Blargh.)