Story: The Angels Take Manhattan
Written By: Steven Moffat
Length: 45 Minutes
Year: 2012
The first companions of the 11th Doctor, Amy and Rory, finally take their leave after 2 1/2 seasons, and loads of timey-wimey complicated fun. By the end I have to say I was quite pleased with how the characters went out. I would've been terribly disappointed had one of them died or something. Luckily despite some false endings (that worked for the benefit of the story told instead of against it), it finally in a manner I had to like...Rory and Amy live happily ever after, just not in their proper time zone...and having been sent to the past by the Angels and lived out their lives there...the Doctor can never see them again...they are now fixed.
Amy and Rory have been the Doctor's companions, off and on, since the beginning of Matt Smith's reign as the Eleventh Doctor. They were a fun pair, and I always preferred the TARDIS with the Doctor and two companions, whether it be Troughton with Jamie and Zoe, Hartnell with Steven and Vicki, or even the brief tenures of Eccleston with Jack and Rose or Tennant with Jack and Martha. I just think the show has always worked better with a trio, despite the bulk of the run being dominated by the Doctor and just one female companion. Amy and Rory were the first companions since the return to not only be a stable trio, but also the first to remain beyond one season.
Having the Angels was also a nice way for these characters to go out on. They are clearly the best monster contributed by Moffat, and throughout Smith's era as the Doctor they have become a fixture, just like Amy and Rory and River (who also returns in this episode to see her parents off). Bringing back the Angels original MO of sending folks back in time to live out their lives in the past (killing them nicely) was a perfect way to send off Amy and Rory in a sad yet poignant and oddly happy ending. I wouldn't have accepted them not ending up together as they should, and since they've been being dropped off and picked back up by the Doctor so often now, it would seem unlikely that they should end their adventures by just being dropped off at home. The Doctor couldn't stop coming back to them, and they couldn't say no to traveling with him. They had to end up together somewhere where the Doctor couldn't go...and being a fixed element is a nice way of getting that all done.
I'll admit that I found the Statue of Liberty as an Angel to be nothing but goofy, but there is plenty of fun to be had here in an episode that is both filled with adventure, drama, scares, and a few jokes too...it ended the saga of the Ponds satisfyingly, in my eyes anyhow.
NEXT TIME: A New Girl For Christmas
Written By: Steven Moffat
Length: 45 Minutes
Year: 2012
The first companions of the 11th Doctor, Amy and Rory, finally take their leave after 2 1/2 seasons, and loads of timey-wimey complicated fun. By the end I have to say I was quite pleased with how the characters went out. I would've been terribly disappointed had one of them died or something. Luckily despite some false endings (that worked for the benefit of the story told instead of against it), it finally in a manner I had to like...Rory and Amy live happily ever after, just not in their proper time zone...and having been sent to the past by the Angels and lived out their lives there...the Doctor can never see them again...they are now fixed.
Having the Angels was also a nice way for these characters to go out on. They are clearly the best monster contributed by Moffat, and throughout Smith's era as the Doctor they have become a fixture, just like Amy and Rory and River (who also returns in this episode to see her parents off). Bringing back the Angels original MO of sending folks back in time to live out their lives in the past (killing them nicely) was a perfect way to send off Amy and Rory in a sad yet poignant and oddly happy ending. I wouldn't have accepted them not ending up together as they should, and since they've been being dropped off and picked back up by the Doctor so often now, it would seem unlikely that they should end their adventures by just being dropped off at home. The Doctor couldn't stop coming back to them, and they couldn't say no to traveling with him. They had to end up together somewhere where the Doctor couldn't go...and being a fixed element is a nice way of getting that all done.
I'll admit that I found the Statue of Liberty as an Angel to be nothing but goofy, but there is plenty of fun to be had here in an episode that is both filled with adventure, drama, scares, and a few jokes too...it ended the saga of the Ponds satisfyingly, in my eyes anyhow.
NEXT TIME: A New Girl For Christmas
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