A Beetle Backpack, the Death of the Doctor and the Return of Rose. Could this be any more epic?!
Amy and Rory retire to the village that time forgot as they plummet into a cold star
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Amy and Rory are happily dull in Upper Leadworth, their monotony only interrupted by Amy constantly crying labour. When the Doctor does some impromptu garden landscaping, though, Rory’s fantasy about his cosy ponytailed life in the countryside is dashed.
Enter the Dream Lord, stage left, and all of a sudden our intrepid trio can’t tell fantasy from reality. And to top it all off, they’re in mortal danger in either, with green gas-generating geriatrics on the one hand and the TARDIS plummeting into a cold star on the other.
Hey guys it’s Tracey. This episode was pretty good. Production values continue to be excellent, interesting camera work throughout, and decent plot.
Now I want to talk about Amy and Rory. Last week saw Amy casually dragging Rory on adventure he wasn’t ready for, while dealing with emotions she wasn’t ready to address. This week she can’t avoid it.
The shared dream state means it’s unclear who adds which elements to their fantasy. The Leadworth dream is interesting because Rory seems to like it, but when speaking of rest and quiet, he almost sounds like he’s trying to convince himself. Amy acts bored but, faking a contraction, takes ownership of the dream- she is choosing Rory in this moment. She will choose him again at the episode’s climax when she decides life isn’t worth living without him. It’s pretty clear her fears were not about Rory at all, but about the type of life marriage would be. Amy doesn’t fear being stuck with Rory; she fears being stuck in general.
And OMG it’s incredibly revealing that Doc calls the Leadworth dream a “nightmare”. He’s so afraid to lose his companions (even to a life of bliss) that he prefers risking their lives just so he can have the company.
This time, the interplay between Doc and Rory feels real. They are both close to Amy and want to see her safe, but aren’t close to each other yet. By the end “my boys” finally fits.
Rating: depth, darkness, love it!
Countryfile goes evil!
Good Stuff:
1. Children being mercilessly zapped (highest number in an episode of Who?). ‘The Beast Below’ indicates children being eaten by the space Whale and at least one brat was devoured by bat people in ‘School Reunion’ but around two dozen were disintegrated here.
2. Toby Jones.
3. Genuine feasibility that evil Countryfile could be the reality.
4. Rory’s ponytail.
5. Genuine sense of threat…
Beefs:
….until the halfway point when it turns out the Aliens are mega dumb, slow and easily dispatched, and there was zero threat after all.
The big reveal about the dreamlord sucked. The Doctor’s dark side has rocked up previously (the Vanguard in Classic 6th Doctor Adventure ‘Trial of a Timelord’) but I was disappointed he didn’t turn out to be a new villain.
Evil Countryfile Aliens – what exactly is their plan for world domination? Walk around very slowly and turn everyone into sand? That’s going to take ages! What happens when they get to India or China? And why start with a dozen school children? What’s that going to achieve!? They don’t appear to be reproducing and someone is bound to notice.
More aliens doing the mouth thing.
What happens to the people in van? Did the Doctor just dump them somewhere?
There are no duvets in the Tardis?
Ratings: 2.4/5 disintegrated school children.
Finally, 2017 marks 30 years since the momentous 7th Doctor dawned our screens. Will the Who Back When gang celebrate by leading a rendition of happy birthday to the 7th Doctor! Also, is Churchill available to sing along?
Welcome to Upper Leadworth. Picturesque cottages; an apparently thriving local drama scene, and a plethora of blue hairs with overactive gut flora. It’s just the right kind of place for mom-to-be Amy and “Doctor” Rory to set down roots. At the same time, with the TARDIS effectively dead and hurtling towards a cold star, we are introduced to The Dream Lord, beautifully portrayed in true Trickster style by Toby Jones, who appears seemingly out of nowhere to pose a question: What is most important?
The question, according to the title, is directed at Amy. Will she choose Rory, with his weak ponytail game and his pastel-shaded life in a simple village? OR will she elect derring-do in the farthest reaches of Time and Space with The Doctor? Or is it all just a dream within a dream, perpetrated by the dark side of a centuries-old alien with an allergy to space wheat?
Amys Choice is perhaps one of Nu-Whos’ most satisfying stories. It provides tremendous character development for all three main characters. Rory simply shines, and Smith, as always, is clever and multi-layered, and I’m left with the following observation:
Rorys Choice was a simple life in Upper Leadworth. Amy wasn’t thrilled, but would live with it so long as The Doctor wasn’t around to remind her how boring it was.
Amys Choice was, ultimately, that no life without Rory was worth living. So back to the frozen TARDIS they went so she could be with Rory. EVEN IN DEATH.
The Doctors Choice was to agree with Amy – even if it meant blowing up the TARDIS. He didn’t even hesitate.
If only we all had a friend like that.
4.3/5 Points off for not enough Sinister Toby Jones, too much Sexy Toby Jones, and time wasted on ferrying around nameless extras.