The mid-season finale for Doctor Who saw the return of the Doctor's most terrifying creatures and the farewell of two of his most beloved companions.
The BBC's sci-fi hit sought to balance horrifying with heartwarming and somehow, thanks in large part due to the masterful touch of lead writer and executive producer Steven Moffat, it worked. If the reaction on social media was any indication, Doctor Who fans spent the hour sweating and crying.
The Weeping Angels, statues that frighteningly alive when they are not being watched, have served as the most gripping extraterrestrial terror on the revived British drama. While the Daleks, Cybermen and others are more iconic, being brought back from the original series, the Weeping Angels cause dread in the characters and nightmares for the viewers. They seem all too real, possible even.
The reality of the Angels provided the perfect foil for the ending of the Ponds', or, more appropriately from the episode, the Williams' time as companions. Amy and Rory have become increasingly torn between the realness of this world and the unreality that is life with the Doctor.
Even though it has been widely known that this episode would be the last for Amy and Rory, their farewell still felt shocking and gut-wrenching, while perfectly appropriate for a relationship such as theirs.
They've traveled across universes, waited thousands of years and proved their love would conquer the fantastic threats of aliens and the all-too-painful reality of childlessness. In the end, they are together and lived their whole life together as a devoted husband and loving wife. The emphasis on stability through the ups and downs of marriage was encouraging.
Meanwhile, the Doctor continues on with the darkest threat of all looming in the background, waiting to burst out – himself. It has long since gone past foreshadowing, the Doctor will clearly do something terrible due to not heeding the advice of his friends and wife (long story, if you don't know).
Each episode so far this season have undergirded the idea that the Doctor is not just someone to come and save the day. He is someone to come in and bring destruction and leave devastation in his wake, even (often times, especially) with those he loves.
Judging from the season premiere, the next companion, Oswin, has a fun personality and interacts in an intriguing way with the Doctor. Her lightness and humor, despite the terrible situation the Doctor found her in initially, will provide a crucial contrast to the ever darkening Doctor.
Change is difficult, especially when Amy, especially, has been with the Doctor for so long. She was the first companion for this incarnation of the Doctor (again, long story, if you don't know). It will be odd to see him without her or Rory, but if there is anything we know from previous seasons, the Doctor must move on quickly, even though his heart often remains behind for some time.
Viewers can only expect the greatness to continue with the shift. Not many shows can balance all that Doctor Who does. While episodes like Angels Take Manhattan show both heart and horror, the series as a whole is able to balance deep philosophical issues with light airy humor, hard looks into humanity with quirky escapes into space and time.
The mid-season finale, the last show until the Christmas special, brought the story of Amy Pond to a close, but just like the Doctor we will not sit still. Especially for the audience, but even for a time-traveling Time Lord, time keeps moving.
In the Doctor, we find so much of ourselves. We feel as if we have so much under control, with so much power, but in reality, so much is beyond us, so much is outside of our grasp. We must seek to do good in the time and space we have and never travel alone. We must never travel alone.
The BBC's sci-fi hit sought to balance horrifying with heartwarming and somehow, thanks in large part due to the masterful touch of lead writer and executive producer Steven Moffat, it worked. If the reaction on social media was any indication, Doctor Who fans spent the hour sweating and crying.
The reality of the Angels provided the perfect foil for the ending of the Ponds', or, more appropriately from the episode, the Williams' time as companions. Amy and Rory have become increasingly torn between the realness of this world and the unreality that is life with the Doctor.
Even though it has been widely known that this episode would be the last for Amy and Rory, their farewell still felt shocking and gut-wrenching, while perfectly appropriate for a relationship such as theirs.
Meanwhile, the Doctor continues on with the darkest threat of all looming in the background, waiting to burst out – himself. It has long since gone past foreshadowing, the Doctor will clearly do something terrible due to not heeding the advice of his friends and wife (long story, if you don't know).
Each episode so far this season have undergirded the idea that the Doctor is not just someone to come and save the day. He is someone to come in and bring destruction and leave devastation in his wake, even (often times, especially) with those he loves.
Judging from the season premiere, the next companion, Oswin, has a fun personality and interacts in an intriguing way with the Doctor. Her lightness and humor, despite the terrible situation the Doctor found her in initially, will provide a crucial contrast to the ever darkening Doctor.
Change is difficult, especially when Amy, especially, has been with the Doctor for so long. She was the first companion for this incarnation of the Doctor (again, long story, if you don't know). It will be odd to see him without her or Rory, but if there is anything we know from previous seasons, the Doctor must move on quickly, even though his heart often remains behind for some time.
Viewers can only expect the greatness to continue with the shift. Not many shows can balance all that Doctor Who does. While episodes like Angels Take Manhattan show both heart and horror, the series as a whole is able to balance deep philosophical issues with light airy humor, hard looks into humanity with quirky escapes into space and time.
In the Doctor, we find so much of ourselves. We feel as if we have so much under control, with so much power, but in reality, so much is beyond us, so much is outside of our grasp. We must seek to do good in the time and space we have and never travel alone. We must never travel alone.
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