Doctor Who Episode 6x10 Review

Episode Title: The Girl Who Waited
Episode Rating: A
Overall Season Rating: A-

Last week's episode "Night Terrors" was very different from the mid-season premiere episode "Let's Kill Hitler", and this episode was very different from both of those. Which is a good thing. Moffat is keeping the episode style fresh, while staying true to what Doctor Who stands for. In this episode we got even more information about the early days of Amy and Rory's relationship, and as it turns out this show is capable of discussing them and have it be more intelligent than your average teenage drama. There were so many aspects I loved about this episode, and some of them are things that I have not liked recently in Who.

Before I get to the nitty gritty, let me say that the setting of the episode is both terrifying, and wonderous. If that's not Doctor Who in a nutshell then I don't know what is. Except if the Doctor was enclosed in a literal nutshell at one point, I haven't seen all the original episodes yet. The Two Streams Facility is a fascinating idea, and I don't think I've ever seen anything quite like it.

I LOVED how both Amy and Rory got very angry with the Doctor in this episode. Something that has bothered me since Matt Smith took over was there never is a point where the companions challenge him. Something the companions do for the Doctor is force him to find his humanity. Otherwise he just travels the universe, makes changes and really doesn't consider the consequences. Previously to this episode, Amy saw the Doctor as Godlike, and Rory would never question Amy or the Doctor. However, now Rory really understands how cold the Doctor can be, even when he's doing the right thing, and Amy hopefully has learned that the Doctor is not perfect. He's a great man, and a true hero, but like any hero he has flaws and makes mistakes. Added to this is the idea that River laid out in "A Good Man Goes to War", that the Doctor is not as righteous as he thinks he is. I'm hoping this will lead to more of a dark Doctor that we saw toward the end of David Tennant's tenure.

About the love story aspect. Last week I said that I was becoming sick of the constant reminder that Amy and Rory love each other. Let me be clear, by that I meant the "He's a perfect man, and will always save me" lines that we were getting concerning Rory. What made their story so great in Series 5 was that it wasn't totally clear they would end up together. Would Amy chose travelling with the Doctor over Rory? Would Rory be cool travelling in the TARDIS with them? Then he died, and then he waited for her for 2000 years. It was so strange, and so romantic at the same time. One couldn't help but love these two together.

Then in Series 6 they started thinking it was needed for them to remind us with little comments that this married couple does indeed love each other. Sometimes I felt like those scenes, and lines were written for a teenage soap opera. There became an aspect of no fear. Rory always died, and then came back, and Amy always was in trouble but KNEW she'd be saved, not by the Doctor, but by Rory. That might be a nice fairy tale, but it's not very interesting TV.

That changed in "The Girl Who Waited". In this Episode Amy believes without a doubt that Rory will save her, he would never leave. While that's true, he makes her wait for 36 years. Now, I was a little angry with Amy that she hated the Doctor and Rory for making her wait, but Rory had to wait 2000 years and you don't hear him complaining. I know there are many differences, such as Rory knew he'd have to wait, Amy was alone the whole time and believed she'd been abandoned, but still.

The speech about someone's personality being shown on their face was an amazing scene. Instead of her just saying "Well Rory's a wonderful man, therefore he'll save me always", she remembered when they were young, and when she first fell for him. They explored their relationship in ways that we, as viewers can understand and feel on a personal level. This memory was so powerful it was the trigger for Old Amy to change her mind and help them. This is yet another reason to hate the damn Amy Intro on BBC America showings of the episodes. Rory doesn't appear at all, and as it turns out Rory is THE MAN in her life. The Doctor was just a imaginary friend, but Rory was the love of her life.

The one negative I see with this episode is that Amy doesn't remember anything from her ordeal. I'm sure she was scared, and seeing her older self will have an effect on her, but all the changes we saw in old Amy are gone. For Amy, it's like it never happened. It reminds me of how I felt in "A Good Man Goes to War". Yeah it's sad that Amy was there, but she only remembers her time on the TARDIS as a Flesh before waking up, so the harm is greatly diminished. It's the same thing with there being almost no death, it's like Moffat is afraid to put any real stakes in the episodes or the stories. I hope this changes as we near the end of the Series.

Some other moments of note. Disneyland: Klum!!  How the hell did Amy make a sonic screwdriver?  You would imagine that a place this advanced would be able to do a simple DNA scan and see clearly that Amy was human and the "kindness" would kill her. There is a Karaoke Bar on the TARDIS...I think we need to see that in action.  

Oh, if you've forgotten Klum, one of their former residents is to the right.