{"id":9757,"date":"2012-09-29T20:13:37","date_gmt":"2012-09-30T00:13:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/?p=9757"},"modified":"2012-09-29T20:13:37","modified_gmt":"2012-09-30T00:13:37","slug":"doctor-who-the-angels-take-manhattan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/religionprof\/2012\/09\/doctor-who-the-angels-take-manhattan.html","title":{"rendered":"Doctor Who: The Angels Take Manhattan"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>
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Steven Moffatt promised a moving and fitting farewell to Rory and Amy. I think he pulled it off in the end, although in many ways, the episode faces the problem that \u201cThe Caves of Androzani\u201d faces: we knew when watching it that the Doctor would regenerate, and there were so many perilous moments that at the end, the feeling was more satisfaction of curiosity (\u201cOh, so that's what gets him\u201d) rather than tragic surprise (\u201cOh my gosh, the Doctor regenerated!\u201d). One can contrast \u201cThe End of Time\u201d where we managed to believe briefly that the Doctor had managed to escape a fate that seemed inevitable. In \u201cThe Angels Take Manhattan,\u201d there are several ways you could envisage things going during the course of the episode, but the course they actually do take seems to me to tie together a number of threads going way back in the story of Amy and Rory. SPOILERS AHEAD.<\/p>\n

I love the use of New York<\/a> as a backdrop to the story \u2013 although the idea of the Statue of Liberty ever having moments when no one is looking at it<\/a> seems a bit too ridiculous even for Doctor Who. The interactions between the Doctor and River were excellent, as they finally are together with both of them knowing that they are husband and wife. I liked the continuity as she says she is now a professor, and we learn that she has been pardoned, and why, which connects with the theme running through this season of all record of the Doctor having been erased, seemingly from every data bank in the universe. But this time, from his reaction, the Doctor seems to be behind all of that, and not Oswin. Presumably there will be more exploration of this when Doctor Who returns at Christmas. I also liked the Doctor's \u201cfinal checks\u201d before leaving the TARDIS, and of course, River's reference to being in love with an \u201cageless god.\u201d<\/p>\n

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I loved the ending \u2013 and the almost ending just before it. Rory and Amy, \u201ctogether, or not at all.\u201d They take matters into their own hands, to rewrite history and change the future \u2013 \u201cit's called marriage.\u201d But in the end, we revisit the terrain of \u201cAmy's Choice,\u201d and realize that she knows absolutely and without doubt where she belongs \u2013 at Rory's side, wherever and whenever that might be. And I liked that, even though the Doctor called them \u201cthe Ponds\u201d in a manner that always gave Amy priority, after her choice we see her bearing the name Amy Williams.<\/p>\n

It is sad to see Amy and Rory go<\/a>. But I liked the direct addressing of the Doctor's dislike for endings. It is raised comically, as he tears out the last page of a book, saying that that way it never ends. But of course, whenever you stop reading, there is an ending, even if in theory you could read further. The show thus explores the Doctor's aversion to seeing those he comes to care about grow old and die, even though it would be fitting for him to attend thousands and thousands of funerals for his one-time companions. And so, when he needs to run to recover that last page he left behind, to conclude Amy's story, it is really poignant. Although if he took its message to heart, he would go talk to Brian<\/a>, and presumably to Amy's parents too (see the fan-made art at the end of this post on that theme).<\/p>\n

As has typically been the case with Doctor Who since it restarted, I found this episode to be emotionally powerful, even if one might quibble about some plot devices or other details. <\/p>\n

What did you make of \u201cThe Angels Take Manhattan\u201d?<\/p>\n

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Steven Moffatt promised a moving and fitting farewell to Rory and Amy. I think he pulled it off in the end, although in many ways, the episode faces the problem that \u201cThe Caves of Androzani\u201d faces: we knew when watching it that the Doctor would regenerate, and there were so many perilous moments that at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[133],"tags":[579,580,622,2765,4029,6943,7245,10438,10572,10573,12273,12630,12639],"class_list":["post-9757","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-doctor-who-science-fiction","tag-amy","tag-amy-pond","tag-angels","tag-doctor-who","tag-gods","tag-manhattan","tag-melody-pond","tag-river-song","tag-rory","tag-rory-williams","tag-tardis","tag-time-lord","tag-time-travel"],"yoast_head":"\nDoctor Who: The Angels Take Manhattan<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Steven Moffatt promised a moving and fitting farewell to Rory and Amy. 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