Amy's Choice

Dear Gary—

Amy’s Choice is OK I guess, but I don’t like it mainly because I have no patience for this type of thing. I mean, personally, if a Dream Lord came to me and said he had set up two scenarios, both of which end in death and only one of which is real, and that I had to chose which one to die in to either wake up or actually die; well, if a Dream Lord came to me with those choices I’d just sleep it out. I’d roll over and sleep it out. I would probably curl up in the cold TARDIS under as many blankets as I could and sleep. Who does this Dream Lord think he is, anyway, invading my dreams? If it’s my dream I’d just ignore him; send him packing; laugh in his face.

This isn’t my dream, though. It is the Doctor’s and Rory’s and Amy’s dream. A three in one dream. Well, three in two dreams actually. Not one of them thinks to question the veracity of this Dream Lord or challenge him in any way. They simply accept his terms and try to stay alive in both worlds long enough to determine which one to die in. Why not stay alive in both? If one is a dream they’re bound to wake up eventually. And if only one is a dream and one is reality, how do they think the Dream Lord has manipulated the real world to put them into danger?

Here’s something I’ve come to realize about this Eleventh Doctor. He doesn’t do much thinking outside of the confines of the text. Just as he accepts the Dream Lord’s terms, he accepts the author’s lines and never questions his stage directions. If the pages in front of him are telling him he only has two equally impossible options he takes that at face value. It’s up to Amy to see the bigger construct of the plot and make the right decision. Hence the title, Amy’s Choice.

Unless of course the Doctor knows from the start that this is simply a cruel exercise to make Amy choose between him and Rory. He is after all the Dream Lord. Does he know this all the time and does he play along to see which man Amy prefers? Or maybe I’ll give him a break since he is in a dream state and not thinking clearly.

Amy’s choice. That is the reason for this story. Amy’s choice; Rory or the Doctor; Rory is dead; Rory is alive again. It’s a broken record (just to look ahead for a moment, Gary). This is rapidly shaping up to a season with its script showing. Everything is intentional and directional and obviously so.

In and of itself Amy’s Choice is interesting in concept and it does have some compelling moments, elements of humor, and intriguing insights into the Doctor’s psyche. Overall, however, I find it rather dull when it’s not annoying me.

I know immediately that the Upper Leadworth segments are a dream. It’s not just that the town is too storybook, it is also that the show would not gloss over five years of TARDIS companion years like that. Last we left Rory, Amy, and the Doctor they were in the TARDIS; to see the couple settled and pregnant in ordinary life does not fit in with the Doctor Who world. We know something is afoot therefore, and when the Dream Lord comes along it suddenly makes sense. Now it is just a matter of waiting for our trio to figure it out while being chased by geriatric patients wielding garden implements.

At least there is some action in Upper Leadworth, slow motion though it may be. The TARDIS segments are static with the three standing around and shivering. Despite this fact, most of the personal interaction takes place in the former, and it is here where Amy makes her choice. “If this is real life,” she declares, “I don’t want it.” Rory is dead (sniff, sniff) and Amy realizes she loves him. She was only going to marry the guy, but it takes his fake death to convince her.  “I love Rory,” she says, “and I never told him.” Again, she was only going to marry the guy.

I mock, but it is actually quite touching. Rory makes it so. Prior to his death Rory is funny, loveable, sweet, heroic. Amy doesn’t know how lucky she is, at least until his death by Poggit finally makes her see it. (Well, I say finally but this is not final; it seems we will go through this same thing ad nauseam, but for this one episode it is over and done.)

The first time viewing this I was surprised by the reveal that the TARDIS scenario is also a dream, but not as much time or effort is committed to those segments so it has more of a 'oh by the way' feel to it. The reveal that the Doctor is in fact the Dream Lord is interesting and says  a lot about who he is in the dark recesses of his mind if I cared enough at this point to explore the matter further, which I find that I don't.

In the end this whole exercise was a result of some dust in the console. The Edge of Destruction, a similar TARDIS induced psychodrama, handles the concept much more effectively. We learn so much more about the TARDIS inhabitants in that long ago serial than the simple 'Amy loves Rory' message we get here.

“Amy’s men. Amy’s choice.” It is a refrain that echoes through the early going of the Eleventh Doctor’s time corridor, Gary. Over and over and over and over . . .