Here via who_daily. I found this hard streak in Amy refreshing because it was so different from previous companions. I don't think you would have seen Rose murdering a human being for the sake of cold revenge. I like that the Doctor's companions can also have that darkness in them. It opens up new possibilities. (The only exception to this rule would, I think, be Jack. He certainly could kill someone for the sake of revenge the way Amy did, but he's far from a conventional companion.)
RTD would never have had a companion like that - I'm re-reading the Writer's Tale and he's very definite about twisting himself into knots to stop companions or Doctors being violent. Definitely no killing. I think Jack gets the exception because Jack got Torchwood and a chance to be a bit murderous.
(I don't know where I stand on this - on one hand, Amy is a very complex compared to Rose/Martha/Donna, otoh, it's a kids show, and I wonder if a murdering companion is too dark and complex. Or whether the fact that she's a mum who had her baby stolen makes it okay. And whether - given that I loved that she turned around and did that - what I think of it matters seeing as I mentally punched the air and went, "Go, Amy!")
I'm re-reading the Writer's Tale and he's very definite about twisting himself into knots to stop companions or Doctors being violent. Definitely no killing.
Slitheen in Number Ten, lots of Daleks, Cybermen, Sycorax leader, the Wire, the Nestene Consciousness, the werewolf, the Krillitanes, the Beast, Professor Lazarus, the Pyroviles...
otoh, it's a kids show, and I wonder if a murdering companion is too dark and complex.
Racnoss.
Sorry. I was going to post that I agree with your original post and that you've articulated a lot of what I was thinking, but then I saw this and got slightly distracted (here from doctorwho, incidentally).
Ha. Well, it's what he said. Most of those deaths aren't portrayed as angry, physically violent deaths though, in his defence. They're mainly weird sci fi deaths (vinegar, drowning giant spiders, trapping the Wire in the tv) - Rose with her Big Damn Gun and Donna thwacking Sontarans in the porthole are bigger exceptions as real violence.
Madam Kovarian was very human, and her death was very cold blooded and very unnecessary for Amy and Rory's survival.
Someone linked this over on markwatches.net, and I spent the entire thing nodding along vigorously! Amy has been my favourite for a long time, and you have articulated why - she channels her rage, and she keeps her head, and it is refreshing.
I'd personally be disappointed if she had curled up and wept, and would have been FURIOUS if it had been Rory who had his vengeance instead - he was also wronged, yes, but the immediate outrage was inflicted on Amy, and she had every right to take it. I was worried that Rory or the Doctor would cause Kovarian's death (should it come about) and that would have smacked entirely too much of a message that it was not Amy's place to do so.
Okay, she'll deal with that murder for a long time, but it was her decision to make, and I am so glad she did.
Rory really, really shouldn't have. Not because of any message, necessarily, but because Rory is the carer, the nurse, and the one who's determined to be better than the Doctor. He shouldn't be given the opportunity to lose the moral high ground (or, at least, like in Girl Who Waited, he should manage to retain his morals and not be the Doctor).
This series has managed to keep Rory as the cautious, sensible, wiser, more insightful one, and Amy as the wilder, more restless, and more reckless and intuitive one and managed to keep a balance between which of those two approaches is correct (they balance each other out, almost like they were married or something!) Rory becoming the lashing out angry murdering one would have been completely out of character.
Well,the eye drives don't ALWAYS kill...ext_848847October 24 2011, 20:44:57 UTC
Amy didn't necessarily kill Madam Kovarian. Remember when The Silence first started using them as weapons, she said "the effects will vary from person to person, either death or debilitating agony.” So by putting her drive back on, we aren’t guaranteed that she murdered her, just that she didn’t care if she did. She could come back in later episodes
( ... )
Comments 32
Reply
(I don't know where I stand on this - on one hand, Amy is a very complex compared to Rose/Martha/Donna, otoh, it's a kids show, and I wonder if a murdering companion is too dark and complex. Or whether the fact that she's a mum who had her baby stolen makes it okay. And whether - given that I loved that she turned around and did that - what I think of it matters seeing as I mentally punched the air and went, "Go, Amy!")
Reply
Slitheen in Number Ten, lots of Daleks, Cybermen, Sycorax leader, the Wire, the Nestene Consciousness, the werewolf, the Krillitanes, the Beast, Professor Lazarus, the Pyroviles...
otoh, it's a kids show, and I wonder if a murdering companion is too dark and complex.
Racnoss.
Sorry. I was going to post that I agree with your original post and that you've articulated a lot of what I was thinking, but then I saw this and got slightly distracted (here from doctorwho, incidentally).
Reply
Madam Kovarian was very human, and her death was very cold blooded and very unnecessary for Amy and Rory's survival.
Reply
I'd personally be disappointed if she had curled up and wept, and would have been FURIOUS if it had been Rory who had his vengeance instead - he was also wronged, yes, but the immediate outrage was inflicted on Amy, and she had every right to take it. I was worried that Rory or the Doctor would cause Kovarian's death (should it come about) and that would have smacked entirely too much of a message that it was not Amy's place to do so.
Okay, she'll deal with that murder for a long time, but it was her decision to make, and I am so glad she did.
Now where's the damn 'like' button for this post?
Reply
This series has managed to keep Rory as the cautious, sensible, wiser, more insightful one, and Amy as the wilder, more restless, and more reckless and intuitive one and managed to keep a balance between which of those two approaches is correct (they balance each other out, almost like they were married or something!) Rory becoming the lashing out angry murdering one would have been completely out of character.
Reply
Reply
Reply
Reply
Reply
Leave a comment