Doctor Who 5x12, "The Pandorica Opens"

[kindkit]

This is the story I've been waiting for all season: complex, twisty, timey-wimey, and (so far at least) unsentimental. As much as I love Rory, I'm glad that miracle!Rory turned out not to be real, just as I'm glad that the apparent success of the Doctor's "I've stopped you all before, so go away" rant was part of his enemies' plan all along. Sometimes Doctor Who needs to be grim.

Having the Doctor turn out to be the monster in the Pandorica is not quite as original as perhaps Steven Moffat believes, but it's still effective and a nice way of underscoring that the Doctor's enormous manipulations of time and history aren't necessarily harmless. He's managed to scare the Daleks, Cybermen, etc., because as bad as they are, they want the universe to exist (so they can rule it). Apparently, they're not so sure about the Doctor.

When the three skittles!Daleks were first revealed I was appalled: all that buildup for another goddamn Dalek story? But then it became clear what was really going on, and I see now that in storytelling terms it had to be the Doctor in the Pandorica, because anything else would have been anticlimactic.

(Incidentally, when we first saw the Pandorica I was waiting for Amy to say "It's a big rock" in homage to Spike's famous comment about Acathla.)

I'm intrigued by the hints that further complications await (such as the Doctor's remark to Amy about her life not making sense). I want to know if whatever damage the TARDIS is about to do is the reason why River was imprisoned in the first place (which would be suitably timey-wimey). And I was glad to see the shoutouts to earlier parts of the season, although really it was less like brilliant continuity than like a superficial attempt to give the appearance of brilliant continuity. It was still kinda cool.

Please tell me I wasn't the only person who thought the Doctor was going to kiss Rory? But then I expect that whenever the two of them talk together, because they have remarkable and presumably unplanned chemistry. Not to mention that Eleven is the most gay Doctor since Five, perhaps since Two.

About the only thing I'm not happy with is (SPOILER for future developments, highlight to read): (skip) the fact that, because casting decisions are announced publicly and posted everywhere without spoiler warnings, I know that Amy is in no danger of dying. It was announced ages ago that she was signed on for season six. I like Amy well enough and certainly don't want her to die, I just wish I didn't know in advance that she won't.

Anyway, I'm eagerly awaiting next week's episode.

Note: PLEASE NO SPOILERS IN COMMENTS. I'm mostly unspoiled and I really want to stay that way. If you refer to the spoiler I made highlight-to-read, please make your comment highlight-to-read as well and also provide a spoiler warning before it (for people using screen readers). Thanks!

Comments

[pocketmouse]

I know, I totally thought Rory and the Doctor were going to kiss! Or hug, or something. Make out. Mmmm....

And I wish to god I knew if anyone else I'm specifically thinking of is coming back next season, but I don't want to be spoiled either, and I'm sure I'm just going to be disappointed.