Story #221 - The Girl Who Waited (2011)

 Harry -

Well, my gut has been duly wrenched. What about you, old girl?

Sarah -

I didn't remember all the details of this episode, but I definitely remembered the trauma. Amy and Rory have been through so much.

Harry -

Writer Tom MacRae is not a familiar name so I looked him up. His only other work for Doctor Who was the Tennant story "Rise of the Cybermen/The Age of Steel". So he's written one blockbuster-type story, and this one which was simple on the surface but packed an emotional wallop.

Sarah - 

Here we are in the Doctor-light episode, but he’s still making the decisions. The TARDIS Team arrives at Apalapucia, a holiday destination and Amy goes back to get her mobile phone. The Doctor and Rory press the green button and when Amy comes back, she presses the red button, landing them in different rooms and different timelines. When the TARDIS lands in Amy’s time stream, Rory is attacked by a warrior – who is Amy 36 years later. 

Harry - 

I'm usually not big on stories where one of the characters ages dramatically. In this case the aging process was natural. Karen Gillan was incredible playing a lonely, embittered Amy who was left to fend for herself for 36 years.

Sarah -

Being embittered seems entirely reasonable after being abandoned by the people she most trusted. If I remember correctly, this is when their trust in the Doctor starts to break down. It’s easy to understand why she hates the Doctor.

Rory is thrown off by this older version of Amy, but he knows it’s Amy and he still loves her. The Doctor lies to Rory, telling him that both Amys can be safe in the TARDIS, but the Doctor has no plan to let the older Amy inside – Blinovitch Limitation Effect, or whatever. The Doctor seems repulsed by the older Amy and makes the decision that everyone has to live with. Amy won’t remember this, but Rory will. 

Harry - 

The facility was a creepy place, all wide concourses and sudden gardens with "robots of death" chasing Amy around.  As Rory asked: "Where is everyone?"  Other than the brief appearance of an onscreen interface, the TARDIS team were the only human characters in the entire story.

Last season we had "Amy's Choice" and here we had Rory's choice.  His dilemma at the end was horrible, and the Doctor forced the decision in the end.  They would have had to spend a long time processing and recovering from this experience.  Like I said at the start, this was a gut-wrencher.

Sarah - 

Best Line: "I love you, too. Don't let me in. Tell Amy, your Amy, I'm giving her the days. The days with you. The days to come."

Favorite Moment: When Amy remembers how much Rory loved her.

Lasting Image: “Old” Amy and Rory on opposite sides of the TARDIS door. 

7/10

Harry -

Best Line: "I'm gonna pull time apart for you."

Favourite Moment: the TARDIS team's initial explorations, because it all went downhill from there.

Lasting Image: warrior Amy kicking robot ass.

7/10

Our marathon continues with Story #222: The God Complex...