I was sitting in sewing class, doing my sewing assignment, listening to Dr Who episodes of The Impossible Astronaut and Day of The Moon as one does, (screen of my phone down, audiodrama style) and just, of course my brain decided to do a full on analysis while I'm in class and itching to type, ha so here's an analysis/brain vulture that refuses to leave until i type them
First, Eleven's appearance at the diner is so... idk,.suave? He'd gotten a new shorter haircut, which I love,
and ofc he's decided that the bendy straw adds more fizz
(more under cut)
This is less analysis and more of me just loving his entrance-
Secondly. this episode kinda emphasize several things
i. that not knowing who River actually is actually bothers 11. we've seen in Byzantium, he was aggravated that he knew very little about River, then with all the adventures, this kinda got swept under the rug; 11 began to enjoy being around her, even asking her for help, playing along with her no spoilers thing and her hello sweeties, -
then in this episode, we see him questioning River's trustworthiness. this is after the Pandorica. and this is the Doctor. who is the person the Doctor trusts the most? still only himself.
ii. River and 11's dynamics- their jarring on edge relationship mixed with the flirting. does he not care about River? he does. she's one of the people he trusts, he flirts with her openly because that's her dynamics with him from the beginning; she's been playful and familiar since the Library
but it's still jarring to see him question her trustworthiness, then jumps back to flirting and bantering in the same 15 minutes. it's basically like the situation is spelling out, this is the Doctor, do not be on his bad side, i know this is old news, but it is still Something to see it being spelled out in between his puzzling (at that point) relationship with River
Matt Smith is a great actor because in the span of the same scene, he played off the Doctor's playful excitement after seeing the Ponds, oscillates to simmering anger, puzzlement and frustration, whimsy and worry when he was talking to Amy, and then back to his usual excited, flirting puppy with River
then afterwards, he maintains the usual demeanour of his with River, their familiarity with each other. 11 doesn't know how to entirely trust her, but he does, but he's also pissed off that he doesn't know a lot and he hates that; not knowing.
it's very interesting to see how he knows her so well, and she him too, and he's just at the same time actually underneath all that is impatient to know what is the deal with her
iii. and i think it opened Amy's eyes too to what he thinks of River in that moment. this is a side she's not often privy to
To her, he's always been the protector, the funny goofy silly Doctor, and she's almost never in all seriousness the recipient of his irritation or annoyance or distrust
And you gotta admit, seeing 11 being miffed at his own friends, being the man he's always put himself forth as, is always great. sides. i love seeing a man with different sides; preferrably stark contrasting sides, ehe. preferrably the kind where the character appears to be one of the good guys but can also be complicated
Thirdly, if there's any instances where Rory ever question Amy's importance to 11, then i think it's a question settled in this episode. 11 wholly trusts her, even in spite of not knowing who number one is. Even when he doesn't get the answer to his questions. Amy is his person.
My life in your hands, Amelia Pond.
Fourth, River and 11 Cares about each other. this is also not new, but this episode played off their familiarity and care for each other so well; it's basically a thing that the storytelling establishes that River goes on adventures with 11, even tho it's not onscreen, so seeing them care about each other is sweet. it's not merely physical attraction, get it
and in spite of his initial angry speech in the beginning of the episode
yh sorry about the repeating scenes, i forgot and got lazy to edit
this scene is basically the kids telling their parents-in-law to look out for their spouses, lol
Fifth, always kinda mess me up that for the longest time, Rory thought that he was always the person who loved more in his and Amy's relationship because no matter what, 11 is Amy's best friend that she never gave up on
he never really noticed that under Amy's gruff and direct personality, she always chose him. Amy usually doesn't say it in so many words; and this is also what makes their relationship interesting to me; in fictions, tropes usually writes the female character as the expressive side, and the male character fumbling and short with their feelings; --but not with Amy and Rory. with them, it's the other way around.
(yes i chalk up her weird thing with 11 on her wedding night to be cold feet of a girl who's marrying her other best friend after realizing that there's a wider world out there she hasn't seen)
Sixth, later in the episode, 11 is still trying to figure out, if only with very little effort and deflection skills --about River.
and River knows it. she's tired of it, but she's alsol entertained by it but at the same time trying to tell him to stop
Seventh, i loved 11 leaning on the invisible Tardis :)))
he's just exuding 'im so clever' here, lol
Eighth,
11 and River being their alien selves. more 11 than River; while Rory is having a mental crash about saving Amy as fast as possile, he's prattling about the importance of defeating the Silence. of course this is mainly because they were already working towards finding Amy, but yh,
finally, Amy and 11's conversation. he's her best friend and she confided in him about being pregnant, i just really appreciate any scene of them just talking to each other, being goofy, heartfelt and whatnot
so yeah that's it. brain vultures leave me now.... pls.....these kids are my blorbos they're all older than me
and I gotta say, these two episodes are among my favorites to rewatch :)
And that’s a bad thing. Well, it is rather... because any day now she’s going to be leave my life forever. So what are you going to do? That’s seems to be my way with affairs of the heart, Florence. I haven’t a clue... I haven’t a clue...
The Doctor receives a distress message from an old Time Lord friend of his and The Doctor, Amy, and Rory all head down to another universe and meet an alien that pretty much eats nothing but TARDISes. “The Doctor’s Wife” premiered on this day, 12 Years Ago.
