I’ve been
known to rag on some of the writing for the Ponds, from the annoying insistence
on Rory’s jealousy of the Doctor to some of the holes in Amy’s characterization
to the show’s tendency of dropping in major life-altering details into the
characters’ story that then has little relevance to the ongoing plot. It’s all
very “sigh,” and I’ll admit that I was ready for Amy and Rory to leave when
they exited the show. However, it was because of those writing issues, not the
characters themselves or their overall relationship with the Eleventh Doctor.
Because I really do enjoy these three together (a few series 5-7 spoilers.)
It’s not
unprecedented for companions to come on board the TARDIS already knowing each
other (going back to the beginning, with Ian and Barbara as two of Susan’s
teachers,) or for one to join the Doctor first and another to come later (Rose
and Mickey, although his tenure was pretty short-lived.) However, the mix of
relationships present onboard the TARDIS during this particular configuration make
for some interesting dynamics. Amy and Rory are already engaged by the time she
“runs away” with the Doctor on the eve of her wedding, counting on the time
machine to get her back without incident – considering that her second meeting
with the Doctor involves him returning after 12 years when he said he’d be gone
5 minutes, that goes to show how confident Amy is feeling about marriage in
that moment. By the time Rory comes aboard, Amy’s been traveling with the
Doctor for a while, and there’s an easy platonic intimacy between them that he
can’t really crack (he keeps thinking of it in terms of romantic rivalry –
silly, Rory.) And even though Amy is always the Doctor’s number-one Pond, he’s the one who first invites Rory onto
the TARDIS, and as time goes on, it’s clear that he becomes very fond of the
nurse from Leadworth. Not to mention, there’s the Doctor’s history as Amy’s
childhood “imaginary friend” to add to the mix as well.
All that
adds up to an entertaining plethora of interactive possibilities. Whether
you’re looking at all three as a group, Amy and Rory, Amy and the Doctor, or
the Doctor and Rory, these are relationships that count. Amy and Rory get a lot
of the big moments, but I enjoy their little things too, like dressing up as a
police officer and a centurion during their honeymoon (hee!) With Amy and the
Doctor, there’s all this history and understanding; they click on a level that
doesn’t always make sense looking at it from the outside in, and I love how the
Doctor spends half the time acting like Amy’s playmate and half the time acting
like her uncle. Rory and the Doctor get the least attention, but their
interactions are interesting because Rory is always there for Amy first and the
Doctor second, so his view of the Doctor can be a little more clear-eyed than
some companions’.
This of
course isn’t the first time the Doctor and their companions formed a funny
little TARDIS family (Two, Jamie, and Zoe forever!), but this trio definitely
hits those notes hard, and not just because of the convoluted implications of
adding River to the whole thing. I love it when the Doctor beams over the Ponds
like a proud papa or when they roll their eyes over his inability to understand
that they might not want bunkbeds in their TARDIS bedroom. Whether they’re
running from monsters, literally rolling back death, or just chilling in the
TARDIS, these three are made for each other.
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