Suicide Saves the Day! Angels Take Manhattan.

So finally the "Ponds" are gone. I know that there are people, who for what ever inexplicable reason, liked Amy. For the life of me though, I can not understand why. She was totally 1 dimensional, and please, do not assault me with "oh but she was." I've heard all the arguments before from her fans, and the truth is, a couple of times she's been well written by writers other than her creator. That does not save the character over all though. Worse still, I've always felt like she was designed (not intentionally) as a side-companion, an extension of the better companion Rory. Rory, who dies constantly, comes back to life, has lives 2000 years. Yes, he is far more interesting than Amy ever has or would have been. Amy was a character designed to be flirty, and abrasive. I don't know why anyone is going to be sorry to see the character go but I will act as if I do. You see, I think Angels Take Manhattan betrayed that fan group. I am sure they will disagree with me now that I've said I dislike her, but hear me out.

For starters, the episode has no real plot. Similar to last weeks Power of Three which had no real narrative, a bland plot with no real resolution. It had character development. Which is not a problem, of course pretending to have a plot is a bit silly, but regardless Power of Three develops the characters a little better than some of the previous episodes. We learn about how the Doctor misses them when they're gone, how Amy and Rory have to cope with two lives. It's quite good in that regard.

Angels misses that mark though. We have a few crowbarred in lines to suggest they are older now, we have some painfully cheesy stuff to do with River and the Doctor. There is nothing developmental for them. Worse still we have something quite annoying, Rory dyeing, again. Oh wait no, he dies, again. Hey wait, what! He dies again! Three, that's three times in the episode. Seriously, in the final goodbye episode of these characters we're reminded of one of the biggest jokes of the tenure! It totally destroys any meaning in what they do. Also, I'm amazed that Moffat who is the writer who loves playing with time-travel and changing time, wrote out his beloveds with a story about the inability to change it.

Oh and no. I did not mind that Rory decided to commit suicide. I was kind of annoyed that he faltered  It was a little out of character I think, we've seen him act rather quickly before, and be the hero. So I expected him to just say his good-byes and step off. I am amazed the BBC green-lit it though. There are going to be so many parents out there who are dumbfounded and will complain that they have a story that just said that suicide will fix everything.

In all honesty, I think the story would of been far more memorable if the two had died there and then. Yes the paradox destroys the Angels, but they stay dead. It would of been more devastating to the Doctor than Adric. Why do I think this? Ok he can't go to the Year that they arrive because of the problem with the time-line. Specifically Manhattan. Ok. Go to 1938 New Jersey, take a train or a cab.
Goto 1939. You know they live to their 80s. That's a bit of a plot hole I think, that the Doctor, who has done the so called impossible before, just can give up on them when so many ideas appear whilst typing this. Ah well.

To make matters worse, I feel like Moffat is often proud of when he does silly, verging on stupid things in his writing. Drawing attention to them and rubbing them in peoples faces. A rather childish and silly reaction to have to criticism isn't it? If memory serves, Terry Nation responded to critics by writing Genesis of the Daleks. Maybe Moff should take a cue from him.

I was almost surprised when we didn't get a mention of The Singing Towers. In fact I half expected when the Doctor asked her to travel with him that she'd set the co-ordinates and say something like "It looks like we're going to the Singing Towers of Darillium, sweetie." So that we know that between now and Christmas would be their last time together. Why do that? Because the Ponds are over. River Song is a Pond! Of course we know that Moffat is in love with the character so not really that surprised...

Over all Angels Take Manhattan was not a very good episode, very little really happens despite it being the departure of a companion. Knowing Moffat hates to hear this line but he really should watch the Classic episodes. Dragonfire has a more depressing exit from Mel than this has for Amy. Resurrection of the Daleks and Earthshock are more dramatic! Lest we forget Dalek Invasion of Earth and leaving Susan behind! As companion departures go, I do not think this one will go down in peoples memories for long. Which is unfortunate for those who truly loved the character.

Let us hope that the new companion is better.


(Oh and those glasses were clearly meant for the Doctor, no way were they Amy's haha!)