Post by Lola m on Jun 6, 2010 21:57:26 GMT -5
“So what do you do around here to stave off the, you know... self-harm?”
An ironic joke as it turns out, because self-harm is exactly what is going on in this episode.
Nicely put!
The final revelation that the Dream Lord is the Doctor (or, rather, an expression of his inner darkness, a Mr Hyde, if you will) is both shocking and oddly inevitable. Everything suddenly makes perfect sense, especially on a second viewing. Although the Doctor points out that he has 907 years worth of baggage for the psychic pollen to feed on, the concept of an inner voice that is a combination of one’s negative qualities and self-disgust is a common idea.
Part of the episode is a journey of discovery about the Doctor. This is not self-discovery – the Doctor realises who the Dream Lord is quite early in the story, and he reveals the truth in an almost offhand way at the end. Rather, it is us seeing the darkness within him (not a new development, for long-term fans). The episode’s other aspect is Amy choosing between the two extremes of life that most of us are caught between: excitement and contentment.
Part of the episode is a journey of discovery about the Doctor. This is not self-discovery – the Doctor realises who the Dream Lord is quite early in the story, and he reveals the truth in an almost offhand way at the end. Rather, it is us seeing the darkness within him (not a new development, for long-term fans). The episode’s other aspect is Amy choosing between the two extremes of life that most of us are caught between: excitement and contentment.
I like this deeper view of the choice and the story.
The Dream Lord is both the Doctor’s self-interest and the internal voice that makes him insecure about that self-interest. For example, the Doctor is a Time Lord, one of the elite (“Hello, peasants”). The fact is that, despite all the talk of the Doctor and companion being equal now, as if human sexual politics is an issue, they are separated by centuries, about a thousand IQ points, and the fact that he is from a civilisation many millions of years old. Moffat acknowledges this: “It’s anything but a relationship of equals.”
As the Ninth Doctor wasn’t shy about observing on occasion, we are “stupid apes” next to him.
Or as the rarely tactful First Doctor said, “I tell you that before your ancestors turned the first wheel, the people of my world had reduced movement through the farthest reaches of space to a game for children.”
As the Ninth Doctor wasn’t shy about observing on occasion, we are “stupid apes” next to him.
Or as the rarely tactful First Doctor said, “I tell you that before your ancestors turned the first wheel, the people of my world had reduced movement through the farthest reaches of space to a game for children.”
;D I admit to a fondness for a bit of egotistical Doctor.
And yet he usually treats us as equals. The Dream Lord is that voice inside, telling him that all he is really doing is being condescending, humouring the monkeys’ tea party. It emerges occasionally in the Doctor himself, like when he is impatient with both Rory and Amy for wanting some warm clothes. This, however, is just one of weapons the Dream Lord uses.
The Doctor seems to have some jealousy about Amy, but it is almost certainly not sexual jealousy. I’ll refer to Mr Moffat again: “He’s probably more interested in the relationship than in the physical expression of it. That’s not him, is it? He wouldn’t be like that. He would do all that, and I’m sure he has done all that, but he’s too decorous and too gentlemanly ever to make it the central fact of his being. That would be awful ... For me, the Doctor has all that stuff going on, but it’s not at the front of his life. He wants to explore the universe and have adventures; and he wants to meet people, and he falls in love with lots of people. He’s a serial falling-in-lover. He loves them all. It’s not the same thing as being lustful or libidinous. That’s not what he’s about.”
That is, however, what the Dream Lord is about, another example of his pure self-interest. We see this in several scenes, but most notably when he and Amy are alone in the TARDIS. Have some more Steven Moffat, on me: “But to say he doesn’t notice which ones are the girls and which girls are pretty... you haven’t been watching the same show I have, because he does. He likes them.” And so in the Dream Lord we have the Doctor’s sexuality stripped of the wholesome wish to unite with another self, seeing others as merely the objects of its goatish desires.
The Dream Lord plays on insecurities, insecurities about the Doctor’s respect for others and his respect for himself. And yet, without his inner darkness his better self would have no strength.
The Doctor seems to have some jealousy about Amy, but it is almost certainly not sexual jealousy. I’ll refer to Mr Moffat again: “He’s probably more interested in the relationship than in the physical expression of it. That’s not him, is it? He wouldn’t be like that. He would do all that, and I’m sure he has done all that, but he’s too decorous and too gentlemanly ever to make it the central fact of his being. That would be awful ... For me, the Doctor has all that stuff going on, but it’s not at the front of his life. He wants to explore the universe and have adventures; and he wants to meet people, and he falls in love with lots of people. He’s a serial falling-in-lover. He loves them all. It’s not the same thing as being lustful or libidinous. That’s not what he’s about.”
That is, however, what the Dream Lord is about, another example of his pure self-interest. We see this in several scenes, but most notably when he and Amy are alone in the TARDIS. Have some more Steven Moffat, on me: “But to say he doesn’t notice which ones are the girls and which girls are pretty... you haven’t been watching the same show I have, because he does. He likes them.” And so in the Dream Lord we have the Doctor’s sexuality stripped of the wholesome wish to unite with another self, seeing others as merely the objects of its goatish desires.
The Dream Lord plays on insecurities, insecurities about the Doctor’s respect for others and his respect for himself. And yet, without his inner darkness his better self would have no strength.
**nods a lot**
Perhaps the Doctor ultimately uses the Dream Lord for good, just as he has always channelled his negative aspects into positive action. We’ll see.
Amy, then, isn’t really choosing between two romantic rivals (the Dream Lord constantly implies that she’s actually choosing between two sexual rivals); she’s choosing between conflicting desires of a different sort. There are two dreams, but three dreamers. Rory’s dream is of an idyllic if dull life, tranquil and settled domesticity. The Doctor’s is of the TARDIS falling toward a cold sun. It is significant that they both recognise this. The Doctor points out that the Leadworth dream is of Rory’s dream job, his dream wife and (probably) his dream baby. Rory’s appraisal of the TARDIS dream – a new type of star, fourteen minutes to live and only the Doctor can save everyone: “Oh, this is so you, isn’t it?” – is also to the point. Amy says both dreams feel equally real to her, because she is conflicted over the life she wants, but not, as it turns out, over the two men who represent each life. Because the fact is that, ultimately she loves Rory and not the Doctor. This is actually foreshadowed on several occasions throughout the episode, and becomes the big emotional payoff.
Amy, then, isn’t really choosing between two romantic rivals (the Dream Lord constantly implies that she’s actually choosing between two sexual rivals); she’s choosing between conflicting desires of a different sort. There are two dreams, but three dreamers. Rory’s dream is of an idyllic if dull life, tranquil and settled domesticity. The Doctor’s is of the TARDIS falling toward a cold sun. It is significant that they both recognise this. The Doctor points out that the Leadworth dream is of Rory’s dream job, his dream wife and (probably) his dream baby. Rory’s appraisal of the TARDIS dream – a new type of star, fourteen minutes to live and only the Doctor can save everyone: “Oh, this is so you, isn’t it?” – is also to the point. Amy says both dreams feel equally real to her, because she is conflicted over the life she wants, but not, as it turns out, over the two men who represent each life. Because the fact is that, ultimately she loves Rory and not the Doctor. This is actually foreshadowed on several occasions throughout the episode, and becomes the big emotional payoff.
I think this is why the resolution of them both being dreams, both "false" in their own way, is so perfect for me.
So, everyone is at the mercy of the psychic pollen and the monster that it draws out of the Doctor’s psyche. Or are they? The fact is that the Doctor realises early in the episode who the Dream Lord is. This dialogue seems to suggest that he has known what is going on for a long time.
The Doctor:
Star burning cold – do me a favour. The Dream Lord has no power over the real world. He was offering us a choice between two dreams.
Amy:
How do you know that?
The Doctor:
Because I know who he is.
Is it possible that the Doctor actually allowed this drama to be played out as part of his project, ever since the conclusion of Flesh and Stone, to ensure Amy and Rory are together and get married on the crucial day? Have we seen the last of the Dream Lord?
The one thing I can’t understand is why Amy’s unborn child didn’t factor in her decision (at least, not in a way the viewers were able to see). At the crucial moment, did Rory’s death absolutely convince her that the Leadworth story was a dream, it only being seen by her as potential suicide in retrospect?
But never mind such moral trivialities. Complete the Limerick! Roughly, it should be something like this:
There was an old man from Gallifrey
Who ended up throwing his life away
He let down his friends
And (blah blah blah) –ends
(blah blah blah blah blah blah blah) –ey
The Doctor:
Star burning cold – do me a favour. The Dream Lord has no power over the real world. He was offering us a choice between two dreams.
Amy:
How do you know that?
The Doctor:
Because I know who he is.
Is it possible that the Doctor actually allowed this drama to be played out as part of his project, ever since the conclusion of Flesh and Stone, to ensure Amy and Rory are together and get married on the crucial day? Have we seen the last of the Dream Lord?
The one thing I can’t understand is why Amy’s unborn child didn’t factor in her decision (at least, not in a way the viewers were able to see). At the crucial moment, did Rory’s death absolutely convince her that the Leadworth story was a dream, it only being seen by her as potential suicide in retrospect?
But never mind such moral trivialities. Complete the Limerick! Roughly, it should be something like this:
There was an old man from Gallifrey
Who ended up throwing his life away
He let down his friends
And (blah blah blah) –ends
(blah blah blah blah blah blah blah) –ey
There was an old man from Gallifrey,
Who ended up throwing his life away.
He let down his friends,
And Time at both ends,
By choosing to once again run away.