Month: May 2015

On “Wanting a Rory”

This is a bit of a random topic, but it’s one I’ve thought about enough that I wanted to put words to my thoughts.

As a self-proclaimed “nerd-girl,” I like to keep up with other nerds on the internet (wait, why don’t I have a Tumblr?), so I’ve noticed a lot of fellow Whovians say that they “want a Rory.” But I disagree. I want to BE a Rory (In fact, if we’re talking about a mate, I would prefer a male version of Amy anyway). If you’re sticking with me through this, and you haven’t seen a single episode, I’ll attempt to explain this somewhat briefly.

I started watching Doctor Who when the reboot was in its seventh season. I started from the beginning of the reboot, and even though I keep telling myself I’ll check out some Classic Who, I haven’t really done it. The seventh season of the reboot was during the Eleventh Doctor’s reign. When I started watching, his companions were Amy and Rory, the Ponds. Even though I started from the beginning, the Christmas special in 2012 was the first episode I watched when it was aired, so I consider the Eleventh Doctor to sort of be “my” doctor. (But I love all four I’ve seen almost equally.) The Ponds are also the only companions that I said goodbye to almost with everyone else, so they’re a bit special. Amy and Rory join the Eleventh Doctor pretty much as soon as he regenerates (I’m not going to explain the whole show so you’ll have to learn about regeneration on your own if needed) and Amy is the one who originally runs away with the Doctor. From the beginning, I loved Amelia Pond. I thought she was smart, sassy, kind, and adventurous. In comparison, Rory Williams gets played like a sad puppy at first, who seems to only want to be where Amy goes. The Doctor begins calling them “The Ponds” once they get married, and even though Rory starts to argue, he gives in immediately. I don’t care about who takes whose last name at all, but I wasn’t impressed with Rory’s character because I thought he was just being Amy’s shadow.

Oh, how I would come to change my mind.

Whovians like to debate who the “best” Doctor is. Or the “best” companion. I don’t care about the best, but my favorite companion is Rory. (Donna comes in a close second, but I like to forget about what happened to her… just like she did) Rory is the truly kind one in this relationship. His fiance literally runs away with another man the night before their wedding, proceeds to kiss him, and yet Rory still loves her and marries her (yeah, a lot more happens in between that and the wedding, like the entire universe getting rebooted, but time: it’s wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey). Rory also grows to love the Doctor as a friend. No matter what either Amy or the Doctor does that would piss off most people, Rory continues to love them both. At first, I saw this as a weakness. I thought he was too obsessed with Amy. He didn’t want much else, as long as he could love her. I wanted him to walk away from the crap they put him through. Eventually, though, I realized that I understood Rory, and if I saw love as a strength, then Rory has been just as strong as any other companion who traveled with the Doctor.

I say I want to be a Rory because Rory is always the first to rush to an individual’s aid. It doesn’t matter if the Doctor, Amy, and River are all there with him, Rory is always the first. Sure, it could be argued that this is because he’s a nurse, so he’s taking care of their physical needs, but even in the two part episode, The Rebel Flesh/The Almost People, Rory is the first of all characters to consider treating the “others” as equals and listening to their side of things. I mean, come on, the man even tried to help a dalek! And that wasn’t even he first time he had met one! It’s not like he didn’t know they were hate monsters. While the Doctor gets caught up in saving the entire world, Amy runs with him, but Rory focuses on how he can serve the person standing in front of him. Rory often reminds them that there’s more than all their grand plans, and that sometimes you need to recognize the small victories as important and valuable.

Also, Rory is so chill. He rolls with everything. Despite being the most down to earth and always being aware of all the things he shouldn’t be okay with, he just accepts it and moves on. One example of this is the episode when they go back to meet Hitler (and accidentally save him). Even though Rory makes a few jokes about the whole situation to point out how ridiculous it all is, he just rolls with it. Granted, all of them roll with it in this episode, but Rory is probably the only one who consistently seems to accept things he knows are insane. I’ve certainly never punched Hitler in the face, told him to shut up, and then locked him in a cupboard (I’m not even going into all the ways Rory is a badass), but stressful things still happen in a normal life. I’ve started to adopt his strategy of cracking a joke at something that stresses me out, and it works pretty well. I doubt I’ll ever achieve the level of chill that Rory emanates, but I will also, sadly, never travel in the T.A.R.D.I.S. so that’s probably okay.

Amy is originally portrayed as much more adventurous than Rory, but I think this is meant to be misleading. I think he just knows that he loves her, and it’s upsetting that she has doubts and decides to run away with the Doctor. It’s as though he’s not enough. And for two seasons, I had doubts that either of them really thought he was enough for her, but all my fears were ended in Asylum of the Daleks. Despite my doubts, I was not happy to see them getting divorced when that episode began. Did 2,000 years outside of a box really mean nothing to Amy? What about Rory being the most beautiful man Amy had ever met? Did none of that matter? Well, as we learn at the climax of the whole episode, of course, Amy “gave him up.” She did love him. Without explaining it all (because it requires a full history of the Ponds), Rory even tells Amy, “Basic fact of our relationship is that I love you more than you love me.” At this point in the episode I was basically like, “YES, FINALLY SOMEONE SAID IT,” but in typical Amy fashion, she abruptly informs you that’s a lie. In Amy’s eyes, she was no longer enough for Rory. She’s basically telling him deserves better than what she has to offer. Never fear though, Rory lets her know that he disagrees and would rather be with her than anyone else.

I want to be a Rory. Instead of “wanting a Rory” like so many others seem to, I want to be the one who loves unconditionally and never stops to think about who is and is not worthy of that love. Amy on the other hand, needs him to tell her that he doesn’t give a damn about whether or not she thinks she’s worthy. He’s decided she is and nothing can change that. I say I want a male version of Amy because I don’t think that two Rory’s in a relationship would make it, but Amy is certainly more than enough for Rory. I think their love for one another makes them worthy of each other’s love, but it doesn’t matter, because they will love each other anyway.

I guess I understand saying that you want a Rory, but I’d rather focus on possessing more of the good qualities that Rory has.

P.S. I think I failed on the “brief” explanation, but I could have gone on longer, so at least I limited myself that much?

P.P.S. I know that aside about Donna was heartbreaking. Sorry. Still crying about that ending.