With only two more Amy and Rory episodes left, we get a heavily Pond centric tale that actually takes us though some of the happenings and internal conflicts over the past several months.
One thing that became apparent since last series when the Doctor gave them that wonderful house in the city was that while the Doctor will be traveling without a set companion, he does pop in fairly frequently to the Ponds to take them on a short adventure. The unfortunate thing, which is a bit of reality for the rest of us, is that while to the Doctor it may seem like a few mere moments between adventures, to the Ponds months may have passed between visits.
In these between times, the Ponds have settled into their lives. Amy continues her modeling and is a travel writer, while Rory is a permanently on call nurse. It’s not the most glamorous of lives compared to their adventures with the Doctor, but it is their life they’ve carved. The episode as a whole deals with the idea of living two different lives that are mutually exclusive from one another. The Ponds often have to question their place and if it’s worth it to continue on their adventures with the Doctor. Sometimes they are only gone a few mere moments, returning weeks later in their own perspective, or sometimes they disappear for months on end without a trace, returning as if they were only gone a day.
Their friends do notice, and their lives are fairly upended when they leave. It’s fortunate that Brian, Rory’s father, is around to mind the home front while they are away.
The Power of Three’s main villain revolves around millions of black cubes that appear one day around the globe. Determining there was no problem, the Doctor leaves for a while and we follow along the next year with Amy and Rory. The episode itself does a fair bit to answer the question of what happens to the companions while they are back home, and what happens to their lives while they are away. In the end though, it becomes a question of do the Ponds want to leave their normal life behind and go on a grand space-time adventure, or do they want to leave the Doctor for good?
Overall, the episode itself felt like a semi-needed lead in to the departure of Amy and Rory next week. It will be sad to see them go though, especially since they have a special fondness in the Doctor’s heart being the first people this incarnation saw after his regeneration all those years ago. The episode makes the obvious reference of the power of three, the Doctor, Amy and Rory, and how well they work together. The chemistry between the three is unquestioned, and it will be hard to see something different next spring.
Other Observations
- The new head of UNIT is Kate Stewart, daughter of the late Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart (founder of UNIT and dear friend of the several generations of Doctor).
- The Doctor, who hates saluting UNIT, salutes Kate.
- Doctor, Amy, and Rory enjoy a meal of fish fingers and custard.
- Amy married Henry the VIII on her wedding anniversary.
- Amy and Pond have aged about 10 years due to their travels.
- “There are soldiers in my house, and I’m in my pants.”
- “I want them to be vulnerable, with a nice Achilles’ heel.”
- This episode features a huge amount of modern references to 2010s pop-culture (Twitter, YouTube, The Apprentice, Nintendo Wii), which is odd as most Doctor Who episodes are relatively time generic.
- The Doctor lasted about seven minutes at home before he went crazy.
- Doctor gives two great speeches. The first warning anyone who threatens Earth and humans whom he deems precious to him. The second is the heart felt talk of running towards Amy and Rory as his only true friends in this regeneration.
- The Doctor invented Yorkshire pudding.
- The Doctor makes a funny reference to his hovering metal dog K9.
- Kate can communicate with the Doctor via his psychic paper.
- “Yes, I have officers trained in beheading. Also ravens of death.” “I like her.”
