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Asylum of the Daleks. DW S7.1
These thoughts are going to be brief - not because there's not a lot to dig into, but because this week is so busy I can't describe it. So I'll touch on the major imagery and leave it at that for now...
Eggs
First things first: Props to Moffat for not just poking at every single egg-terminate joke ever, but for also making large swathes of the audience crack up when Rory picked up what he called an 'egg' - because everyone knows that it's a Dalek bump... And if you don't know why this is laugh-out-loud funny, then make haste and watch The Curse of Fatal Death, Moffat's first outing writing DW. (It's a Comic Relief 'sketch' and beyond brilliant.)
But - there is a more serious side to this. Eggs are a symbol of life (and rebirth). A Dalek would never need an egg - it is a weapon, something deformed/mutated and dead (as in - unable to reproduce naturally). And this is where it ties in with the story: Amy and Rory's break-up might be a tad contrived (although it is the exact sort of thing Amy would do, and absolutely fits in with her reasoning), but looking beneath the surface all the metaphors fall into place: The souffle was burned (again), and Amy can't have children - eggs and milk, these are the key. Also it's about looking beneath the surface damage or issues. The Doctor wonders where Oswin got the milk, and the damage to Amy isn't just emotional, it's physical. All the eggs are broken...
Eyes (windows/mirrors)
There has always been a lot of eye imagery in Moffat's Who, and it's really drawing together now. It is tied in with all kinds of things - such as self-perception and looking out versus looking in. Most obviously we see this with Oswin, whose image of self is completely at odds with reality - but of course she is a mirror for the Doctor, whom the Daleks call 'Predator': That is, someone more dangerous than they are themselves. It also goes the other way of course - Oswin looks like a Dalek - has been completely converted - yet she has managed to cling onto her humanity. Essentially: Don't always trust your eyes. Also, I am struck by all the one-eyed-ness (Daleks have one eye, all those eye patches last season), and of course Davros' third eye... I will probably write something more on this at a later date.
Memory etc.
The theme of S6 is very much carried forward here. Then it was physical death, now it is death of a different kind - the Daleks forget him, and this is huge. They've been around since the very, very beginning, and this kind of erasure is... fascinating, and possibly not entirely good. Oh it's marvellous on many levels, but the man who could turn an army around at the mention of his name is slowly being dismantled - and where will that leave him? Which ties in with who-ever-it-is who is pulling all the strings. (Oh hai there multi-season arc, I love you.) Plz be Omega!
GIRL IN A BOX
This is the point where I have to give up. Because I could talk about Oswin forever (her name, the way she is like a nightmare version of CAL, Carmen, dancers, all that red, human/monster, souffles, dreams etc etc), but I'll have to wait. But she is a mirror absolutely EVERYTHING, and I think I know who she is, and it all ties together beautifully and I... really can't talk about it all now.
In conclusion: Moffat still owns ALL THE METAPHORS, the show is still like poetry, and I feel like I'm slightly lost in a hall of mirrors - I need to work out which ones are real and which ones are reflections, and then I can work out what's happening...
Eggs
First things first: Props to Moffat for not just poking at every single egg-terminate joke ever, but for also making large swathes of the audience crack up when Rory picked up what he called an 'egg' - because everyone knows that it's a Dalek bump... And if you don't know why this is laugh-out-loud funny, then make haste and watch The Curse of Fatal Death, Moffat's first outing writing DW. (It's a Comic Relief 'sketch' and beyond brilliant.)
But - there is a more serious side to this. Eggs are a symbol of life (and rebirth). A Dalek would never need an egg - it is a weapon, something deformed/mutated and dead (as in - unable to reproduce naturally). And this is where it ties in with the story: Amy and Rory's break-up might be a tad contrived (although it is the exact sort of thing Amy would do, and absolutely fits in with her reasoning), but looking beneath the surface all the metaphors fall into place: The souffle was burned (again), and Amy can't have children - eggs and milk, these are the key. Also it's about looking beneath the surface damage or issues. The Doctor wonders where Oswin got the milk, and the damage to Amy isn't just emotional, it's physical. All the eggs are broken...
Eyes (windows/mirrors)
There has always been a lot of eye imagery in Moffat's Who, and it's really drawing together now. It is tied in with all kinds of things - such as self-perception and looking out versus looking in. Most obviously we see this with Oswin, whose image of self is completely at odds with reality - but of course she is a mirror for the Doctor, whom the Daleks call 'Predator': That is, someone more dangerous than they are themselves. It also goes the other way of course - Oswin looks like a Dalek - has been completely converted - yet she has managed to cling onto her humanity. Essentially: Don't always trust your eyes. Also, I am struck by all the one-eyed-ness (Daleks have one eye, all those eye patches last season), and of course Davros' third eye... I will probably write something more on this at a later date.
Memory etc.
The theme of S6 is very much carried forward here. Then it was physical death, now it is death of a different kind - the Daleks forget him, and this is huge. They've been around since the very, very beginning, and this kind of erasure is... fascinating, and possibly not entirely good. Oh it's marvellous on many levels, but the man who could turn an army around at the mention of his name is slowly being dismantled - and where will that leave him? Which ties in with who-ever-it-is who is pulling all the strings. (Oh hai there multi-season arc, I love you.) Plz be Omega!
GIRL IN A BOX
This is the point where I have to give up. Because I could talk about Oswin forever (her name, the way she is like a nightmare version of CAL, Carmen, dancers, all that red, human/monster, souffles, dreams etc etc), but I'll have to wait. But she is a mirror absolutely EVERYTHING, and I think I know who she is, and it all ties together beautifully and I... really can't talk about it all now.
In conclusion: Moffat still owns ALL THE METAPHORS, the show is still like poetry, and I feel like I'm slightly lost in a hall of mirrors - I need to work out which ones are real and which ones are reflections, and then I can work out what's happening...
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I know what you mean! I was going to write something about the love/hate theme, but forgot/figured people could probably see it anyway. But yes - v, nice mirroring.
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(Anonymous) 2012-09-05 10:34 pm (UTC)(link)~ srmcd1
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The main issue is just finding time to write it all down - all the meta just appears on it's own, I swear. (Well, not quite - I talk everything over with Promethia!)
If this is just the beginning, I can't wait to see the rest.
Just wait until I get to Oswin!
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Oh my goodness, she even sort of looks like Cal, doesn't she?
This is all the best Moffat again. I am so very happy.
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IKR? It's brilliant.
Oh my goodness, she even sort of looks like Cal, doesn't she?
It is a truth universally acknowledged that everything ties back to the Library!
This is all the best Moffat again. I am so very happy.
Me too! *hums*
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PLZ BE OMEGA!
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Not that you have to answer, but I'm curious: do you figure you know who she is by name, or in more general terms? Because I'm pretty sure/hoping hard that she's going to be the person that the Doctor puts back together, in contrast to the various people he's torn apart or turned upside down or just generally shaken the hell out of—I think doing that would be a huge turning point for him. But I haven't (yet) connected her with any character we already know.
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Way back when it was first announced that the Ponds were leaving, I came up with a theory as to who would be the perfect next companion. It was kinda mad, but every. single. thing. has so far proved me right. (Well - almost. But. It's uncanny.)
Because I'm pretty sure/hoping hard that she's going to be the person that the Doctor puts back together, in contrast to the various people he's torn apart or turned upside down or just generally shaken the hell out of—I think doing that would be a huge turning point for him.
That would be very awesome indeed.
But I haven't (yet) connected her with any character we already know.
*grins* I shan't say anything then. But I'll write a long post at some point, nailing my colours to the mast. And if I'm wrong all of fandom can laugh at me. But... damn, I want it to be true.
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I meant it the other day when I said I was super excited about your meta - this was wonderful. It is so very like my own thoughts, but actually coherent! :D Boxes, memory, identity, perception - Moffat really got ALL his buzzwords into this one, didn't he?!
Something else I thought of (amongst other things) - tying in with the theme of perception and identity, Amy Pond is surely the most metamorphosed companion of the new series? By which I mean, she has - nearly but not quite - been transformed into a Weeping Angel, a Dalek, and a Vampire-Space-Fish, as well as having her own Ganger, and being married to a guy who spent 2000 years as a plastic Roman. Sure, Rose was turned into a faceless person by the Wire, and was temporarily possessed by Cassandra, but I'm fairly sure Amy has undergone the most near-transformations of any companion. What do you make of that?
Oswin in the Dalek also reminded me of Amy in the Tesselector....
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IDK, when I think of something I'll let you know . . .
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But she also has a very permeating effect on her surroundings. She can summon things back into existence with the power of her memory. She tends to influence things and make her presence felt--when Amy ain't happy, ain't nobody happy.
Generally the line between Amy and everything around her seems a lot more fuzzy and permeable than any of the other characters. Which is perhaps why she gets so flinty and forceful--she has no other defenses?
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Well I don't know know, as I am very unspoiled. But. Long ago, back when it was announced that the Ponds would be leaving, I thought to myself: Goodness, I know exactly who would the the PERFECT Companion for the Doctor for his 50th anniversary. (What with all this re-booting going on.) And thus I created a Happy Theory. Imagine my delirious surprise when Oswin fitted into it perfectly. (Well 97% or thereabouts.) Will write it all down at some point, promise, so this is all you get. *g*
I meant it the other day when I said I was super excited about your meta - this was wonderful. It is so very like my own thoughts, but actually coherent! :D Boxes, memory, identity, perception - Moffat really got ALL his buzzwords into this one, didn't he?!
Totally. It was the most Moffat-y of Moffat episodes.
Something else I thought of (amongst other things) - tying in with the theme of perception and identity, Amy Pond is surely the most metamorphosed companion of the new series?
Promethia has already answered this in great detail - oh how marvellous to have people who share your brain. *g* So - what she said. Although we've also seen her as a child, and as an older woman, as a mother and as someone childless, single, engaged, married... Amy is in many ways Every Woman (shades of The Waste Land - 'all the women are one woman'). Which is fascinating from an analytical POV, but not so good for poor Amy herself of course...
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This whole post *sniffles* so gorgeous and you put into perspective what I can't completely touch on -
*HUGS YOU HARD*
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I am right there with you!
And thank you sweetie - although I'm just getting started! *flexes meta muscles*
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*beams*
And you're right, Moffat is definitely metaphor and symbol ~focused, which I've always appreciated even when the general story doesn't do much for me.
This. The stories can't always be brilliant, but as long as there's something to dig into (the pirate episode last season was the most fantastic mirror!) I'm happy. <3
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And it's wonderful. ♥
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The Empty Child:
Nine: Know how long you can knock around space without happening to bump into Earth?
Rose: 5 days? Or is that just when we're outta' milk?
Nine: All the species in the universe, and it has to come out of a cow.
Asylum of the Daleks:
Eleven: Where do you get the milk?
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Oh that's BEAUTIFUL! :D
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Generally, I'm all about BtVS meta and with the Doctor I tend to just enjoy the ride and be a happy fangirl, but it's very nice to read your reviews.
Just one question: how can the Ponds and Eleventh ear a human voice, when they talk to Oswin?
She's a dalek. We see her true form in the end and she's completly dalek, even with the dalek-y voice. So why? Mistake or hint for something more?
That's all. I'm gonna be a very happy fangirl because the Doctor is back and the Ponds are so OTP! It hurts how much they're great together! >O
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I think the thing with BtVS is that I spent a good few years analysing everything and as canon is closed there's nothing left to dig into... Of course this is why it's lovely to have new fans, looking at it with new eyes, because the see things other have missed. :) Re. Doctor Who, then I was happy just watching until the S3 finale, when suddenly the meta began eating my head. And then Moffat took over and well. It's all poetry. <3
Just one question: how can the Ponds and Eleventh ear a human voice, when they talk to Oswin?
Same reason they could hear the music. She obviously made her 'dream world' real to the extent that she could broadcast. It was only when there were no more filters that the real truth was exposed. (Still - that's one heck of a dreamworld!)
That's all. I'm gonna be a very happy fangirl because the Doctor is back and the Ponds are so OTP! It hurts how much they're great together! >O
♥
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I mean, after reading your post I can see all those nice metaphors and all, and it's probably all pretty fascinating if you delve into it...
But the episode itself was very flat to me, storywise. I was very disappointed with it and I can't seem to muster up any kind of enthusiasm about it apart from anger at the Amy/Rory storyline.
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(Re. the Ponds, then it doesn't bother me since it's in character - and a nice follow up to AGMGTW - but I've also since thought that it probably fits in handily with however they're written out. If there was a chance they could settle down and have a brood of bitty Ponds, then if they're killed off that possibility would always hang over them. As I have NO idea what happens - and am happy that way - I could be totally off course, but I think it might have been a factor. /end ramble)