Amy Pond: The Girl Who Waited

[Lisin]

Amy Pond will always be my favourite companion. Don't judge me. She waited! Guys, she waited, and then she remembered.

[darkestboy]

Nah, I won't judge you.

Amy certainly had an amazing story arc. One of the best from the series.

[Vikitty]

I love Amy so much, because she really did grow and find her independence. She was able to learn and accept that it was time to grow up and let her imaginary friend go to chase after the things that are more important. TATM is one of my favourite episodes as a result, even though it's her last episode.

[HauntedBathroom]

I thought Amy was wonderful. She was funny and sharp and she took no rubbish, and she was the hub of a smokin' hot family.

Edited March 31, 2014 by HauntedBathroom

[jeannie]

I loved Amy as well (both the little girl and the adult version of her). I understand why people disliked her, but to me, she's second only to Rose. (Another divisive character, I know).

[wolvfbfn]

I can not stand Amy. She was whiny and seemed to have no agency of her own. She sexually assaulted the Doctor on the night before her wedding and then took ages "decide" she did actually love Rory enough to marry him. Ugh, she was awful and got me to stop watching until "the Ponds" were gone.

[RachelKM]

I loved Amy as well (both the little girl and the adult version of her). I understand why people disliked her, but to me, she's second only to Rose. (Another divisive character, I know).

You may have hit upon what annoyed me about her initially.  I loved Rose until the shipping and the propping got out of hand.  I still like her, but that crap took a while to shake off and I wasn't entirely there when Amy arrived and they initially looked to headed in some of the same directions.

However, I love little Amelia and LOVE the Ponds together.  The Boy Who Waited and the Girl Who Waited were great together.  Rory makes pretty much everything better.

[TooMuchCoffee]

Young Amelia was adorable and very together but then think about everything that happened to her. The Doctor didn't return for 12 (+2) years. She saw multiple psychiatrists who told her she was just imagining things. Previous companions were older when they met their Doctor and had led somewhat normal lives. 

The crack in her wall changed her history and let Prisoner Zero into her house. She lost her child under insane, cosmic circumstances.  Crazy stuff happened to her; her life was never normal and not always in a good way. I thought she was a very tragic figure. I enjoyed her even more when Rory was also around.

[cynicat]

I can't decide if it was the actress or the character, but holy shit did I hate Amy.  Almost as much as I hated River Song. I had to completely skip the last years with Matt Smith because of those two. 

[kaffyr]

Just wanted to drop by to say how much I loved Amy. I remember not being quite sure about her for awhile, after loving her in "The Eleventh Hour" - and then "Amy's Choice" came along, and so many more, and "The Girl Who Waited" ... and then I realized how much I respected this broken, fierce girl turned woman - selfish and loving, generous and scared, brave and confused and dangerous and all sorts of awesome, and then I went back and watched all of her stories all over again and - yeah, this old broad thought she was fantastic. Then again, I love her daughter too, and her husband, so ... yeah, missing Pond and her family? Pretty much standard for me now.\

[benteen]

I liked Amy although I found her obession with The Doctor to be annoying and incredibly self-absorbed.  11's companions don't hold up to 10's.

Edited June 3, 2014 by benteen

[HauntedBathroom]

Personally, I found them to be far superior, but that wouldn't be difficult, as they were paired with a far superior Doctor. Amy in particular was a sparky joy.

[tarotx]

I definitely love Amy and Rory and River with 11 more so than I do Rose and Martha with 10. 

[elle]

I like Clara. Her upbeat personality is a breath of fresh air after sour, dour, Amy.

Brought over from the "Clara" thread..

 

Amy, mileage may vary and all that, I liked her.   However, you may find the actress more upbeat in her new series Selfie on ABC

 

(Yes, Amelia Pond on a sitcom, still scrambles the neurons!)

Edited September 20, 2014 by elle

[alias1]

I hated the Amy saga, and by extension, the ridiculous way River Song evolved (she was much better when she was a mystery).  Part of my hatred might have been the way Karen played her, but also the way Moffat obviously adored her and made her the most special companion ever (she was able to wish the whole universe back into existence, how clever Moffat.).  (Oh and they weren't Mr and Mrs Williams, they were The Ponds, how clever Moffat).  And River Song had to be Melody Pond, how clever Moffat). 

 

But Karen's new sitcom looks like a perfect vehicle for her.  I wish her luck.  I'm just glad she's gone from Doctor Who.

[SistaLadybug]

I loved Amelia Pond but this upcoming sitcom looks godawful to me.  I'm sorry because I like Karen but I'll be skipping it.

[HauntedBathroom]

Yes, Karen and Amy were adorable, but that sitcom does look as though it was written on the back of an envelope. Quite a small envelope.

[fantique]

I am a Pond and Amy lover too!!! I just liked her because I feel like she progressed naturally. She went from Amelia to Amy and like certain children, she had trouble letting go of her imaginary friend who then turned out to be real. I cringed with the flirting attempts but as soon I realised they were being written and played from a place of zero sexiness and completely not real I just got over them. Besides she kind of had a flirty personality. It felt like someone growing up and their childhood hero turns into a normal person instead of this abstract perfection in your mind and you see them and yourself more clearly. After the wedding she would always scoff at Rory's doubts that she was in love with him and I loved that. It also allowed me to see the doctor act fatherly which I found I quite enjoy. I also love River so there. 

Also I think them being called the Ponds so obsessively was actually a Matt thing. Like he would say "Come Along Pond" on set, it wasn't scripted so maybe they just took it in stride after that.

If you like Karen she's done quite a few things since Who. Also that show Selfie? It's not as bad as it sounds. The previews definitely make you take a step back but after a few cringeworthy scenes, it's pretty fun to watch.

And Karen seems like a very lovely, very random person so her as a vapid social media whore was quite surprising to  me...

[elle]

I meant the time between the aliens who were going to destroy earth and the next jump where Eleven comes back and Amy informs him 2 years passed (but doesn't mention the wedding).

 

I think before the astronaut episode, the Doctor was tooling around for 200 years before he came back to see Amy and Rory.

That happens in "The Beast Below", right?

 

Is it ever said how much time on Earth passes between the "doctor's death" and his return to Amy and Rory?

[tarotx]

In the Impossible Astronaut? The first doctor is the Doctor we see later in the season. He list his age as being somewhere around 200 years older than the other doctor in the episode. It does seem to me that he could/might have ran from the time "he dies" to put off death. 

 

It seems no real time passes from the Doctor's "Death" to when they find him in the diner since they go looking for who is Number 1 from the Tardis Blue envelopes. 

[elle]

I was thinking about the time between "A Christmas Carol" and the very beginning of "The Impossible Astronaut" before they receive the envelope.  It seems to be a while, more than a month since they saw the Doctor last.

 

I have theory about you second comment which I'll take over to the Eleven thread.

[eXiled]

I'm working my way through Season 5 and I've grown to accept Matt Smith. It only took me about five episodes (Tennant got me in three and still is MY doctor. For now).

 

I think I hate Amy. I don't want to because KG is gorgeous and a fine actress, but Amy's characterization bugs. I don't like how she treats Rory or that she thought it was fine to jump the Doctor the night before she was to marry. I wish Rory knew he deserved better than this brat. The last ep I saw was Cold Blood. I know Rory will return (over and over again) after this, but it leaves such a bad taste in my mouth.

 

Poor Rory. He's just some bloke Amy passed time with until the real thing--The Doctor--came back. I'm glad that the real thing could not care less for her in that department. I'm glad Amy will never be validated on that front, especially since she only recognizes her commitment to Rory during the most dire moments. Seriously, hon, go all the way to hell with that fickle mess!

 

I think I would not have minded seeing Eleven travel with young Amelia. No sexy times. No creepy disloyalty that makes me dislike her. Just fish sticks and custard and adventures. YUM!

 

Maybe she gets better? I see she has loads of fans who thinks she's great. I try not to be set in my ways, so I am very much open to liking her in the future. Right now, though, she seems so full of herself, unappreciative of the nice man she has in Rory, and I'm not fond of her sexualizing of the Doctor (I just don't ship the doctor with anyone. Ever. I don't care how handsome his visage is.)

[supposebly]

It took me a long time to appreciate Amy but it helps to remember that Amy is also Amelia, a child who was left by the most amazing raggedy man and thus waited for him growing up. I think the return of the Doctor put her back into that skin, him asking her to trust him despite it all didn't help, and the temptation to restart something she thought she had was strong. I think despite her abrasiveness, it was all quite overwhelming. And then he left again for 2 years. It must have been very tempting to hold on as hard as she could.

Yes, Rory was the guy she spent time with waiting but he is also the guy she actually loves, not just waits for. I think her character arch actually works most of the time.

 

Moffat played with this so-called triangle and who she lurves more way too much until it got really annoying even after The Big Bang but overall, it worked for me.

Edited December 4, 2014 by supposebly

[1TrackMind]

I was the same way. I disliked Amy greatly for her disregard of Rory, who clearly worshiped the ground she walked on. It was not until she started recognizing just what she had and how much he really meant to her that I warmed up and started enjoying her more, as she moved more into the Elevens Best Friend category. Less flirt, more snark. 'Did you wish really hard?'

 

That said, Vincent and the Doctor will never not make me teary.

[Fat Elvis 007]

In the Clara thread, people were comparing Clara to Wendy from Peter Pan.

See, IMO the companion that most echoes Wendy is Amy. The Doctor meets her as a child, and their second episode has shots deliberately meant to echo Peter Pan and Amy. He even travels with her daughter later. The perfect ending would have been to have the Doctor return to Amy after a time apart and miss the landing by a few decades to find that she had grown old and was dying. They even had a version of this with Rory in their last episode but somehow missed that opportunity with Amy. It's part of why Amy's story seems so unfinished to me.

[morgankobi]

My seven-year-old just got to Vincent and the Doctor in his (mandatory) chronological Nu-Who watch.

Yep, still makes me cry.

[elle]

I just realized that I had never seen the opening, pre title sequence to "Asylum of the Daleks".  Going past the question of how did they get the human/daleks on Earth to capture Amy and Rory and on to the ridiculous.  I could just see the headline for the Enquirer:

 

Daleks saved my marriage!   Amelia Pond Williams tells all!

[rove4]

I was wary of Amy at first because, as others have said, I didn't much like the flirtiness with 11 despite being engaged to Rory.  But as Amy settled down and she got over the awe factor (with regards to 11) I liked her better. Then when Rory joined Team Tardis he really helped to ground Amy even more.  I LOVED the Ponds! Their devotion to each other made me tear up in several episodes, not the least of which was their last one...which also gave us the great line, "Together, or not at all." 

I also loved River Song and get a kick out of knowing that Amy and Rory are/were the Doctor's in-laws, lol.  They are the First Family of the TARDIS.

Amy and Donna are pretty much evenly tied for first place in my heart as far as ranking of companions goes.  They both grew into that best friend role for the Doctor which I much prefer to any romantic nonsense. 

Edited May 26, 2017 by rove4

[Mabinogia]

37 minutes ago, rove4 said:

Then when Rory joined Team Tardis he really helped to ground Amy even more.  I LOVED the Ponds!

Yes! The Ponds together were perfection. I think having Rory join them was exactly what Amy needed to remind her of where her heart really was. I liked Amy from the start but her and Rory were perfection.

[Wulfsige]

Amy and Rory were my favorite companions, hands down. I found Rose, and Micky, really, really irritating to the point where I stopped watching DW shortly after starting watching. Picking it up later, I realized that I'd missed out on Donna, whom I also loved. But Amy and Rory were it for me.  

[rove4]

I stopped watching during the Rose/Ten seasons too once they started with the romantic angle. Ugh. I just read reviews/recaps to keep up with the show but I didn't pick it back up until Martha started.

The Ponds were the best. And I quite liked the whole power of three dynamic they had going on because while Amy was 11's best friend, Rory was able to be more realistic and objective about the Doctor.  Still a friend but not of the my-friend-can-do-no-wrong mentality.

One of my favorite Amy moments was in The Girl Who Waited when young Amy is recalling with old Amy how she fell in love with Rory - "Rory is the most beautiful man I have ever met."

Edited May 26, 2017 by rove4

[festivus]

4 hours ago, rove4 said:

 

I was wary of Amy at first because, as others have said, I didn't much like the flirtiness with 11 despite being engaged to Rory. 

 

I remember being irritated with Amy about that the first time I watched but it doesn't really bother me now when I watch because of the beautiful love story that came of Amy and Rory. It's really hard for me to say my favorite companion but I will say I loved the quartet of 11, Amy, Rory and River and I'm not sure we could ever get better chemistry in the future between four people like we did with them. For me, they were magic.

[rove4]

16 minutes ago, festivus said:

It's really hard for me to say my favorite companion but I will say I loved the quartet of 11, Amy, Rory and River and I'm not sure we could ever get better chemistry in the future between four people like we did with them. For me, they were magic.

Totally agree. 

[Bruinsfan]

Amy really surprised me because I went without BBCA for the entirety of Matt Smith's run and from the reviews and synopses I read in that time she sounded like a horrible Mary Sue. But when I actually got to watch the episodes she was wonderfully endearing, something I give complete credit to Karen Gillan for because that quality was not apparent in the text AT ALL to me. (Sarah Jane is still my all time favorite companion, though.)

[rove4]

Sarah Jane was great for classic Who too.

[smorbie]

On 4/9/2014 at 2:45 PM, RachelKM said:

The Boy Who Waited and the Girl Who Waited were great together.  Rory makes pretty much everything better.

I think of them as one companion, actually.  They were perfect together, and he was so funny.  In the end, I think I enjoyed him more.

[smorbie]

I was just recently watching one of the Christmas episodes, the Doctor, the Widow, and the Wardrobe.  It was good, of course.  But, at the end of it, the Doctor went to Amy's and Rory's.  They drug him in, telling him they always set a place for him at the table.  As he stood there, wiping tears away, I suddenly realized that what Amy was, was family.  Never mind that she's his mother in law or any of that.  Amy is his family.  And the Doctor had come home for Christmas.

He has had unique relationships with many of his companions, but I can't think of another one who probably represented home as much.