Not to mention quite a hero. I am not sure I agree entirely with your conclusions, but I'll get to that when (and if) I get there.
First thing's first: What does tl;dr mean?
I have great hopes for Moffat. And plotting IS his strong point. He is good at it. This ought to mean this will be a smashing finale. Unlike the Davies ones which were always somehow unsatisfying.
I agree completely. Hence the badgering you to make this post. Thank you. I am terribly impressed. Just so you know.
They are also described as parts of space and time what was never supposed to meet. A bit like wormholes? With creepy light flowing through.
I am in the "the cracks are everywhere" theory. And they have been everywhere since the Doctor first met Amy (or did something related to Amy -- it may have been the fish sticks and custard), thus setting into motion whatever future creates the cracks. That is why they were not there before, and that is why Amy cannot remember the Daleks (I assume they were taken by cracks. Hmm. I wonder ... the Daleks in the Churchill episode -- do they say something related to recent events, or is it just the same old "ooh, we'll kill you and rule the universe with our new bright colours" bit?
You skipped your insight of the difference between the Doctor in the TARDIS and the other Doctor in this summary post. I thought that was quite important. That it implies a distinction between the two Doctors (one with TARDIS, the other without) -- although you implied it when you said one TARDIS would have blown up.
There is also the fact that we know some of Amy's memories do not correspond to what we have seen -- eg the Doctor tracing the crack. That, too, fits with meddling. Everything seems to be slightly out of sync.
I love this. If this is not explained I will be SEVERELY disappointed.
The loss of the jacket also means that time lines have already diverged. I know it is an obvious thing to state at this point, but I felt it should be said.
I am a little intrigued as to how he could roll up his sleeves and still wear the jacket. He must have lost the sleeves somehow. A tweed jacket is not something with easily rolled up sleeves.
I love this.
I agree.
I agree. It cannot have been Prisoner Zero. The question is whether it was at this point that the Doctor said something, or whether he was hiding and what she is supposed to remember is something that we have seen him say. I still think there is a specific thing she is supposed to remember. The act of remembering may be the point of it, but I am sure the moment where it comes into play will be in reference to a PARTICULAR memory.
I want this to be something. One of the things I like about the Doctor generally is that he may be somewhat absentminded, but in the absentmindedness he still somehow has control of the improtant things. Only occasionally does it take him a while to figure things out. But usually he plays stupid for a while while secretly noticing everything. If his absentmindedness is simple plot convenience I will be disappointed.
I hope she'll do a better job than she did last time. I liked her in the double in the Tennant season, but not so much in these last two.
I am not entirely onboard with the killing the Doctor theory. I think the priest would have reacted differently to the presence of the Doctor if that were the case. But I may be wrong. I can't see it being Rory either, somehow. I don't really have a theory. They need a good explanation if she has to kill the Doctor. He would not leave her in prison if she did. It just doesn't quite fit in my brain.
Perhaps. Moffat does do setup, though.
The two watches of the Doctor also needs explanation.
I don't think this is the explanation.
I do like this idea. I wonder whether it can be combined with your "Amy isn't quite what she seems" theory. Ie, Amy reverts to being key to time (just to pick a thing pretty girls have done before...), but gives her watch to River before that happens.
I do.
But River did not seem UNHAPPY about what is about to happen in the context of Pandorica. No soulful glances in the direction of Amy or the Doctor (unlike her reaction to Donna). This leads me to think she does not believe either will die.
I would prefer the "let's band together to stop it" thing. It would be a change if the Doctor worked WITH the Daleks and the Cybermen.
Hmmm. That is a possibility. Perhaps she uses it to try to get Rory back? Thereby causing the cracks? OR am I thinking too linearly again. Hmmm. Give me a minute.
I doubt the evil Doctor scenario.
I have no idea. But I am very curious. Could it be that it feeds off memory, or hopes and fears somehow? In the original myth (provided the reference is actually to Pandora), hope remained in the box, I think.
I agree.
I LIKE THIS. I have been wondering what on earth was with the duck pond. This is the best explanation yet.
Hmm. Perhaps? But why couldn't River just remember him? Hmmm, I suppose you could argue that Amy is the one who knows this Doctor -- River's memories would be of a later Doctor, mainly.
This is an old reference. Doctor Who seems to do the "we are what legends are made of" thing every now and then. It would not surprise me if Moffat seizes on it and does something with it.
Good point. And the Doctor's mutterings are relevant. We know that much.
Another idea I like. Plot devices are always more forgiveable if they have an additional reason for being there.
I don't agree with you on this. I think it is more likely the other Doctor has been using one, to keep out of sight. Rory is his own person. Or he would not have acted like that in "Amy's Choice", I think. Besides, it just doesn't fit with how the Doctor acts. There have been no indications.
I agree. But I am not sure that has happened. Or. Hmm, my love for time travel is quickly waning. There is a tendency of Doctor Who that the Doctor causes things he is trying to avert. Or... anyway. Could it be that the cracks are caused by the loss of Rory? Or that -- and as I type this my brain stops holding on to things. I have this strange contradictory feeling. I believe in the second Doctor thing, and him trying to fix things by tweaking the timeline. But at the same time, I have this sneaking suspicion that Amy's finding the ring just before the finale is not a coincidence. Her reaction to Rory's death (as we have seen before) will be extreme. And combined with some sort of powerful weapon could cause cracks. Hmmm. I don't think I articulated that well at all. I may have to return to this post to clean up later.
Yes.
Yes. I like this idea.
Yup.
Yes.
Hmm. I am not so sure about that. Maybe. Hmmm. Let me gather my thoughts.
I think that once the Doctor starts on the course that will cause the explosion, the cracks will appear simultaneously everywhere. Time is not linear, after all. Wibbly-wobbly &c.
No. Because time is in flux. So he needs to have started on the course that will cause the explosion (meeting Amy, I'd say, or something like that) for them to appear. So they do not have to have been there before. They will have been there before now (ehe), but he had not yet started on that course when WE saw those things, so the cracks would not have been there. I think I need a drink for what I just wrote to make sense. But I am fairly sure it does.
Mno. I disagree. The nature of the cracks is that they are everytime, so they are not dependent on the Doctor's timeline, but they ARE dependent on his actions, because something he did has caused them (indirectly).
Yes. Perhaps. Your theory fits better with what we have seen. But I am fairly what I said about the cracks still holds true. It makes no sense for them to be not there anyway. Unless they are new. If they are caused by what the Doctor has done to change things. But that wouldn't fit with the type of show this is. I don't think the Doctor could live with that.
Hmmm. Could it be that we are watching the first Doctor? And that it is the SECOND that has a jacket and no TARDIS?
Yay. I want to win the internet.
I have had the same problem with Amy's aunt. It does not fit that we have never seen her. Something is off there. I agree.
Edit: oh, and someone told me that the child Amelia will appear in the finale. That sort of fits with the "Amy isn't what she appears" theory. Unless it will be a flashback -- although flashback is a dubious term in relation to time travel.
For European peoples and those in North America like me who acquire the episodes right after they air, the two-part season finale of Doctor Who will begin this weekend. For those of you who aren't caught up, be warned that this post will contain spoilers. Also be warned that this post is ridiculously long. I have provided a tl;dr at the bottom.
First thing's first: What does tl;dr mean?
It's become something of a tradition in the new series (I can't speak for the old) to seed something sneaky throughout the episodes that comes together in the finale -- Bad Wolf, Saxon, etc. There is a new head writer this year who has written some of the new series' most famously clever episodes, and there are indications that things may be extra sneaky and extra clever this time around.
I have great hopes for Moffat. And plotting IS his strong point. He is good at it. This ought to mean this will be a smashing finale. Unlike the Davies ones which were always somehow unsatisfying.
While it is also entirely possible that we are reading too much into things, the evidence strongly suggests that clues have been seeded throughout the season that will come together in the finale. These don't seem to be the same type of clues as in previous seasons, where simple phrases were strewn about and while the watcher could pick up on them, they had little chance of predicting what they meant. The clues in the current season appear to point toward an actual mystery that we may be able to pick apart before it is revealed.
I agree completely. Hence the badgering you to make this post. Thank you. I am terribly impressed. Just so you know.
The Cracks
The cracks have been the major plot device for the season's central arc story. The Doctor has stated that they are cracks in space and time caused by an explosion so powerful that it is tearing the fabric of reality and causing not only the end of the universe, but the end of the entire universe's history. What do we know about the cracks?
Some of the cracks lead to the end of the universe, while others simply provide a gateway between separate points in space and time. The Doctor closed one crack by opening it all the way and letting it snap shut. Another crack was closed when the weeping angels, who are filled with time energy, fell into it. The Doctor stated at the time that he himself would have enough time energy to close a crack, were he to be taken by it.
They are also described as parts of space and time what was never supposed to meet. A bit like wormholes? With creepy light flowing through.
Sometimes, but not always, a sort of energy seeps through the cracks. Anyone who is touched by this energy is not simply killed, but is, according to the Doctor's theory, erased from time. It is as though they never existed.
It has been stated, in the episode Vampires of Venice, that through some of the cracks there exists only silence. Presumably, this is the silence of non-existence, the silence of a dead universe.
Through one such crack, the Doctor stuck his hand in and pulled out a broken piece of what appears to be the TARDIS.
Rory was taken by one of the cracks, and was presumably erased from time. However, the ring he bought for Amy remained, possibly protected by the TARDIS. When Amy discovered the ring's box and opened it in The Lodger, a crack was shows to open wider as a result. This perhaps indicates that the cracks are related to Amy, her actions, or her emotional/mental state.
This is supported by a scene at the end of Flesh and Stone, where the Doctor exclaimed that everything had to do with Amy. The Doctor has determined that the explosion that caused the cracks took place on Amy's planned wedding day, and stated that the most important thing in the universe was that he get Amy "sorted out."
A crack first appeared, or was first seen, on Amy's bedroom wall when she was seven years old. It was the only thing that frightened her. Cracks have been spotted several times in the same area as Amy; however, the aliens in Vampires of Venice claimed that their world was host to multiple cracks. Unless Amy visited them, it is safe to say that cracks do not exclusively follow her around -- unless, of course, Amy visits their world in the future, opening a crack that allowed them to travel into Earth's past.
I am in the "the cracks are everywhere" theory. And they have been everywhere since the Doctor first met Amy (or did something related to Amy -- it may have been the fish sticks and custard), thus setting into motion whatever future creates the cracks. That is why they were not there before, and that is why Amy cannot remember the Daleks (I assume they were taken by cracks. Hmm. I wonder ... the Daleks in the Churchill episode -- do they say something related to recent events, or is it just the same old "ooh, we'll kill you and rule the universe with our new bright colours" bit?
Both Prisoner Zero and the weeping angels seemed to know something about the cracks -- either what caused them, or what they are. They each mocked the Doctor for not knowing, using an identical phrase: "The Doctor in the TARDIS doesn't know."
You skipped your insight of the difference between the Doctor in the TARDIS and the other Doctor in this summary post. I thought that was quite important. That it implies a distinction between the two Doctors (one with TARDIS, the other without) -- although you implied it when you said one TARDIS would have blown up.
There is also the fact that we know some of Amy's memories do not correspond to what we have seen -- eg the Doctor tracing the crack. That, too, fits with meddling. Everything seems to be slightly out of sync.
The Jacket Doctor
In Flesh and Stone, there is one scene that forms the basis for all of my speculation, one scene that provides the most compelling evidence that there truly is a mystery to unravel.
I love this. If this is not explained I will be SEVERELY disappointed.
In the episode, the Doctor loses his jacket after being attacked by several weeping angels. He runs into the forested section without his jacket, and appears there wearing long sleeves down to his wrists. After saving Amy by having her close her eyes, he rushes off with River and the soldier, leaving her behind, obviously disappointed to be left alone and in the dark, both literally and metaphorically.
The loss of the jacket also means that time lines have already diverged. I know it is an obvious thing to state at this point, but I felt it should be said.
Just then, the Doctor's hands reach back into the frame. His sleeves are rolled up, as we can see his forearms. He appears to be wearing a different watch as well (possibly the same watch that appeared on a nighstand in The Lodger, if Brad's catch is correct). In subsequent frames we can clearly see that this Doctor is wearing his jacket.
I am a little intrigued as to how he could roll up his sleeves and still wear the jacket. He must have lost the sleeves somehow. A tweed jacket is not something with easily rolled up sleeves.
He tells Amy that she needs to start trusting him, and that it has never been more important. He tells her that he doesn't know what the cracks are but that he is working it out, and he glances in the direction the shirt Doctor left in when he says this. He implores Amy to remember what he told her when she was seven, and says that the point is that she needs to remember. He then kisses her forehead tenderly and leaves.
I love this.
We then return to the Doctor, without his jacket, shirt sleeves down to his wrists, walking with River.
The conclusion is obvious: there were two versions of the same Doctor in that forested area. One of them is likely from the future. It is known from previous seasons (episodes such as Father's Day), that the Doctor can go back into his own timeline, but that doing so is very risky and can cause grave hazards if anything goes wrong.
I agree.
This is the only confirmed sighting of what appears to be a second Doctor. A humanoid shape passed in front of the camera near the beginning of the first episode that may have been him -- it was assumed at the time to be Prisoner Zero, but it was later stated that Prisoner Zero needed months to form a psychic bond and take human form. It's possible this was an error in the episode, but it is also possible that this shape was the Jacket Doctor.
I agree. It cannot have been Prisoner Zero. The question is whether it was at this point that the Doctor said something, or whether he was hiding and what she is supposed to remember is something that we have seen him say. I still think there is a specific thing she is supposed to remember. The act of remembering may be the point of it, but I am sure the moment where it comes into play will be in reference to a PARTICULAR memory.
The Doctor Unfocused
This may not be a clue, but it's part of my pet theory.
Throughout the season, the Doctor has repeatedly failed to notice things or failed to figure things out that he later seems to think he should have. This could be simple plot convenience -- there is no tension if the Doctor figures something out right off the bat -- but it could be something more.
This has been seen right from the first episode. Here, the Doctor blames his lack of focus on his recent regeneration, a plausible excuse. He fails to notice the perception filter on the extra door in Amy's home, where Prisoner Zero is hiding. He takes great, exclamatory interest in a duck pond later that episode, but can't say why, and is then distracted. He nearly misses Rory's photography.
The Doctor does not realize that the space whale would willingly transport the children, and Amy has to figure it out. The Doctor does not notice that the statues in Time of Angels have only one head, and berates himself for it. In Hungry Earth, he fails to realize that the young boy is going outside by himself. In Vincent and the Doctor, he berates himself for not understanding that the creature is blind. In The Lodger, he has yet another head-smack moment when he figures out what the second floor is.
This could all be nothing. It could also indicate that something is wrong with our Doctor.
I want this to be something. One of the things I like about the Doctor generally is that he may be somewhat absentminded, but in the absentmindedness he still somehow has control of the improtant things. Only occasionally does it take him a while to figure things out. But usually he plays stupid for a while while secretly noticing everything. If his absentmindedness is simple plot convenience I will be disappointed.
River Song
Moffat's own creation, River Song makes her return this year in a much bigger role. We know from the previews that she will take part in the finale.
I hope she'll do a better job than she did last time. I liked her in the double in the Tennant season, but not so much in these last two.
She is very important to the Doctor, even though he's not sure why yet. They always meet in the wrong order, with River getting younger each time the Doctor finds her from his own perspective, and the Doctor getting younger each time River finds him, from her perspective. She is the only person we know of (or that I know of, discounting the old series) who knows the Doctor's true name. She has been warned by the Doctor not to give his younger self spoilers as she gets older and meets his previous incarnations. She knows how to fly the TARDIS.
We know that she has been imprisoned for the crime of murder. She allegedly killed "a great man, a hero to many." The soldier escorting her seems to think that the Doctor would refuse to help them if he knew the truth.
Given what we have seen this season, this indicates that River "kills" either the Doctor, another version of the Doctor, or a version of Rory that has survived somehow and comes to be known as a hero to many. There are no other recurring male characters this season.
I am not entirely onboard with the killing the Doctor theory. I think the priest would have reacted differently to the presence of the Doctor if that were the case. But I may be wrong. I can't see it being Rory either, somehow. I don't really have a theory. They need a good explanation if she has to kill the Doctor. He would not leave her in prison if she did. It just doesn't quite fit in my brain.
The other possibility is that her crime is a setup for another season, but given that she will appear in the finale, it seems likely that the truth of what she does will play out in the next two episodes.
Perhaps. Moffat does do setup, though.
It has been noted by ATimp that River and Amy have identical watches. Looking at it myself, I can confirm that they seem very similar. Given that they changed the Doctor's watch when he appeared in Jacket Doctor incarnation, this is not likely to be a result of lazy costume designers.
The two watches of the Doctor also needs explanation.
Does this mean that River Song is a grown-up version of Amy Pond? It's possible, but strikes me as an odd solution. They don't look particularly similar, though you could account for the difference with age and hair dye perhaps. River does not have Amy's Scottish accent, which Amy kept through 12 years of living in an English village (the Doctor made note of this in The Eleventh Hour).
I don't think this is the explanation.
It is more likely that Amy, for some reason, gives her watch to River in the finale. This would be a younger River than the one we see in the angel episodes. Whatever that younger River experiences in the finale (and it will be a younger River, because River knew about the Pandorica), she hides most of it from Amy and the Doctor when she meets them later (earlier in the season).
I do like this idea. I wonder whether it can be combined with your "Amy isn't quite what she seems" theory. Ie, Amy reverts to being key to time (just to pick a thing pretty girls have done before...), but gives her watch to River before that happens.
Don't you just love time travel?
I do.
But River did not seem UNHAPPY about what is about to happen in the context of Pandorica. No soulful glances in the direction of Amy or the Doctor (unlike her reaction to Donna). This leads me to think she does not believe either will die.
The Pandorica
The Pandorica will play a central role in the finale. The Doctor has heard of it before, as he calls it "a fairy tale".
From the season's beginning, we have heard that the Pandorica will open. Prisoner Zero told the Doctor, as did River Song (who had likely already experienced the events of the finale as her younger self).
You all know the myth, I'm sure. In Greek mythology, Pandora was the first woman, and was given a box that she was told not to open. Curiosity got the better of her, but opening the box unleashed all the evils of the world. Only hope remained at the bottom. This myth's parallel can be found in the story of Adam and Eve, where Eve's curiosity in eating the apple caused the fall of mankind.
From what we saw in the preview, we can assume that whatever is held within the Pandorica is so dangerous, or so powerful, that alien races from throughout the universe converge on Earth to either destroy it (if it is dangerous) or claim it (if it is powerful).
I would prefer the "let's band together to stop it" thing. It would be a change if the Doctor worked WITH the Daleks and the Cybermen.
What could be so powerful and dangerous? Is it the thing that causes the end of the universe, the cracks, the silence? If so, how is it related to Amy?
Hmmm. That is a possibility. Perhaps she uses it to try to get Rory back? Thereby causing the cracks? OR am I thinking too linearly again. Hmmm. Give me a minute.
We see that even the Daleks appear to fear the contents of the Pandorica. From what little I've seen, we have only known the Daleks to fear one thing -- the Doctor. The Oncoming Storm. However, unless they pull something strange whereby the Pandorica contains (or causes the creation of) the evil Doctor we saw in Amy's Choice, it must be something else. Though the damage an evil Doctor, the last of his race, could cause would certainly strike fear into the species of the universe.
I doubt the evil Doctor scenario.
So, what's inside the Pandorica? How does it relate to Amy and the end of the universe?
I have no idea. But I am very curious. Could it be that it feeds off memory, or hopes and fears somehow? In the original myth (provided the reference is actually to Pandora), hope remained in the box, I think.
Themes
Certain themes have crept into the season, seen on multiple occasions. Perhaps some of them cast light on the mystery?
1. Memory
The Jacket Doctor implores Amy to remember what he told her when she was seven. He does not seem concerned with the actual information she needs to remember, but says that she simply needs to remember, as though the act of remembering is what's important.
It has been mentioned more than once that time travelers can remember things that are removed from timelines not their own. The Doctor even says it's possible for Amy to remember Rory if she tries hard enough. She fails, but bits of memory seem to remain lodged in her subconscious.
I agree.
This could also explain the duck pond from The Eleventh Hour. The Doctor demands to know what it is, and how it can be a duck pond if it hasn't got any ducks in it. He is distracted before he can figure out why that's important. The answer, though, is clear: it's a duck pond because people remember that it once had ducks. Without that memory, it would simply be a pond.
I LIKE THIS. I have been wondering what on earth was with the duck pond. This is the best explanation yet.
(If there's clever wordplay about duck pond and Amy Pond, I can't unravel it, unless it'll be a simple case of "Duck, Pond!")
This perhaps will play an important role. If someone is eaten by the cracks and erased from time, would they continue to exist somehow if the right person remembers them? Might Rory return if Amy remembers? Might River Song kill the Doctor, and Amy's memory return him to existence?
Hmm. Perhaps? But why couldn't River just remember him? Hmmm, I suppose you could argue that Amy is the one who knows this Doctor -- River's memories would be of a later Doctor, mainly.
2. Amelia Pond and the Fairy Tale
"Amelia Pond," says the Doctor. "That's like a name in a fairy tale."
"Amelia's a brilliant name," he says. Amy replies, "A bit too fairy tale."
"The Pandorica is just a fairy tale," says the Doctor. "Aren't we all?" River replies.
This is an old reference. Doctor Who seems to do the "we are what legends are made of" thing every now and then. It would not surprise me if Moffat seizes on it and does something with it.
In addition, the Doctor has returned to the fact that Amy doesn't go by Amelia any longer more than once. He began muttering about it in Flesh and Stone while trying to save Amy from the angel in her eye, but didn't know what he meant and quickly moved on to new thoughts.
Good point. And the Doctor's mutterings are relevant. We know that much.
3. Perception Filter
This plot device has been mentioned before in previous seasons, but never has it played such a role as it has in this one. Episode after episode, we see a perception filter used, mentioned, or possibly used. Are the writers setting us up for some sort of major reveal involving a perception filter?
Another idea I like. Plot devices are always more forgiveable if they have an additional reason for being there.
Prisoner Zero used a perception filter to hide its door in Amy's home. The Doctor says that the angels may have been using a perception filter to keep them from noticing they only had one head. The bug aliens in Venice use perception filters. The ship on the second floor in The Lodger is protected by a perception filter.
If this is more than an overused plot device, perhaps something has been hiding behind a perception filter all season long. I don't know what it could be. Unless (and this is a massive stretch) the character of Rory has been the future Doctor hiding behind a perception filter all along. Don't look at me like that, I know it's ridiculous. However, it has been noted (in The Lodger) that a perception filter is more than a disguise; it tricks your memory.
I don't agree with you on this. I think it is more likely the other Doctor has been using one, to keep out of sight. Rory is his own person. Or he would not have acted like that in "Amy's Choice", I think. Besides, it just doesn't fit with how the Doctor acts. There have been no indications.
My Theory
My theory is that, once upon a time, Amy Pond destroyed the universe. I'm not entirely sure how; if pressed, I would bet on her blowing up the TARDIS, causing some sort of reaction in the time vortex that leads to the explosion, but it could also be her interacting with whatever is in the Pandorica. Cracks began to spread through time and space. It was the end of the universe.
I agree. But I am not sure that has happened. Or. Hmm, my love for time travel is quickly waning. There is a tendency of Doctor Who that the Doctor causes things he is trying to avert. Or... anyway. Could it be that the cracks are caused by the loss of Rory? Or that -- and as I type this my brain stops holding on to things. I have this strange contradictory feeling. I believe in the second Doctor thing, and him trying to fix things by tweaking the timeline. But at the same time, I have this sneaking suspicion that Amy's finding the ring just before the finale is not a coincidence. Her reaction to Rory's death (as we have seen before) will be extreme. And combined with some sort of powerful weapon could cause cracks. Hmmm. I don't think I articulated that well at all. I may have to return to this post to clean up later.
The Doctor survived. Perhaps he couldn't stop Amy, perhaps he never saw it coming, but he lived. Using the cracks (or the TARDIS if it wasn't destroyed) he travelled back to specific points in his own timeline, places where he knew the cracks existed, and began to manipulate events in the background.
Yes.
This is where we enter the season. The Doctor we are seeing, the story we are seeing, is the second chance. The future Doctor is operating in the background, careful to avoid direct contact with himself, altering the timeline to give his past self a chance to figure it out in time and stop Amy and/or save the universe.
Yes. I like this idea.
The future Doctor, the Jacket Doctor, was there from the beginning. He started the TARDIS engines phasing so that the past Doctor had to run out and leave young Amy behind, or he sabotaged the TARDIS so that it wouldn't reappear for 12 years, or he did both. He told young Amelia Pond something that he later, in Flesh and Stone, asks her to remember.
Yup.
I believe this explains why the Doctor has seemed so unfocused, why he continues to miss things. His own timeline has been altered, causing a skew to his perception that is affecting him.
Yes.
If this is the second time around, that means that things went differently the first time. What might conceivably have been different? For starters, there would have been no cracks the first time, because the explosion hadn't happened yet.
Hmm. I am not so sure about that. Maybe. Hmmm. Let me gather my thoughts.
I think that once the Doctor starts on the course that will cause the explosion, the cracks will appear simultaneously everywhere. Time is not linear, after all. Wibbly-wobbly &c.
You could argue that the explosion is a fixed point in time that happened on that date regardless of where anyone else is in their timeline, but that simply can't be true. If it were, the entire universe would already be gone; the cracks would have been appearing all over time already, including in previous Doctor Who stories. The only explanation that works within the logic of the story is that the explosion on Amy's wedding day happened as a result of Amy's interaction with the Doctor.
No. Because time is in flux. So he needs to have started on the course that will cause the explosion (meeting Amy, I'd say, or something like that) for them to appear. So they do not have to have been there before. They will have been there before now (ehe), but he had not yet started on that course when WE saw those things, so the cracks would not have been there. I think I need a drink for what I just wrote to make sense. But I am fairly sure it does.
Put simply, the explosion doesn't happen in the regular timeline of the universe. It happens in the Doctor's timeline, which is an entirely separate thing. It happens because of time travel. So the first time through, there were no cracks.
Mno. I disagree. The nature of the cracks is that they are everytime, so they are not dependent on the Doctor's timeline, but they ARE dependent on his actions, because something he did has caused them (indirectly).
This means that there was no reason to sort out Amy Pond, which means there was no reason to bring Rory along. Rory may have found his way along anyway, and I believe he did. He was not killed by the Silurians because there was no crack in the wall to distract and delay the Doctor -- they got into the TARDIS and flew away before the lizard lady arrived. Rory lived to be there ten years later, waving at them with Amy from across the valley.
Yes. Perhaps. Your theory fits better with what we have seen. But I am fairly what I said about the cracks still holds true. It makes no sense for them to be not there anyway. Unless they are new. If they are caused by what the Doctor has done to change things. But that wouldn't fit with the type of show this is. I don't think the Doctor could live with that.
Hmmm. Could it be that we are watching the first Doctor? And that it is the SECOND that has a jacket and no TARDIS?
Yet somehow, because of time travel and the Doctor, something ended up happening on their wedding day to blow up the universe.
Things are different this time, both because of the cracks and because of the future Doctor's hand in events. Rory was killed and eaten by the crack (though I believe he will return). The Doctor's relationship with Amy may be different. Everything has gotten very wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey. But both times it leads to the Pandorica, whatever is within, and Amy's wedding day.
Now I am seriously typed out. I've been writing this thing for most of three hours. Blame that if some of the stuff at the end doesn't make sense. I want to hear your own ideas too! If we end up being right about some things, then we officially win the internet.
Yay. I want to win the internet.
Random Miscellaneous End Thought
There are ruby slippers on Amy's dresser. There's no place like home? I also can't shake the suspicion that she was something more than a little girl. The suspicion that there was no aunt, and that Amelia Pond is, perhaps, something from an actual fairy tale. However, this is pure paranoia.
I have had the same problem with Amy's aunt. It does not fit that we have never seen her. Something is off there. I agree.
tl;dr - A future version of the Doctor is manipulating events so that his past self can succeed where he failed, and this is the only second chance they get to stop Amy Pond from blowing up the universe and/or TARDIS.
Edit: oh, and someone told me that the child Amelia will appear in the finale. That sort of fits with the "Amy isn't what she appears" theory. Unless it will be a flashback -- although flashback is a dubious term in relation to time travel.
*MySmiley*
structured procrastinator
structured procrastinator
This message last edited by Camilla on 17/06/2010 at 12:41:11 PM
Doctor Who series speculation
17/06/2010 03:00:04 AM
- 2131 Views
I'm going to watch it all over again (again ) so that I can comment with my eye on the ball
17/06/2010 05:25:27 AM
- 879 Views
You are great and wonderful.
17/06/2010 12:06:29 PM
- 1231 Views
Re: You are great and wonderful.
17/06/2010 02:25:44 PM
- 946 Views
Before I go on reading the other posts...
19/06/2010 05:07:51 PM
- 791 Views
Good stuff
17/06/2010 01:12:55 PM
- 760 Views
Re: Good stuff
17/06/2010 01:17:47 PM
- 834 Views
Re: Good stuff
17/06/2010 03:35:27 PM
- 913 Views
Re: Good stuff
17/06/2010 03:40:51 PM
- 873 Views
Hmm. What of the old lady in the first episode?
17/06/2010 11:09:44 PM
- 947 Views
I did the exact same thing.
18/06/2010 12:04:19 AM
- 954 Views
I love your speculation here. May I add my own pet theory?
18/06/2010 10:05:56 AM
- 835 Views
Re: I love your speculation here. May I add my own pet theory?
18/06/2010 10:19:21 AM
- 933 Views
About the cracks.
18/06/2010 10:57:34 AM
- 1052 Views
Re: About the cracks.
18/06/2010 01:20:23 PM
- 884 Views
Cheers for the shout out!
18/06/2010 11:45:52 PM
- 952 Views
Oh, and something to think about - Amy = Romana anyone? Longshot. *NM*
18/06/2010 11:50:14 PM
- 520 Views
Aaaand, (watching the episodes with the Silurians and the Lodger) (Edited)
19/06/2010 09:52:38 AM
- 867 Views
With regards to what he said to Amy when she was seven...
19/06/2010 07:00:56 PM
- 885 Views
Watches
23/06/2010 08:04:53 PM
- 758 Views
I don't know if it can be the Time Agent thing the Doctor's wearing, can it?
24/06/2010 09:31:38 AM
- 848 Views
Remember ...
24/06/2010 04:42:27 PM
- 922 Views
Taking another look at it (since I was looking at the one from Time of Angels)...
24/06/2010 04:59:21 PM
- 928 Views