Amy Pond was a brilliant character. The 11th Doctor was Moffat's Peter Pan character - the boy who never grows up but while young on the outside, he was an old soul inside - "an ageless god who insists on the face of a 12 year old." Amy Pond was the perfect counterpart to him as the opposite - on the outside grown up, on the inside still a child looking at the universe with the same wonder she did when she first met the Doctor. And when she sees it, he does too.
Amy was more than just a companion to the Doctor - she was his best friend, and she became his family. She was smart, capable, kind and independent like all the best companions but she was more than that too. There's an innocent vulnerability to her, a cheeky mischevious streak, and a darker side mirroring the Doctor's that you can catch glimpses of throughout the series, and above all that she's a caring and fiercely protective friend.
She and the Doctor started as travelling friends, both running away and enjoying the company but in a short span of time they were reliant on each other, as close as friends could be, and both needing each other just as much as the other one did them. The natural reality of meeting a childhood crush wasn't ignored in the early days but it became a very different relationship to romance, the sort of friendship that in a way is deeper and more meaningful than any romantic love.
Amy's also the ideal of romance in Doctor Who too though. Not in a soppy way, Amy's a no-nonsense badass throughout, but in a much more important way. Amy and Rory were the Tardis' first married couple, and their love and commitment to each other is inspiring - they face the threats of any relationship (in a very Doctor Who way), facing the arrival of a former crush, insecurity about their partner's feelings towards them, loss, waiting, being in different places in life, parenting gone wrong, and the fear of being separated - and they overcome them all, emerging stronger. It's a realistic relationship and a beautiful one, showcased in episodes like Amy's Choice, The Big Bang, The Girl Who Waited and The Angels Take Manhattan. Rory fights to win Amy and prove himself to her as the Boy Who Waited, Amy works just as hard to prove herself worthy of him and to keep him, protecting her Rory through all time and space.
The real joy of Amy Pond though is the energetic and engaging performance of Karen Gillan, who put so much of herself into the role it's impossible to imagine a world where Amy wasn't Karen Gillan. A beautiful talented actress, the Scottish redhead will go down in Who history as a fan favourite companion and one of the best for future companions to be inspired by.
Comments