Dissecting this image from the Doctor’s Wife gives a lot to talk about. The image shows the Tardis saying goodbye to the Doctor before it leaves Idris’ body to return to its usual shell.
Starting with the positioning - Idris is raised higher than the Doctor. This brings several images to mind.
That higher position makes it clear she is the otherworldly being, not him - a rare difference to our usual Doctor interactions. It gives her angelic presence, particularly with the light emitting from her, giving the image the look of a visitation. It also gives the look that Idris is drifting away into the sky just out of reach, being lifted up to heaven.
It’s particularly powerful with Eleven as our Doctor since Eleven is Moffat’s Peter Pan figure with Amy as his Wendy. Here though, they’ve recreated the Peter Pan image of him floating in the the air just above and just out of reach of Wendy who keeps her feet firmly on the ground. But here the Doctor is the Wendy to the TARDIS as Peter Pan.
The side on angle allows the placing of a roundel in the background between them emphasising they’re on two different sides, out of reach. (It brings to mind the lyrics from Song for Ten: “well I woke up today and you’re on the other side”). It also conceals the extent of raw emotion on Matt Smith’s face, making it all the more powerful when we cut to the close ups on him that reveal that emotion he hides from his companions.
The lighting also paints a picture. The darkness of the room around them emphasises the light emitting from Idris, emphasising that she comes from a different world to that around her - a better, more magical place. It also emphasises that the Tardis is inside her and the room around them really is just a dark empty shell.
Idris has a yellow glow all around but the majority of the light is coming from her chest. This re-emphasises that its coming from the TARDIS inside, not from the woman. It’s also at the same height as the Doctor’s face so the light casts on him. The bright yellow coming out in rays, combined with Matt Smith’s young boyish features, draws to mind the image of a young boy looking up at the sun or the moon in wonder and amazement.
All that packed into one simple image.
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