I reached the end of another era today, and with more than 93% of all episodes viewed it seems like this ridiculous project is rushing towards its ending. This morning saw the final appearance of Rory Williams, and essentially the final appearance of Amy Pond (she will appear briefly one more time as a vision). Amy and the Eleven have been tied intrinsically together since Day One, so this made for pretty momentous viewing. The age of The Girl Who Waited is over, and tomorrow the age of The Impossible Girl begins in earnest.

So let's talk about that.

The Angels Take Manhattan

(TARDIS Data Core recap)

In the Ponds' final outing, show runner and writer Steven Moffat drags out the Weeping Angels once more, but at least this time around isn't quite as egregious as the previous one. For the most part the Angels' behavior is consistent with Blink, and the notion that they have created a human battery storage facility in a Manhattan apartment building is both clever and scary. The baby Weeping Cherubs are also kind of fun and spooky.

The giant Weeping Statue of Liberty? Not so much. It reads as a Big Idea that probably seemed really cool in the writer's room but just doesn't hang together in a story context. The notion that a three hundred foot iconic statue could stride all the way from Liberty Island through Downtown Manhattan without being observed by any living creature is absurd on its face. Especially when it is stomping so loudly that it can be heard approaching from several blocks away. I don't care what time of night it is, you just can't convince me that not a single New Yorker was looking out their window. I really wish that idea had died by the first revision of the script. It just wasn't necessary at all.

But that stupidity aside, it was a well-told story. The big dilemma at the climax was very well-played, with Rory convinced that the only way to save the situation is to create a paradox by killing himself... that's just stunning stuff. Especially when Amy joins him on the ledge of the building, and then throw themselves off together to plummet to their mutual deaths. And then, of course, the gut punch at the end when Rory gets sent back in time again by yet another Angel and Amy decides to follow him and leave the Doctor forever. Wow. By my count, by the end of this story Rory had died a half dozen times since meeting the Doctor and Amy ran a close second with four deaths. That's some love and dedication for you.

So yeah, on the whole I enjoyed it. I still firmly believe that Moffat should have left the Weeping Angles as a one-off monster, and that he cheapened them significantly by bringing them back, but what can you do?

Tomorrow is Christmas yet again. It's only been six days since the last one, and then it will be only ten days until the next one. These Christmas specials really start to pile up quickly this decade. Tomorrow also marks the first proper appearance of The Paternoster Gang, and that is something worth getting out of bed for.

STATS:

Doctor(s): Eleventh
Companion(s): Amy Pond, Rory Williams, River Song
Episode(s): The Angels Take Manhattan
Steps Walked: 7,489 today, 3,242,376 total
Distance Walked: 4.11 miles today, 1,694.25 miles total
Push-ups Completed: 100 today, 6,264 total
Sit-ups Completed: 0 today, 929 total
How Many Times has Rory Died?: 6
How Many Times has Amy Died?: 4
Is Anything Cool?: For the third episode in a row, nothing is cool. Maybe being cool really is dead.
Weight: 252.38 lbs (five day moving average), net change -54.92 lbs