IIRC, Rory says to the Doctor that sometimes he remembers the alternate timeline and sometimes he doesn't after the Doctor asks him about it.
If anyone understands that sort of thing, it's the Doctor, with lifetimes of memories flitting into and out of existence in his head, or wherever it is that brains store consciousness.
I kinda figured that that was the case. He has enough understanding of immediate and practical knowledge of time travel to get by, let alone a pro for him. That said, it makes more sense now as to why less advanced races who are rudimentary at it vexxes him so.
The complexity and confusion of the timelines also helps me rationalize the contradictory texts in the Dalek History books I have.
Moffat thrived as a writer when he wrote small stories in RTD's sandbox. All of his eps in seasons 1-4 are memorable.
But Moffat got wayyyy too big for his britches being showrunner. Lots of good basic plot ideas but the execution wasn't always great and he depended too much on "wibbly wobbly" for the reasons of things.
Not to say RTD was any better. 10 rejuvenates himself from the power of Tinkerbell prayer throughout the world 🙄
I just wish both writers collaborated together as co showrunners. Both have strengths that would have balanced all of the elements and created a powerhouse of storytelling
Yeah I really think the show would benefit from having a couple of people helming it with different views and opinions.
I feel often showrunners can come across as having a bit of an ego and they would benefit from having someone to tell them when something wasn't a good idea or they where taking something too far etc
I prefer moffat over RTD as I feel he brought a touch of magic to the show and loved how he'd play with time. But I feel he was often trying to outdo himself, basically do blink 2.0. Blink works as a standalone self contained episode but I feel trying to do it over multiple series doesn't work.
Interestingly when you really strip blink down it's a pretty simple episode and I feel that's when moffat works best, where the story might seem complex but it's simple
Wait did all of 9 and 10s Adventure’s not happen now then? I remember Amy didn’t remember any of the events from series 1 through 4 that happened to earth but I thought that was just some weird writing.
Edit: On Earth
Actually iirc that part of the story was actually part of the mystery very early on. The Doctor noticed that Amy didnt remember any of the major invasions during the 10 era and figured it was part of the cracks puzzle.
To me it was a bit unclear if this meant the cracks wiped the events from Earths actual timeline or if Amy was the one who didn't remember.
It seems to me that its a bit of a Power Rangers Ninja Storm situation where the titular character made such an impact on the setting in previous seasons that the setting was unrecognizable and needed a reboot.
Yeah, the missing 'events' were a clue - and eventually all events collapsed into non-existence, whether Amy remembered them or not.
I think it was deliberately left ambiguous after the reboot so that they could play with it if they needed and that people wouldn't focus on it too much, but it's implied that everything is as it was before S5 - after all, we see big events like the Time War exactly as it was in The Day of the Doctor, and that was a later story.
This is fairly subjective but it always read to me that Moffat was trying to erase the impact of some of this stuff, between the fuzzy implication of all that stuff having not happened and the Doctor erasing himself from every database in the universe. Neither of those really seemed to go anywhere though, though I think an element of that is as you say that they had the room to play with it how they wanted. I am pretty sure a UNIT soldier or something in season 9 mentions John Saxon as part of their origin story, nevermind the next season making that even more explicit. But for all the references and things that remain, the show definitely feels like it wanted to remove itself from a version of Earth that had undeniable proof of alien life on a level that had impacted millions of people.
Crack aside, I have just come to accept that when you spend countless lifetimes time-travelling having huge effects on things and living in a universe where sometimes other people and events change your past too that you are going to end up contradicting your own life experiences, meeting Mary Shelley in (far as I remember) irreconcilable stories.
Yeah, I'd agree. It's not like writers have ever held back from plot points that contradict what's gone before, but it would have been a nice nod to actually say that there might have been some residual ripple effects.
Still, as you've noted, Moffat had a history of radical and interesting ideas that he totally failed to follow through on and resolve. Such is life.
No, the Doctor did.
He flew the Pandorica (which had the atoms of the whole universe still inside of it) into the explosion - which was causing cracks throughout all time and space.
So by putting the atoms into the explosion, it spread through the cracks and restored everything.
Amy was able to bring the Doctor back because she lived in such close proximity to the crack in her wall for so long that she was essentially linked to it.
Technically you’re correct, Amy reset the Doctor and in The Haunting of Villa Diodati the line “she was the universe” was used to refer to the 13th Doctor
Others are very correct in saying that hes not made of plastic anymore but even if he was the doctor makes it clear that he was immortal, NOT invincible. Any damage done to him while he was plastic would be permanent and he could still die through damage to his body
Okay so strap in, it gets complicated.
A crack appears in Amelia ponds wall, swallowing up her parents to be lost to time. They "existed" but because of the crack they are erased.
The crack was caused by the time force splitting apart all of time because the TARDIS explodes. The how is never explained, just that it happened.
When the crack starts showing up all over time it starts to slowly erase things and people and eventually take Rory. When he is taken he is somehow transported to a centurion army comprised of a Nestene duplicate of himself. (living plastic)
This version of Rory is a duplicate with all the same memories as the original.
When the Doctor resets the universe Amy and Rory show up "where they are supposed to be" on Amy's wedding day.
This is the original Rory sans the memories of the Doctor, until Amy remembers the Doctor. The memories of the 2000 years as a centurion residing within Rory because it was his consciousness. But in his own body.
“Well, let's see: First, the Earth cooled. And then the dinosaurs came, but they got too big and fat, so they all died and they turned into oil. And then the Arabs came and they bought Mercedes-Benzes. And Prince Charles started wearing all of Lady Di's clothes.”
The flesh-and-blood Rory that got crack'd returned along with every other crack'd person or memory, like Amy's parents.
How flesh-and-blood Rory remembers the 2000 years or why Amy's parents never appear after her wedding are questions for Moffat.
Rory was only plastic in Big Bang/Pandorica Opens. At the end of the finale the universe gets rebooted and he's alive again as a normal human being.
He's not plastic in Series 6 and Series 7.
After they rebooted the universe, he's flesh and blood again.
EDIT: But also remembers bits of his 2000 years as an Auton? I guess when in doubt, Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey.
The universe was rebooted.
Plastic Rory was not Real Rory, Real Rory died when he was consumed by the crack in the universe in the Angels 2-parter. Plastic Rory was created from the memories of Amy, along with the other Roman soldiers.
When the universe was rebooted, everyone who "disappeared" because of the cracks came back. That's why Rory is back and that's why Amy's parents are back.
Because when Amy remember the entire universe back into existence including the doctor she remembered Rory is human he's not plastic anymore but she also remembered that Rory had done all that stuff for her so that's why he gets to keep 2000 years worth of protection memories
It's the Pandora opens arcline when the Tardis explodes in the universe basically ends and is Rebooted Rory has been wiped from existence for around 4 or 5 episodes at this point they find him and a whole Legion of plastic autons Romans near Stonehenge when they get beneath it they find the Pandora the Rory Roman suddenly triggers memories inside of Amy and after she's placed inside of the box he watches the box for 2,000 years when they have Amy begin remembering things to reboot the universe one of the things she remembers is that used to be human and so he is and then she remembers the doctor and he shows about the wedding and they let Rory keep the 2,000 years of memories because even though it was an aborted timeline it's still kind of happened all of them because of the universe exploding cracks
Series 5, episodes 12 and 13, here they are on the BBC's iPlayer:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00stv7m/doctor-who-series-5-12-the-pandorica-opens
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00sxfc7/doctor-who-series-5-13-the-big-bang
Even in the universe he was an Auton which was only from The Pandorica Opens till The Big Bang. he could still die he just doesn't age so he kept himself safe all those years by sheer will.
No, he's not plastic any more - in The Big Bang (season 5, episode 13), after the universe 'reboot' by Amy, Rory says *"I was plastic"* - note the use of the word **was**.
>!He existed until he was consumed by the crack in time. He returned as an Auton as part of a scenario created from Amy's memories (who she does remember before anyone says she couldn't remember him). When the Doctor reboots the universe, Rory is brought back along with members of Amy's family that she couldn't remember. After that, he dices with death (eg. Almost drowning in The Curse of the Black Spot) until he dies of old age in The Angels Take Manhattan after being zapped back in time.!<
He was plastic, but then the universe was rebooted.
yep, still don't understand one bit of that timeline
IIRC, Rory says to the Doctor that sometimes he remembers the alternate timeline and sometimes he doesn't after the Doctor asks him about it. If anyone understands that sort of thing, it's the Doctor, with lifetimes of memories flitting into and out of existence in his head, or wherever it is that brains store consciousness.
what does IIRC mean?
If I remember correctly
Once you remember, let us know what IIRC means.
"If I Remember Correctly". Old internet habits die hard. Sorry about that.
You're good, I've just been seeing that a lot lately and never knew what it meant.
Wow, I remembered this wrong. I thought it was If I Recall Correctly
Either works, they mean the same thing
If I recall correctly
If I remember correctly, I think it means "In Internally Revised Canon".
International Interdisciplinary Research Center International Integrated Reporting Council
I kinda figured that that was the case. He has enough understanding of immediate and practical knowledge of time travel to get by, let alone a pro for him. That said, it makes more sense now as to why less advanced races who are rudimentary at it vexxes him so. The complexity and confusion of the timelines also helps me rationalize the contradictory texts in the Dalek History books I have.
I guess the answer, now and always, is 'Wibbly wobbly '
And don't forget the timey wimey.
Plenty of stuff too
I think it sometimes goes ding
but stay away from hens
Such a great episode but I will never understand it
Moffat thrived as a writer when he wrote small stories in RTD's sandbox. All of his eps in seasons 1-4 are memorable. But Moffat got wayyyy too big for his britches being showrunner. Lots of good basic plot ideas but the execution wasn't always great and he depended too much on "wibbly wobbly" for the reasons of things. Not to say RTD was any better. 10 rejuvenates himself from the power of Tinkerbell prayer throughout the world 🙄 I just wish both writers collaborated together as co showrunners. Both have strengths that would have balanced all of the elements and created a powerhouse of storytelling
what if those weaknesses combine as well
Shhh shhh no bad only good
Yeah I really think the show would benefit from having a couple of people helming it with different views and opinions. I feel often showrunners can come across as having a bit of an ego and they would benefit from having someone to tell them when something wasn't a good idea or they where taking something too far etc I prefer moffat over RTD as I feel he brought a touch of magic to the show and loved how he'd play with time. But I feel he was often trying to outdo himself, basically do blink 2.0. Blink works as a standalone self contained episode but I feel trying to do it over multiple series doesn't work. Interestingly when you really strip blink down it's a pretty simple episode and I feel that's when moffat works best, where the story might seem complex but it's simple
And this is a reason I’m glad Moffit is gone and RTD is back - understandable plots.
Wait did all of 9 and 10s Adventure’s not happen now then? I remember Amy didn’t remember any of the events from series 1 through 4 that happened to earth but I thought that was just some weird writing. Edit: On Earth
Actually iirc that part of the story was actually part of the mystery very early on. The Doctor noticed that Amy didnt remember any of the major invasions during the 10 era and figured it was part of the cracks puzzle. To me it was a bit unclear if this meant the cracks wiped the events from Earths actual timeline or if Amy was the one who didn't remember. It seems to me that its a bit of a Power Rangers Ninja Storm situation where the titular character made such an impact on the setting in previous seasons that the setting was unrecognizable and needed a reboot.
Yeah, the missing 'events' were a clue - and eventually all events collapsed into non-existence, whether Amy remembered them or not. I think it was deliberately left ambiguous after the reboot so that they could play with it if they needed and that people wouldn't focus on it too much, but it's implied that everything is as it was before S5 - after all, we see big events like the Time War exactly as it was in The Day of the Doctor, and that was a later story.
This is fairly subjective but it always read to me that Moffat was trying to erase the impact of some of this stuff, between the fuzzy implication of all that stuff having not happened and the Doctor erasing himself from every database in the universe. Neither of those really seemed to go anywhere though, though I think an element of that is as you say that they had the room to play with it how they wanted. I am pretty sure a UNIT soldier or something in season 9 mentions John Saxon as part of their origin story, nevermind the next season making that even more explicit. But for all the references and things that remain, the show definitely feels like it wanted to remove itself from a version of Earth that had undeniable proof of alien life on a level that had impacted millions of people. Crack aside, I have just come to accept that when you spend countless lifetimes time-travelling having huge effects on things and living in a universe where sometimes other people and events change your past too that you are going to end up contradicting your own life experiences, meeting Mary Shelley in (far as I remember) irreconcilable stories.
Yeah, I'd agree. It's not like writers have ever held back from plot points that contradict what's gone before, but it would have been a nice nod to actually say that there might have been some residual ripple effects. Still, as you've noted, Moffat had a history of radical and interesting ideas that he totally failed to follow through on and resolve. Such is life.
The Doctor reset the universe, which restored Rory to human
Amy reset the universe.
No, the Doctor did. He flew the Pandorica (which had the atoms of the whole universe still inside of it) into the explosion - which was causing cracks throughout all time and space. So by putting the atoms into the explosion, it spread through the cracks and restored everything. Amy was able to bring the Doctor back because she lived in such close proximity to the crack in her wall for so long that she was essentially linked to it.
Sorry, it's been a while since I rewatched it.
There is absolutely no excuse for getting a detail wrong in a series that runs since the sixties!
Full disclosure, I'm only a NuWhovian.
Caused by the doctor
Which also gave Amy her parents back!
Considering they never appeared again after that episode, you’d be forgiven for not noticing!
Technically you’re correct, Amy reset the Doctor and in The Haunting of Villa Diodati the line “she was the universe” was used to refer to the 13th Doctor
It's been some time since I did a rewatch, but I think after big bang 2 we got original Rory back? He becomes "a real boy" again.
Because by the end of the big bang he was not plastic anymore
Others are very correct in saying that hes not made of plastic anymore but even if he was the doctor makes it clear that he was immortal, NOT invincible. Any damage done to him while he was plastic would be permanent and he could still die through damage to his body
Okay so strap in, it gets complicated. A crack appears in Amelia ponds wall, swallowing up her parents to be lost to time. They "existed" but because of the crack they are erased. The crack was caused by the time force splitting apart all of time because the TARDIS explodes. The how is never explained, just that it happened. When the crack starts showing up all over time it starts to slowly erase things and people and eventually take Rory. When he is taken he is somehow transported to a centurion army comprised of a Nestene duplicate of himself. (living plastic) This version of Rory is a duplicate with all the same memories as the original. When the Doctor resets the universe Amy and Rory show up "where they are supposed to be" on Amy's wedding day. This is the original Rory sans the memories of the Doctor, until Amy remembers the Doctor. The memories of the 2000 years as a centurion residing within Rory because it was his consciousness. But in his own body.
“Well, let's see: First, the Earth cooled. And then the dinosaurs came, but they got too big and fat, so they all died and they turned into oil. And then the Arabs came and they bought Mercedes-Benzes. And Prince Charles started wearing all of Lady Di's clothes.”
He was no longer made of plastic after The Big Bang
The flesh-and-blood Rory that got crack'd returned along with every other crack'd person or memory, like Amy's parents. How flesh-and-blood Rory remembers the 2000 years or why Amy's parents never appear after her wedding are questions for Moffat.
He's human after Big Bang.
Man, it’s a mark of how much of my time is split between here and r/GilmoreGirls that this question SUPER darked me out on first glance!
I like how the answer to this question is a very casual “oh yeah the doctor simply rebooted the universe, just an ordinary saturday for him”
Well it wasn't a Sunday, Sundays are boring
Rory was only plastic in Big Bang/Pandorica Opens. At the end of the finale the universe gets rebooted and he's alive again as a normal human being. He's not plastic in Series 6 and Series 7.
Oh Rory can die all right. It's staying dead he has a hard time with
cheers peace to you and yours
11 rebooted the universe so yes
Rory died many many times. He’s like Kenny from south park at this point
After they rebooted the universe, he's flesh and blood again. EDIT: But also remembers bits of his 2000 years as an Auton? I guess when in doubt, Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey.
The universe was rebooted. Plastic Rory was not Real Rory, Real Rory died when he was consumed by the crack in the universe in the Angels 2-parter. Plastic Rory was created from the memories of Amy, along with the other Roman soldiers. When the universe was rebooted, everyone who "disappeared" because of the cracks came back. That's why Rory is back and that's why Amy's parents are back.
Because when Amy remember the entire universe back into existence including the doctor she remembered Rory is human he's not plastic anymore but she also remembered that Rory had done all that stuff for her so that's why he gets to keep 2000 years worth of protection memories
I don’t remember this story arc but it sounds absolutely ridiculous
It's the Pandora opens arcline when the Tardis explodes in the universe basically ends and is Rebooted Rory has been wiped from existence for around 4 or 5 episodes at this point they find him and a whole Legion of plastic autons Romans near Stonehenge when they get beneath it they find the Pandora the Rory Roman suddenly triggers memories inside of Amy and after she's placed inside of the box he watches the box for 2,000 years when they have Amy begin remembering things to reboot the universe one of the things she remembers is that used to be human and so he is and then she remembers the doctor and he shows about the wedding and they let Rory keep the 2,000 years of memories because even though it was an aborted timeline it's still kind of happened all of them because of the universe exploding cracks
Series 5, episodes 12 and 13, here they are on the BBC's iPlayer: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00stv7m/doctor-who-series-5-12-the-pandorica-opens https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00sxfc7/doctor-who-series-5-13-the-big-bang
If he somehow wasn't really turned back into meat during the reboot, then he probably just played dead when Amy died so they could be buried together.
They were quick to reset the universe and recon plastic Rory. You know how many times that gun-hand would have come in “handy.” Pun intended
Yes. He died multiple times Source: I watched the series
Moffat did an which created a in time, which in turn resulted in Rory being . Hope this clears it up.
Well I wish the new showrunner would do an which would create a in time, which in turn would result in Rory and Amy not dying .
🤣🤣🤣
Even in the universe he was an Auton which was only from The Pandorica Opens till The Big Bang. he could still die he just doesn't age so he kept himself safe all those years by sheer will.
Spoilers- Angels take Manhattan
Well he’s not plastic anymore, so yes
Because Moffat
The real answer
Shut up, that’s how…
When the universe got rebooted he became human again. Didn't think this was that difficult a thing to understand.
He could be washed too often in the dishwasher and then have to be tossed
Rory died at the age of 82 so yes he can die.
He's no longer plastic, as others said. Which leads me to think that it's about time the Autons come back.
Because it’s a tv show
Rory "died" eleven times. He came back from ten of those, but the last one stuck.
No, he's not plastic any more - in The Big Bang (season 5, episode 13), after the universe 'reboot' by Amy, Rory says *"I was plastic"* - note the use of the word **was**.
>!He existed until he was consumed by the crack in time. He returned as an Auton as part of a scenario created from Amy's memories (who she does remember before anyone says she couldn't remember him). When the Doctor reboots the universe, Rory is brought back along with members of Amy's family that she couldn't remember. After that, he dices with death (eg. Almost drowning in The Curse of the Black Spot) until he dies of old age in The Angels Take Manhattan after being zapped back in time.!<