10 Doctor Who Companions Who Just Couldn't Stay Away
5 & 4. Amy Pond & Rory Williams
Played by Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill First appearance: The Eleventh Hour (2010) Last appearance: The Angels Take Manhattan (2012) As far as liaisons with the Doctor go, his relationship with the Ponds was particularly all-consuming and, as someone she had known since she was just a small child, Amy found it exceptionally difficult to let the Doctor out of her sight. Crash landing in her back garden with the promise he'd be back to pick her up in 5 minutes, Amy ended up waiting 12 whole years to be reunited with her magical raggedy man. This sort of prolonged absence is bound to have a psychological effect on someone so it's no surprise that Amy grew up to be an extremely untrustworthy individual armed with a natural knack for sarcasm. After helping the Eleventh Doctor save the world from Prisoner Zero, and with the TARDIS ready and waiting in her back garden once more, the temptation to fulfil her childhood fantasies proved to be too strong - seemingly much stronger than her commit to Rory Williams, anyway, who she was due to marry the next day - as she finally stepped aboard the blue box for the adventures she'd spent her life dreaming about. Throughout her time in the TARDIS, the Eleventh Doctor became as dependent on Amy as she did on him and it's no exaggeration to say that their lives became intwined in such a way that has never been seen between the show's leading duo before. For example, Amy would ultimately give birth to Melody Pond who would grow up to be none other than River Song, the Doctor's faithful ally who he originally crossed paths with long before he even knew Amy existed. Now that's time travel for you! Of all the mind-boggling events that kept fans perplexed and enthralled throughout Amy's era, though, it is her relationship with Rory that will no doubt prove to stand the test of time. Having grown up together in Leadworth, it was clear to see straight from the off - although admittedly it took Amy quite a while to realise it herself - that they well and truly completed each other and Rory's undivided devotion to his soulmate meant that he ended up doing his own fair share of waiting around, too. After being killed and brought back into existence as an Auton (to cut a very long story short!), he endeavoured to stand as her protector for 2,000 years when she was stuck inside the Pandorica. Some girls just get a dinner date and flowers, so you've really got to hand it to the guy! Eventually, though, Amy and Rory began to actively outgrow the fairytale and, as they continued to mature and focus their energies on establishing their own lives away from the Doctor, they were faced with an almighty choice which could mean they'd have to bid farewell to their raggedy man for good. It was the first time the show had explored the contrasted worlds of a companion in such depth and there was even an entire episode, The Power of Three, dedicated to the subject. The decision was ultimately made for them, however, when they were zapped back in time by the Weeping Angels as part of an irreversible and all together not totally convincingly conclusive time paradox of epic proportions which meant the Doctor would never be able to see them again. Shame. Still, they had each other in the end, and that's what really matters, right? Amy and Rory, together. Like it should be. Meanwhile...
Dan Butler is the Doctor Who Editor at WhatCulture.com. When he isn't writing his own articles or editing other people's, he can be found trawling the internet for gifs of Steven Moffat laughing. Contact him via dan.butler@whatculture.co.uk.
Eventually, though, Amy and Rory began to actively outgrow the fairytale and, as they continued to mature and focus their energies on establishing their own lives away from the Doctor, they were faced with an almighty choice which could mean they'd have to bid farewell to their raggedy man for good. It was the first time the show had explored the contrasted worlds of a companion in such depth and there was even an entire episode, The Power of Three, dedicated to the subject. The decision was ultimately made for them, however, when they were zapped back in time by the Weeping Angels as part of an irreversible and all together not totally convincingly conclusive time paradox of epic proportions which meant the Doctor would never be able to see them again. Shame. Still, they had each other in the end, and that's what really matters, right? Amy and Rory, together. Like it should be. Meanwhile...