6. Dreams and Psychic Messages
Doctor Who isnt only content to explore what goes on in a persons external landscape but also seeks to wander around the realms inside our heads. Amys Choice (series 5) is an episode that uses dreamscapes to coax out the Doctors insecurities. Reality and dream are blurred until the very end when the Doctor finally realizes that his own subconscious is controlling the groups perceptions and that none of the choices presented are real. Yet the impact of these dreams is just as powerful as any outside event, especially for Amy who comes to recognize and accept her love for Rory after witnessing his death in one of the dreams. If our minds can control our external actions to that extent, who is to say where reality actually begins and ends? We tend to think of space/time as outside of us but actually it is all through us we are a part of it. In the Asylum of the Daleks prequel (series 7) unfortunately only released to U.S. Season Pass Itunes subscribers the Doctor is sent a message from a Dalek sleeper agent, Darla von Karlsen, in his dreams. While the dreamscape is constantly changing, the message is very real and the Doctor is aware that it is not a true part of the dream. Awareness is an important concept in Doctor Who with the Doctor having perhaps the most informed perception of the universe while he tries to awaken his companions to its complexity and wonder.