For many, this is the nadir of the Moffat era. Amy and Rory’s divorce. Many have derided it for what they perceive as gaps in logic, characterization, and general storytelling. However, for me, it’s one of the most deeply human moments for Amy Pond, a rare time we see the damage. And for me, it’s powerful.
The thing to remember is that Amy Pond isn’t just a firey layer of sass. She spent a childhood being told she was mad, being belittled and hurt by parents and an aunt who told her she was wrong, psychiatrists who told her she made the Doctor up. She suffered far, far too much as she waited. And Demon’s Run just added to the trauma, her own body violated in horrific ways and her baby stolen away. But she’s Amy Pond. She’s grown up having to hide her pain, or else she’d just get sent to another psychiatrist who doesn’t understand her. And so she does.
But then she realizes she can no longer have children, and the brittle facade falls apart. At once, her brain is filled with all her anxieties and deepest fears. At heart, she is terrified that Rory will leave her because of the effects of what she has suffered, or at the very least that she isn’t good enough for him. Self-doubt. Self-loathing. All the pain she has suffered, and she chooses to direct the blame all at herself rather than let it out.
So she tells Rory to go. To find someone better, to spare herself the pain of him leaving her. She doesn’t tell him. She doesn’t feel like she can tell anyone, even the love of her life. She’s impulsive and rash and very, very hurt, so she rushes in to a terrible, terrible choice. Because she can’t face the pain that’s followed her all her life, she pushes the one person who could help away.
And all that is conveyed through a single minisode and a single episode, without a single word needing to directly express her mental state. It’s all there, all suggested, but we just see the character respond to the deeper turmoil rather than have the turmoil spelled out for us. To me, her reaction is painfully believable and far, far too close to home. And, more importantly, this is proof of the power writing can have, to me. With a few words, a vivid and deeply human story has been told, one which strikes at the very core of my being.