Retrospection

An analysis of why Amy and Rory break up according to this fanfiction


Oh-kay, so that's where it ends! Don't worry, there's an epilogue coming up, but I'd like to take advantage of this extra chapter to try and explain exactly what I think happened between Amy and Rory and why they do what they did in the previous chapters. I've had a couple of reviews stating why the whole 'Amy-can't-have-a-baby' fiasco was my root reason for the fall of their relationship, so I've attempted to explain it, chapter by chapter.

I'm afraid I'm going to be very long-winded about this, since I tend to get all very up and shrink-tastic with all the fictional characters in all the fandoms I belong to. So you may definitely skip ahead to the next chapter, where a nice, fluffy epilogue awaits you. You are by no means obligated to read the rest of this chapter.

That being said, let me begin.

First of all, I think we all know from the TV episode The Asylum of the Daleks exactly why all the fuss and the drama took place. Amy can't have any more kids. That's definitely the main reason. But, I've always thought something else drove them apart, something more obviously discordant in their lives that added to the whole aspect of Amy's barrenness.

The biggest thing that contributed to this assumption was Rory. In the episode, when Amy cries, "I can't have kids!" Rory looks shocked, and says "I know." And later, "Amy, I -I never..."

Now this tells us two things:

= That Amy and Rory both knew that they couldn't have kids and they knew that their spouse knew.

= AND, more importantly, that Rory didn't realise that this factored at all in their break-up.

And so we have that tantalising question -what was the supposed reason for their break-up?

It could have been anything, really, but I took my cue from Rory's lines in the beginning of the episode -"Really? I thought you were pouting at a camera."

I have to get a little personal here and tell you -that episode scared the shit out of me, if you'll pardon my language. The moment Amy said "I don't have a husband" I went "WHAT?" I mean, that had to be in an alternate universe, right? Right? Where Amy was married to someone else? No. There was Rory, looking angrier than I had ever seen him in any episode 'till date. In fact, he looked angrier than Amy, which was an absolute first, too.

So that gave me more clues. Amy and Rory were angry, they were furious with each other. So it wasn't just some mutually amicable fall-out. It wasn't some silent, deadening collapse of a relationship(thankfully!) It was loud, it was messy, and it left both of them with some pretty deep resentment.

That gave me a starting point. This story starts sometime soon after Amy and Rory find out they can't have kids. In the first chapter, we see that this is bothering Amy far more than even she realises -that simple, everyday dialogue is reminding her of it and making her feel horrible. In the second chapter we see Rory grappling with the news, too -but he mainly thinks of it as how it reflects on Amy, how it's affecting her. And at this point, they both decide not to talk about it. Which, in my opinion, is a big mistake.

Rory's reason would be obvious -he doesn't want to remind Amy about it and make her feel worse. Amy's reason is a little subtler, but valid, nonetheless. She also doesn't want to pain Rory with perpetual mentions of it -also, she feels terribly guilty because of it. What do you tell a person who is hurting and it's your fault? She could apologise, and he would obviously forgive her(I have a feeling he had forgiven her) but that wouldn't make his pain go away. If anything, it would depress him further. So they don't discuss it.

Like I said, big mistake.

We know Amy has already done some modelling, witness the Petrichor ad(am I the only one, by the way, who really wants a perfume named Petrichor?) in Closing Time. And we know from Asylum that she's definitely back in the business. I decided to make this the basis of all the fights and the misunderstandings.

Let me clarify, this is my own personal opinion. Anything else could have been the reason.

I mean, why not? Especially with Rory's tendency to be jealous and to a degree, possessive( a very small degree, considering it's Amy Pond). In the third chapter, we have Rory being not very enthusiastic about Amy's modelling venture, and Amy start to tire of his possessiveness. It was bound to happen. I'm sure they never will stop fighting about the whole jealous/possessive side to Rory, even in 1940's Manhattan. But not enough to want to get divorced, of course. *shudders*

Anyhow, coming back to the story, in the fourth chapter, we have Rory hating his wife's new job more and more, and since Amy won't hear him say a word against it, he's getting more and more -there's really no other word for it -pissed off. Dark, angry Rory begins to emerge.

Somewhere between chapter four and five, is according to me, their first big, bad fight. Rory had so far insisted on accompanying Amy on her shoots. Now, this would really irritate anyone, and since we're talking about free-spirited Scottish Amy Pond, who bit four psychiatrists, the irritation takes a whole new level. The result of their fight is that Rory stops accompanying her, but the damage is already done, and neither of them are really normal with each other again until the Dalek Asylum.

So, in chapter five we have Amy -exhausted, as she will be for a long time to come -returning home to a husband who's stopped waiting for her. Rory's still angry from their fight, as we can see from the short telephonic conversation. And Amy -poor Amy is suddenly forced to face the truth of her barrenness again(which she was trying hard to forget) and so finds herself emotionally weak and vulnerable. I believe at this point, Amy would have told Rory how she felt and sought his support, if it hadn't been for Rory's angry words. Amy is very, very angry at this stage -here she is, nearly dying with all the guilt and shame of taking away his happiness forever, and here he is, not even treating her with some regard. So Amy stomps out, furiously promising to party with a vengeance.

Chapter six was a little hard for me to write. Drugs are ugly, and stepping down that path even a little can bring in a whole world of pain. Even that slight mention somehow made their fights a lot worse, a lot more ugly -to me at least. I'd like to clarify, Amy was not doing drugs regularly. She really did try it just once -I think Amy would be one of the few people in the world who had the mental mettle to resist its lure. I don't think I would. Rory, of course, being a conscientious nurse, would have the same in-built resistance, and would be disgusted with anyone who had no similar strength -wrong of him, probably, because some people should be pitied -but then, that would be his point of view.

Another reason why chapter six was hard, was because of what Rory was turning into. We see his disillusionment, we see 'something breaking' in him -he begins to believe the worst of Amy, rather than the best of her. He can believe that Amy would do drugs and lie to him, that she would even (as we see in the next chapter) cheat on him. Chapter six is where Rory is done with the relationship and is unconsciously ready for divorce.

Chapter seven, of course, needs little explanation, I think. They have their last big fight(they've had a few more since chapter five -one of them, I like to think, led to them sleeping in different rooms), and Amy finally 'kicks him out' and 'gives him up'. Now, this was very hard for me to reconcile together. Rory says she kicked him out -this is corroborated by the last Pond Life episode. But she also 'gave him up' for her inability to have children. And so we have the powerfully painful line -unknown to Rory -that any kid is better than her.

I think at that point, Amy realises that any kid really is better than her for Rory, and that she should just let him go. She doesn't do this for completely selfless reasons, though -she gives him up, because she's tired of all the guilt, and that by giving him up/kicking him out, she will have finally driven the guilt away, and she wouldn't have any more fights to deal with. Mostly, she's tired. I don't know about you, but I think she definitely looks exhausted in the beginning of Asylum, and I like to think that this is the reason.

Chapter eight also needs little explanation, I'd just like to point out one thing -Rory's angry mood. In my personal opinion, people like Rory are really the worst to have a verbal fight with, because of the horrible things they end up saying. Rory often watches his words, and so, when he's angry and in a fight, he really lets them loose. Also, he's sarcastic. And the words of a sarcastic, angry person are often the most cruel, really. So we have chapter eight seeping with Rory's sarcasm and ill-humour -until the point where the Daleks kidnap him, and for once, do some good in this universe!

I'm almost done, now(nope, I'm still not finished). All I'd like to add to this detailed analysis, is my reason for alternating between Amy and Rory's points-of-view. I'm not sure if it came across in that way to you, but I mainly chose this approach to show that neither of them were culpable for the divorce. It wasn't their fault, and yet, conversely, it was both their faults. Rory's jealous and possessive nature makes him small-minded. Amy's reaction to this is again too rash and stubborn. Neither of them are willing to give in, and neither of them discuss it rationally. And they don't discuss it because of the recent blow to their hopes and dreams.

That is to say,

= Amy and Rory don't talk to each other about not having kids.

= In this sudden non-discussing phase comes the change in Amy's career path. In the spirit of non-discussion they don't talk about why they think this is a good or bad idea.

= They share lesser and lesser until they don't understand, or misunderstand what the other is doing or saying and they fight.

= They talk lesser because of the fight, and because of this they fight more.

= They fight so much they're tired of fighting, and they divorce.

A simple communications misfire, as the Doctor would put it.

Also, in the end, it really is because of Amy's infertility that they break up. *shakes head*

Aaaand, end of discourse. If you've read this far, thank you so very much for sparing enough of your time to do so! If there's anything you'd like to add or discuss or debate in this reasoning of mine, please PM me, and I'd gladly thrash it out with you. After all, this all just my personal opinion, and you are entitled to see this whole thing in your own way, too!

Please do review, I'd really love to know what you think of my story!

Also, heads up for a nice, feel-good epilogue!