Howling:Whats with them keep downplaying Rory?

What I don't ge is why the writers keep downplaying rory. I mean think about it in only one story has he been important,

In his first apperance he does nothing to help the plot, except had the doctor his phone, in the "Vampires Of Venice", again he does nothing crucial to the plot except fight francisco, and he couldn't even win that.

In his next apperance he does nothing but get beaten by a old man, knock a old woman over, get killed, and try to convice the doctor his dream life is real, what point did he play? In the next episode it gets better, he helps the doctor capture a sillurian, he convices them they can trust the doctor ect he accually plays a part in the plot, but by the second half they have all but forgotten about this, and until the end he does nothing important and then he gets killed.

Mind you, it improves after that, in his next he acurally plays a crucial part in the story, he even saves them all twice, and finally we feel like he is important.

But in the next story, he all but disappers, he only makes three cameos, admitally amy doesn't appear much either, but at least she played the ghost of christmas present, couldn't they had him have part?

Then afterwards, again he does nothing important to the plot, through out the two episodes he does little more than stand at the back and look worried, and again in "Curse Of The Black Spot" all he does is get captured, act silly, and almost down, what part does he play?

What happened to the stories where every companion played a major part in the story? If you removed him from all but two of those stories, virtually nothing would be changed. I've put up with this since his first apperanc but now its starting to get irritaing,

Why can't they have him play a least some part in the stories? If not, than why have him, I find this most sad, as I quite like Rory's charater, and I would love to see him do something important for once.

What do you think? General MGD 109

It has been a long time when every companion played a major part in the story. Before Rory, the last time there was more than one companion for more than a couple of episodes was when the 5th Doctor always had three companions at once, and usually at least one of them would have almost nothing to do with the plot. Rory may not always help to defeat whatever enemies they are fighting, but he is usually important to the plot. The entire subplot of Vampires in Venice involved Amy and Rory's relationship, and the entire plot of Amy's Choice was Amy having to choose between the Doctor and Rory. He had plenty to do in The Hungry Earth/Cold Blood, and they presumably remember it now anyway. A Christmas Carol was really about the Doctor and Kazran, so Rory and Amy both only made cameo appearances. Even though Canton and River are not actually companions, the Doctor was still fighting the Silence with 4 people in The Impossible Astronaut/Day of the Moon, and Rory still had plenty to do once Amy was kidnapped. Based on Rory's tally marks, he probably met more Silence in between the 2 episodes than either Amy or River. In Curse of the Black Spot, Rory was attacked by Sirens and almost drowned. The entire ending of the episode was basically about him.Icecreamdif 16:55, May 8, 2011 (UTC)

Maybe and I would except if he didn't have a part to play in the main plot, but he has only been used as a sub plot charater throughout the whole venture, true the sub plots about him, but that is all they are using him for, that is what I am complaining about. General MGD 109

So, is anyone still complaining after episode 5? --99.35.132.17 11:01, May 22, 2011 (UTC)

Well, he was on screen for longer, I will admit, but he was still a bumbling idiot. In fact I think the main reason for him being on screen was for him to get cut off from the others at the end, thus giving Amy something to worry about. 177.17.68.173 19:18, May 22, 2011 (UTC)

How was he a bumbling idiot in that episode? He didn't get cut off from the others because he was stupid, we was cut off because he went to save Jennifer. He spent the whole episode helping Jennifer and being productive, and he was the first person apart from the Doctor to realize that the Gangers were people who had the same right to live as the Humans they were created from. I don't see how any of that is being a bumbling idiot.Icecreamdif 21:11, May 22, 2011 (UTC)

Perhaps it was the dialogue I found a bit corny: "Amy is a lucky girl Rory" - "Why yes she is Jennifer :-D"....."oh sorry Amy I have to go off and save Jennifer the doppleganger (who probably killed the original Jennifer) from errr...some other dopplegangers (who will probably kill me but not doppleganger Jennifer)". Well perhaps I am being too judgemental and Rory will redeem himself in the next episode. 177.17.68.173 02:19, May 23, 2011 (UTC)


 * Icecreamdif is right. Rory in this episode acted the way companions at their best always have. Was Martha a bumbling idiot when she risked her life to save the Hath, or Sam and the Tractite, etc.? Just like those companions, Rory made a moral choice that nobody else but the Doctor--including even Amy--was able to make, and risked his own life to save someone who everyone else was treating as the enemy.


 * Plus, Rory's "I know you understand" moment with the Doctor was exactly what so many other companions (especially Martha and Sam) always desperately wanted but never had the nerve to pull off.


 * Meanwhile, Amy sat around being ignored for most of the episode, except when she briefly joined in with the miners' suspicions of the Doctor. While Rory was off trying to accomplish something, Amy did nothing but fret about him.


 * Also, what makes you think the ganger Jennifer killed the original Jennifer? From what we saw, except for Cleaves, all of the other gangers and originals wanted to talk things out. It was only after original Cleaves shot ganger Buzzer that ganger Cleaves was able to convince the rest of them to go to war.


 * Is it possible your preconceived notions about Rory are coloring your judgment? --99.35.132.17 03:05, May 23, 2011 (UTC)


 * Maybe. I actually enjoyed his performances in Cold Blood and Pandorica Opens as far as I can remember though. I guess the reason I disliked it in the last episode was that he put himself and the others in extra danger for seemingly less than necessary reasons. OK, it wouldnt be the first time a companion did that, and I understand its a common plot device. Anyway I will shut up now as others obviously enjoyed his part. But remember Rory is a guy capable of *guarding the Pandorica single handed for two thousand years*. Does this seem like the same Rory we see on the screen ? 187.78.119.32 13:43, May 25, 2011 (UTC)


 * I suppose that's the big question: is it "less than necessary"? If you're thinking in terms of companions like the Brig, Romana, Fitz, or Jack, then Rory's being foolhardy for no reason, because there's more important stuff going on that has to be organized and solved. But if you're thinking in terms of Jamie, Martha, or Sam, Rory's absolutely essential, because someone has to humanize and the conflict and ground it in reality. I think that's why Ian, Steven, Zoe, Ace, Fitz, Jack, late Mickey, Donna, and Amy are more interesting with Barbara, Vicki, Jamie, Benny, Compassion, Rose, Rose, Martha, and Rory around. (Is it a coincidence that Jamie and Rory are the only males on the second list? I'll have to think about that...) --12.249.226.210 20:44, May 25, 2011 (UTC)


 * Well, Jamie may have been the human one when he was with Zoe, but he was definitely the action man while Victoria was around. I think many of the best companions--including Jamie, Jack, Benny, and others on your list--fit both roles at different times. And I think the same is true of Rory. Maybe this season it's Amy who's swinging from ropes with a cutlass, but Rory did all the sword-fighting last year, while Amy did things like freeing the Star Whale and making friends with the nice Silurians. --99.33.24.89 04:44, May 26, 2011 (UTC)

Actually, from the preview trailers, it looks like the Ganger-Cleaves just wants to be alowed to live, while the Ganger-Jenniffer wants to lead a Ganger revolution, and free all the Gangers around the world. Of course, that doesn't neccessarily mean that she killed the real Jennifer, or that she will try to kill Rory(though she wouldn't be the first person to kill Rory).Icecreamdif 01:33, May 24, 2011 (UTC)

Nor, I expect, the last.

Actually, I enjoy Rory more than most of the people contributing to this discussion seem to. I find him a much better character to identify with than Amy, who strikes me as an occasionally creepy control freak who is continually astonished that, when she does something stupid, it becomes risky. Rory is smart, funny and knows his limits.Boblipton 01:47, May 24, 2011 (UTC)


 * Leading a revolution doesn't necessarily make someone evil. Hell, the Doctor just did it a few weeks ago. Anyway, even if I'm wrong about Rory-and-Jennifer turning into a variation on the familiar Sam-and-alien-rebel-of-the-week, he's obviously going to be important to both the plot and to the morality story.


 * Meanwhile, Rory is one of my favorite male companions--but then he doesn't have much competition; other than Jamie, Fitz, Captain Jack, and Ian, most of them were mediocre at best, and Adric at worst.... Still, I really like Rory. And as for Amy, her flashes of naivete, short-sightedness, and, yes, sometimes even creepiness, are part of what make her work. It's hard to explain, but Amy is almost an anthropomorphic personification of a Doctor Who story itself (which is why they need Rory there as the often-unsung traditional companion). --99.35.132.17 02:51, May 25, 2011 (UTC)

I'm not saying that Jennifer is evil. She obviously does have legitimate reasons to want to lead a revolution. I'm just saying that Jenniffer is probably the most dangerous.Icecreamdif 22:38, May 25, 2011 (UTC)


 * Well, if Jennifer ends up as the leader of a ganger revolution, the fact that Rory accepted her as alive, and risked his life for her could well end up being the thing that keeps her from crossing the line and killing the humans. (Or maybe it'll just be because she falls for him.... It would be pretty funny, if Rory's most important purpose turned out to be the fact that he's "the pretty one", as Idris said.) --99.33.24.89 04:40, May 26, 2011 (UTC)

Rory's character arc is walking us right down a garden path to becoming one of the best characters in Doctor Who history. He's a former centurion of a legion of replicant soldiers, and finally he's starting to act like one. Now it's just down to how much that acid smells like Chekhov's law, and whether 'the boy who keeps dying' gets recast in plastic or elastic. I'm kinda suspicious he might have gone a little part-time plastic already, what with the self-CPR, the quantum-infertility, and the Dusty Springfield radar. Wibbly-Wobbly 03:35, May 27, 2011 (UTC)

Rory's not "downplayed" - he's just a less important character than the Doctor and Amy Pond. That's why he's only just got star bailing. That's why he's listed third, not first or second. He's a good character, but sometimes you have to accept that the quality characters are not always the most centered upon. (Not that I don't think Amy and the Doctor are brilliant - I do. I think they're both far more interesting, if not always as obviously likable as Rory.) MidnightCat 22:45, May 28, 2011 (UTC)

Well, after seeing "A Good Man", I am satisfied now. Rory finally shone like a diamond ;-) 187.113.104.99 05:04, June 5, 2011 (UTC)

Yes. Showing him storming unstoppably through a cyber-flagship isn't downplaying him! 89.240.251.13 05:52, June 5, 2011 (UTC)

Anyone with the power and wherewithal to do so needs to give that boy a youtube clip video of all of his various deaths and triumphs, set to oh... "Tubthumping" or something. (I've seen some, but they tend toward the Amy-romantic. He needs a proper superhero video.) Wibbly-Wobbly 23:56, June 6, 2011 (UTC)

Theory about Rory's role in future story arc: (possible spoilers) River is said to be in prison for killing a good man, the greatest man she's ever known. Assumptions have been made that this is The doctor. However, I think she is referring to Rory. This would explain why River looked so surprised and emotional when she saw Rory in A good man goes to war. Thoughts? PsychDoc

Without trying to usurp credit, this has already occurred to me -- I suggested somewhere or other that in her own timeline, that was River's first encounter with Rory after she killed him. However, while it's an attractive hypothesis, time can be rewritten, Mr. Moffat has a a fine ability to throw us off the track and I enjoy DR. WHO for the way he plays with our expectations. Boblipton 00:20, July 5, 2011 (UTC)