Doctor Who has said goodbye to many companions over the years, but it missed giving two companions of the Eleventh Doctor the perfect farewell. Matt Smith became the Eleventh Doctor in 2010 and quickly met Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) and Rory Williams (Arthur Darvill), and they accompanied the Doctor for a long time, and through many adventures. The trio stayed together until season 7, episode 5, “The Angels Take Manhattan” when Amy and Rory ended up stuck in 1930s New York with the Doctor unable to reach them.
The BBC released an unfilmed epilogue, titled "P.S." for Amy and Rory’s Doctor Who departure that would have been the perfect farewell to the Doctor’s companions. The epilogue focuses on Rory’s dad, who first appeared in season 7, Brian (Mark Williams) having received a letter from Rory, delivered by a man who turns out to be Amy and Rory’s son. The epilogue is heart-wrenching and gives Brian, and the audience, a proper farewell to Amy and Rory as the letter gives details about the life they lived after the events of “The Angels Take Manhattan”. Some companions are revisited later in Doctor Who, such as how Martha (Freema Agyeman) and Mickey (Noel Clarke) were shown to have gotten married and become defenders of the Earth in the 2009 Doctor Who Christmas special, “The End of Time”. Including the epilogue for “The Angels Take Manhattan”, which brings back the Weeping Angels, would have given the audience a similar insight into Amy and Rory’s life post-Doctor, as well as tying up Brian Williams’ story.
Amy & Rory's Farewell Would Have Wrapped Up Every Loose Thread
Doctor Who excluding the epilogue meant a lot of loose threads were left regarding Amy and Rory’s life. The Doctor got a similar letter from Amy at the end of “The Angels Take Manhattan” but it did not provide the same detail as Rory’s. A key issue in season 7 was Amy and Rory having less interest in running off with the Doctor, as they wanted to start their lives and grow old together. Rory’s letter to his dad explains they manage to do just this, living long lives and tending to the garden. Rory’s letter also explains how they adopted a child which answered whether they would ever be able to be normal parents since they could barely be parents to River Song (Alex Kingston), a point stressed quite heavily in the season 7 premiere.
Also, it was odd that Rory’s dad appeared in season 7, episode 4, “The Power of Three” to give his blessing to Amy and Rory traveling with the Doctor, for him to never be revisited. Brian was featured throughout season 7 and giving his final blessing, only for him to be forgotten, made audiences presume he spent his life wondering when Rory and Amy would return. The cut epilogue scene gives both Brian and the audience closure, as it specifies his grandson Anthony has stories and the family albums to share with Brian. The epilogue gives audiences answers about Rory and Amy’s life together, and closure knowing Brian was not alone once Rory and Amy left.
Why Did Doctor Who Cut Brian's Farewell Scene?
The BBC has never explained why Brian’s farewell scene was cut in Doctor Who, but it could be due to favoring the scene where the Doctor reads Amy’s letter instead. As Amy is the main companion of the Eleventh Doctor, it makes more sense to have the epilogue from her point of view as an emotional goodbye to the Doctor. Brian was not heavily featured in Doctor Who either, so although “P.S.” would have been the perfect farewell, it might not have been deemed as necessary to round up his story. However, the cut farewell scene perfectly ties up Amy, Rory, and Brian’s story in Doctor Who, and provides audiences with the closure they desired.