Contains spoilers. Please be warned.
For those who are familiar with the creatures of fandom, they know that we’re pretty vulnerable when it comes to the things we love. So this weekend, my feelings were abused pretty heavily. First, the Ponds officially bowed out of the Doctor Who franchise and broke hearts everywhere. Second, I went to watch “The Phantom of the Opera” and managed to fall in love with the Phantom. Again.
The Eleventh Doctor was my very first Doctor. He and Amy were my first experience with the franchise and it tears me apart to see the Ponds go. I don’t know much about Old Doctor Who but it looks like the trend of emotional abuse started with Ten and I guess when you’re the last of your kind and pick up companions to take to dangerous places, you’ve set yourself up for heartbreak.
My favorite thing about the Doctor and the Ponds dynamic is that Amy always chose Rory. She had a choice between the man who saved her and could offer her all of space and time and a man who waited 2000 years for her. Even in the end, she chose Rory and I love their devotion to each other. I’m not saying that their love is the kind of love I’d want for myself, but I do find it inspiring in its own way.


I’m allowing myself a few weeks of Post Pond Depression but I’m also excited for the coming of the new companion. It’s going to be another roller coaster of emotions and I will yet again be unprepared for it no matter how much I brace myself.
Another thing that shot me right in the feels area was watching “Phantom of the Opera.” I’m an appreciator of musicals, having spent a good chunk of my college allowance supporting my friends in their theatrical pursuits, but I didn’t feel any urgency over watching Phantom. In one of my many moments of insanity, I figured I could live without seeing any of its runs. So once again, I was gladly forced to eat my words.
The production was fantastic. While it would have been so much cooler if the chandelier’s free fall lasted a little longer, everything else seemed pretty flawless to me. I came out of CCP with a renewed love for the theater and in particular, for the Phantom of the Opera.
What I loved most about this production and Jonathan Roxmouth as the Phantom is that even though I realized that Christine was right to choose Raoul and that the Phantom is actually Nice Guy™ boosted with all the angst in the world, I was rooting for the Phantom.

Here you have a character who creeps on a young girl, watches her from behind a mirror and expects her to love him because he gave her music lessons and bullied everyone into making her a star. When he doesn’t get what he wants, he terrorizes everyone and at one point forces Christine to choose him in order to save Raoul. Life has treated him very unfairly but obviously that doesn’t excuse him from his actions. On the other hand, you have childhood friend Raoul, who only wants to protect Christine and make her happy. If this weren’t a musical, I’d pick Raoul without question.
But when you hear the Phantom reprise “All I Ask of You,” you forget what makes Raoul the better man and just fall completely in love with this angel of music. All I wanted to do was to wrap the Phantom in a blanket, cuddle him forever and ask him to serenade me forever.
If you haven’t yet, go and watch “The Phantom of the Opera.” It’s been extended until the 14th of October at the Main Theater of the Cultural Center of the Philippines. Tickets are available here. I promise you won’t regret it!
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