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locker_monsterSo... That was unexpected.
Wow, they did kill Clara. I'm totally surprised. They usually don't kill Companions. But when you have someone like Clara, who would never leave the Doctor under her own free will, how do you write them out of the show? I thought maybe they would switch it up, since they had to kill off Amy and Rory, but I guess Moffat wanted to go for the ultimate emotional kick to the teeth, so to speak. As you expect Clara to leave in episode 12, since it's the finale, it comes out of nowhere, here in episode 10. I thought maybe it was a psych out at one point, that the Doctor would take on the chrono-lock and that would save Clara's life or he would put her in the stasis pod - it'd be the sort of clever thing the Doctor would do - but nope. It just seems odd that Clara would be killed off. Throughout the whole season, we've had moments where the Doctor was worried about her recklessness and now it feels like she had to die because she was losing touch with her humanity. It's like Clara is being punished. I don't know. It just feels off to me. She had to be dumb to get written off. And while the whole thing was a bit convoluted, with the transferring of the chrono-lock, Clara's death is decidedly less timey-wimey than Amy and Rory's exit.
Now, I don't hate Clara, but she was never a favourite of mine either. I only warmed to her during season eight because she and Twelve had such a great rapport and the two of them were a delight to watch. I'm sad because the Doctor is sad. He cared so much for Clara and their bond was even deeper this season and now he has to go on and face whoever or whatever on his own. And man, he is going to be a wreck. We saw how he got when he thought Clara was dead in "The Witch's Familiar" and now that she's actually dead, he's going to be on the war path. I know Clara told him not to take revenge, but the Doctor is a stubborn man. Without a Companion to ground him, he's going to make some questionable decisions. And maybe that's why we are where we are right now. Clara was so caught up in the adventure that she wasn't there in the way that she used to be for the Doctor. Sigh. It's going to be tough to watch the Doctor next week.
Which leads me back to the episode. What is going on? Who is Ashildr working for? I get that the whole thing with Rigsy was a trap, but why does Ashildr need to trade the Doctor for the safety of the Street? Where was he teleported to? Is Davros waiting for him? Missy? Some other villain that we haven't met yet? And Ashildr needed to take away the TARDIS key so the Doctor couldn't be tracked? Bleepin' three parter. As if two parters weren't bad enough. Sigh.
Anyway... putting the whole Clara-is-dead thing aside, I actually liked the episode. I wouldn't say I loved it, since the story is still ongoing, but before we got to the end, the premise was interesting. A mystery tattoo, a street you can't see unless you're distracted, a murder. If the whole episode had been about trying to track down the murderer and keeping the peace of the Street, this would have been an awesome episode. Do you sacrifice one person to keep the peace? Or do you seek justice above all else? Maybe that's the theme that will run through the last two episodes. Is Clara's death a noble one that will allow all of the refugees to keep living their lives? Or will the Doctor decide to destroy everything to make the hurt go away?
You know, I can't help but feel like they squandered this season. If we had had single parters, we would have had more stories where Clara was being reckless and stupidly bold and her arc would feel more organic. I think her death here would have had more impact then. Of course, I do understand not wanting to shove it into people's faces. You want to be subtle, not obvious.
Random: So, those pictures of Jenna Coleman in that blue waitress outfit? I didn't go looking for those pictures, but I saw people putting together the costume for a cosplay. Was that just a red herring? They filmed some random scenes so it would seem like she was still working on the show? Or is there some twist coming where the Doctor does save her life? Also, when Peter Capaldi said they paused filming during episode 11 to go to Comic Con, he was totally saying that only he was leaving filming in the middle of the episode; Jenna was already done (one presumes). The building where they go looking for maps is totally the building from Sherlock's mind palace when he's trying not to die from that bullet wound. The empathy cue cards return! We only get to see one new one, though. I got spoiled on Ashildr's return. Not from anything I read, but because of the stupid closed captioning I had on when I was re-watching "Sleep No More". At one point, the captioning had "Familiar Woman's voice" or something like that and then I recognized Maisie William's voice. Funny how I didn't recognize her voice the first time I saw the trailer. The Doctor's red velvet coat finally makes its appearance. No reference at all to the new look, but new costume changes rarely get commented upon. It's nice that he's back to a more formal look and it kind of has a Three vibe to it. Aw, Rigsy has a baby daughter. Yeah, she was totally introduced just so you would feel sad if he died. But cute that the Doctor was very taken with her and wanted to bring her along. Who's Sarah Dollard? What has she written before this? Banner season; two female writers. Oh man, Peter Capaldi did such a good job in the good-bye scene. I didn't expect the Doctor to be crying, but there's enough going on in his expression that you know the Doctor is barely holding it together. And he kissed Clara's hand at the end! The shippers out there must be going nuts.
So something is happening next week, but "Heaven Sent" and "Hell Bent" are incredibly vague episode titles. "Hell Bent" would certainly describe the Doctor's frame of mind. I like to think that Missy is back, but I'm basing this theory solely on the fact that Michelle Gomez was at Comic Con and they were in the middle of episode 11 at the time. I mean, why else would she tag along if she wasn't already filming an episode? And I see why River is the Companion for the Christmas Special. If it picks up right after the finale, then the Doctor is going to need someone to talk to and River is the only person who freely drifts in and out of the Doctor's life that he would discuss personal matters with.
Hmm, I wonder if they've cast the new Companion yet or if not, if they are looking for someone right now. If filming starts again in January, then that means we should be hearing some news soon. Unless next season is all messed up. I keep hearing rumours that they're going to split season ten. As always, I want a Companion who isn't contemporary young woman. Switch it up! Have a character from the past or the future or someone who's an alien. Have a male Companion without a female Companion around.
Can't believe we're down to the last two episodes.
Wow, they did kill Clara. I'm totally surprised. They usually don't kill Companions. But when you have someone like Clara, who would never leave the Doctor under her own free will, how do you write them out of the show? I thought maybe they would switch it up, since they had to kill off Amy and Rory, but I guess Moffat wanted to go for the ultimate emotional kick to the teeth, so to speak. As you expect Clara to leave in episode 12, since it's the finale, it comes out of nowhere, here in episode 10. I thought maybe it was a psych out at one point, that the Doctor would take on the chrono-lock and that would save Clara's life or he would put her in the stasis pod - it'd be the sort of clever thing the Doctor would do - but nope. It just seems odd that Clara would be killed off. Throughout the whole season, we've had moments where the Doctor was worried about her recklessness and now it feels like she had to die because she was losing touch with her humanity. It's like Clara is being punished. I don't know. It just feels off to me. She had to be dumb to get written off. And while the whole thing was a bit convoluted, with the transferring of the chrono-lock, Clara's death is decidedly less timey-wimey than Amy and Rory's exit.
Now, I don't hate Clara, but she was never a favourite of mine either. I only warmed to her during season eight because she and Twelve had such a great rapport and the two of them were a delight to watch. I'm sad because the Doctor is sad. He cared so much for Clara and their bond was even deeper this season and now he has to go on and face whoever or whatever on his own. And man, he is going to be a wreck. We saw how he got when he thought Clara was dead in "The Witch's Familiar" and now that she's actually dead, he's going to be on the war path. I know Clara told him not to take revenge, but the Doctor is a stubborn man. Without a Companion to ground him, he's going to make some questionable decisions. And maybe that's why we are where we are right now. Clara was so caught up in the adventure that she wasn't there in the way that she used to be for the Doctor. Sigh. It's going to be tough to watch the Doctor next week.
Which leads me back to the episode. What is going on? Who is Ashildr working for? I get that the whole thing with Rigsy was a trap, but why does Ashildr need to trade the Doctor for the safety of the Street? Where was he teleported to? Is Davros waiting for him? Missy? Some other villain that we haven't met yet? And Ashildr needed to take away the TARDIS key so the Doctor couldn't be tracked? Bleepin' three parter. As if two parters weren't bad enough. Sigh.
Anyway... putting the whole Clara-is-dead thing aside, I actually liked the episode. I wouldn't say I loved it, since the story is still ongoing, but before we got to the end, the premise was interesting. A mystery tattoo, a street you can't see unless you're distracted, a murder. If the whole episode had been about trying to track down the murderer and keeping the peace of the Street, this would have been an awesome episode. Do you sacrifice one person to keep the peace? Or do you seek justice above all else? Maybe that's the theme that will run through the last two episodes. Is Clara's death a noble one that will allow all of the refugees to keep living their lives? Or will the Doctor decide to destroy everything to make the hurt go away?
You know, I can't help but feel like they squandered this season. If we had had single parters, we would have had more stories where Clara was being reckless and stupidly bold and her arc would feel more organic. I think her death here would have had more impact then. Of course, I do understand not wanting to shove it into people's faces. You want to be subtle, not obvious.
Random: So, those pictures of Jenna Coleman in that blue waitress outfit? I didn't go looking for those pictures, but I saw people putting together the costume for a cosplay. Was that just a red herring? They filmed some random scenes so it would seem like she was still working on the show? Or is there some twist coming where the Doctor does save her life? Also, when Peter Capaldi said they paused filming during episode 11 to go to Comic Con, he was totally saying that only he was leaving filming in the middle of the episode; Jenna was already done (one presumes). The building where they go looking for maps is totally the building from Sherlock's mind palace when he's trying not to die from that bullet wound. The empathy cue cards return! We only get to see one new one, though. I got spoiled on Ashildr's return. Not from anything I read, but because of the stupid closed captioning I had on when I was re-watching "Sleep No More". At one point, the captioning had "Familiar Woman's voice" or something like that and then I recognized Maisie William's voice. Funny how I didn't recognize her voice the first time I saw the trailer. The Doctor's red velvet coat finally makes its appearance. No reference at all to the new look, but new costume changes rarely get commented upon. It's nice that he's back to a more formal look and it kind of has a Three vibe to it. Aw, Rigsy has a baby daughter. Yeah, she was totally introduced just so you would feel sad if he died. But cute that the Doctor was very taken with her and wanted to bring her along. Who's Sarah Dollard? What has she written before this? Banner season; two female writers. Oh man, Peter Capaldi did such a good job in the good-bye scene. I didn't expect the Doctor to be crying, but there's enough going on in his expression that you know the Doctor is barely holding it together. And he kissed Clara's hand at the end! The shippers out there must be going nuts.
So something is happening next week, but "Heaven Sent" and "Hell Bent" are incredibly vague episode titles. "Hell Bent" would certainly describe the Doctor's frame of mind. I like to think that Missy is back, but I'm basing this theory solely on the fact that Michelle Gomez was at Comic Con and they were in the middle of episode 11 at the time. I mean, why else would she tag along if she wasn't already filming an episode? And I see why River is the Companion for the Christmas Special. If it picks up right after the finale, then the Doctor is going to need someone to talk to and River is the only person who freely drifts in and out of the Doctor's life that he would discuss personal matters with.
Hmm, I wonder if they've cast the new Companion yet or if not, if they are looking for someone right now. If filming starts again in January, then that means we should be hearing some news soon. Unless next season is all messed up. I keep hearing rumours that they're going to split season ten. As always, I want a Companion who isn't contemporary young woman. Switch it up! Have a character from the past or the future or someone who's an alien. Have a male Companion without a female Companion around.
Can't believe we're down to the last two episodes.
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