Ultimately the tale of The Doctor’s female companions since 2009 have been the way in which they leave him despite him not wanting them to. The Doctor, back on Gallifrey, went to the barn where he had previously considered using the Moment to destroy Gallifrey. And man, did Steven Moffat really fake us out on both of those points heading into this episode. For instance, “Words are his weapons”, to which the reply is given, “When did they stop being ours”. They are siding with the hero who won the Time War.
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Still, while this finale has much to be admired on the feminist front, we shouldn’t expect a huge change to the traditional Doctor Who gender structure. Don’t you think? And, how about Clara – to an extent – seeming to step into the Doctor’s shoes, setting off in that stark white TARDIS (that paid a wonderful homage to the inside of the very first Doctor’s TARDIS I might add) with Ashildr as “the companion”, which was what she always wanted, albeit with the Doctor by her side, inside that twirling diner. The Doctor spent billions of years breaking out of that confession dial by hand because he couldn’t tell the Veil a truth he did not know, and the admission that he knew nothing would forfeit his leverage. In the fourth episode of season 8, “Listen”, it was implied that an astronaut that Oswald met at the end of time was some sort of great-great-great-grandson of hers and her previous boyfriend, Danny Pink.
A major theme is the cloisters, which is where the matrix is. And as for standing in its ruins, he traveled to the end of the universe where Me, and only Me, remained. It was nice to see this possibility raised and not dismissed. The Doctor decides, in order to save Clara, to wipe her mind as he did with Donna. The Hybrid is Clara and the Doctor working together, “companions who are willing to push each other to extremes”. It’s easier than staying and facing such sad – if handsome – realities. We don’t escape it forever. But one of the most exciting things about the recent series, as we noted in our reviews, is that it hasn’t always taken the easy path, and it certainly hasn’t always taken the obvious one. “People like me and you”, Clara says, “we should say things to one another, and I’m gonna say them now”.
Following the title sequence – arguably one of the best of the modern series’ – director Rachel Talalay divides the action between the arid landscape of Gallifrey (or Space-Glasgow, depending on your perspective) and the 1950s diner.
The question of the hybrid is left unanswered, which is fitting. We’ve got a festive trifle at Christmas, of course, with The Husbands Of River Song reuniting the Doctor with everyone’s second-favourite Whoniverse archaeologist, but what then? Arguably, it begins again with the story of Amy Pond. Indeed, he used an extraction chamber to rescue Clara just before the moment that she would be killed by the raven, rescuing her as they fled to the final moment of the Universe’s existence. And, what are your thoughts on how the “Hell Bent” episode from last night turned? Other episodes like the Weeping Angels, or an appearance by Daleks tend to be much more simpler and often times incredibly rememberable. But there is another detail that shouldn’t be missed: the Doctor proposed that they could go have “cocktails with Moses”.
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Stealing a TARDIS, he transports Clara to the final hours of the universe in an unsuccessful attempt to restore her pulse. And that’s just not because of its incredible longevity – 50 years, remember – but the fact that it probably has the smartest, most ingenious premise ever; it’s a show that has to regenerate itself and innovate along with its titular character. “A new companion gives us the chance to launch the show again”. Eventually, they will show up in Gallifrey where the Time Lords will put Clara back on Trap Street and her death is complete. The time war is over. The first half of the series (season) is already available on DVD and Blu-ray, as of a month ago, and on January 26th they’ll release the second half on DVD and Blu-ray as well.
