PART TWO - CLARA AND TWELVE
A SEASON FOR CLARA
As if to atone for an ongoing story arc during the latter half of Series Seven that interfered with her character development, Series Eight gives Clara a tremendous amount of extra attention. In fact, it has been referred to as: Clara's Season. Not since those early days of New Who when it was more about Rose than it was the Doctor has the personal life of a companion been put under such a microscope. And, while there was a lot to enjoy about Rose's existence outside the TARDIS, Clara proves to have a far more interesting earthbound lifestyle to delve into.
Having Clara work as a teacher at Coal Hill School was a nice continuity reference during the Fiftieth Anniversary - but now it has to become a legitimate setting for a whole series of adventures that work as subplots throughout the season. The biggest of which, of course, is her blossoming romance with Danny Pink. But, before we can get to all that, Clara has to adjust to the new man that is beating his brow at her.
Not since Peri and Six have we seen a companion reject a new Doctor so vehemently. But, as she goes through her adjustments, several of those character traits that were more talked about than displayed are finally shown quite clearly. As Vastra confronts her in her veil - we see Clara's sense of intellectualism almost savagely revealed. When the Doctor and Clara meet in the restaurant - the "bossy control freak" she admits to being in the previous story also comes out. As was mentioned in Part One of this essay - we didn't see her authoritative nature so clearly because Doctor Eleven was so quick to roll over whenever she started ordering him around. But Twelve is a personality that won't be pushed in any direction he doesn't want to go. When Clara tries to get him to do what she wants she has to try much harder. So we see that bossy control freak all the more clearly. The clash of wills throws things into a sort of sharp relief. And Clara's desire to control everyone and be in charge of everything is as plain as the wideness of her face!
But perhaps the most important development in Clara's character occurs when the Doctor appears to abandon her and she has to confront the leader of the androids all on her own. During that scene, our Impossible Girl truly becomes a fully-fledged companion. She can stand on her own two feet in a crisis, now. She doesn't need the Doctor to solve things. From a writer's standpoint, she can now propel the plot forward totally on her own if she needs to. There have been moments in Series Seven where she comes pretty close to doing this. Nightmare In Silver, for instance, has her acting quite independently for large chunks of time. But she is only mildly effective. She still needs the Doctor to get anything serious done. During that pivotal moment in Deep Breath, we get the sincere impression that she really could have kept talking her way out of the predicament. She doesn't truly need the Doctor to show up. And, if fact, when he does - he doesn't truly save her. He's just trapped with her, now. This really is the first time that Clara flies solo and really rocks at it. From this point, onward, we will continue to see moments such as these. Where Clara really can take care of herself, now and get things done without the Doctor holding her hand.
Of course, the Doctor taking her hand at the end of that sequence shows something important about the dynamic between them. Yes, he has changed. But he is still the Doctor who will always have her back. This isn't quite enough for Clara, though. She is still ready to leave him at the end of the story. It is only when Eleven makes that fateful phone call to her from the past that she can truly manage to accept this new Doctor. But once the call is made - she is able to let this stranger into her heart. The friendship between the Doctor and Clara can continue, now.
A NEW TRAIT STARTS EMERGING....
With everything now settled between Clara and Twelve, our Coal Hill teacher can settle back into her double-life quite comfortably. But a new development quickly presents itself: she meets Danny Pink. Bossy control freak that she is, she is quite comfortable pushing the relationship along as Danny stumbles and trips over himself over and over during Into the Dalek.
But as things start to heat up between the two of them, we start seeing a new character trait developing in our heroine. Certain that Danny won't accept her travels with the Doctor, she begins to try to find ways to cover up the experiences with lies. At first, she's not very good at it. In Listen, she does a terrible job of trying to explain away how she knows Danny's real name. But we see her really starting to hit her stride in The Caretaker. It's only during In the Forest of the Night, when Danny finds irrefutable evidence that she is still travelling with the Doctor that she must truly come clean. Otherwise, Clara is doing a magnificent job as a liar.
Her new-found skill doesn't just help her with her relationship with Danny. At the beginning of Death In Heaven, she lies up a storm to keep herself alive when the Cybermen have captured her. Their cold, logical brains really aren't sure if they've got the Doctor or not. This moment also echoes the confrontation in Deep Breath. It's another sequence where we see a Clara Oswald who can stand for herself if she needs to. But, this time, she uses deceit. She bluffs rather than calling out someone else's as she did when she confronted the leader of the androids beneath the restaurant. When she brags to Bonnie in Zygon Inversion about her magnificent skills as a liar, we more than believe her. We've seen the evidence.
OTHER IMPORTANT SERIES EIGHT DEVELOPMENTS...
The love story of Danny and Clara dominates Series Eight. But there are, at least, two other pivotal things that occur in the season that we definitely need to take note of:
LISTEN - After the big reveal in Name of the Doctor that Clara has been travelling through the Doctor's timeline as a sort of phantom that influences his lives over and over, she takes things one step further. In Listen, she accidentally uses the TARDIS to travel into the Doctor's childhood and actually helps to shape one of the most crucial decisions he will ever make. She hides under the bed in the barn he sometimes escapes to when he's crying himself to sleep and hints at a time when he will return to this barn as an adult. She tells him of an important decision he must face that day and that he needs to remember who he is and that the choice should not be made based on fear. She's referring to, of course, that scene in Day of the Doctor where he feels he must use the Moment to destroy the Daleks and Time Lords in order to save the Universe. Her mot precis may have saved the Doctor from making his worst mistake, ever. If Clara's status as The Ultimate Companion wasn't large enough, already - then the conclusion of Listen definitely cements it.
KILL THE MOON/MUMMY ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS - By the end of Deep Breath, Clara has accepted the fact that the Doctor is a colder man, now. That, ultimately, he's a good man - it's just harder to see that in this new incarnation. But at the conclusion of Kill The Moon, it becomes too hard to see that and Clara is now certain that she wants out. Mummy On The Orient Express becomes a sort of break-up story between Clara and Twelve. They're taking one last trip together and then calling it off. Or, at least, that's what it's meant to be. In many ways, none of us are fooled. We know the Doctor will, somehow, win her back and their travels will continue. But it still shows some interesting nuances to Clara's character. This new Doctor is a harder man to love and she accepts that. But she has her limits. The Doctor finds those limitis during this "rocky moment" in their friendship. But she also teaches Clara some important things about him. That, sometimes, he has to make difficult decisions and she needs to respect him for that. So what should have been a parting of the ways actually makes their friendship more solid.
It also, however, increases her skills as a liar. At the end of Mummy On The Orient Express, Clara starts fibbing to the Doctor, too. It doesn't take the Doctor long to figure it out, though. By Midway through Flatline, he's calling her out on the carpet. The quick reversal of roles, however, strengthens their relationship still further. They see that they are accountable to each other. The Doctor must curb his rudeness and Clara must watch how manipulative she can be. We also see Clara growing stronger and more independent as she must play the role of the Doctor throughout the bulk of the story. The breakthrough she has in Deep Breath manifests itself all the more, here. Clara is proud of herself and has every right to be. She is now capable of saving people just as well as the Doctor does.
There's also a very subtle moment during the Doctor's confrontation with the Boneless that we should touch upon. Watch how often they cut to the look on Clara's face as the Time Lord beats back the two-dimensional invaders. After a few episodes of facing difficult decisions, her heart is racing as she watches the Doctor stare down evil and defeat it at its core. She is convinced, in this moment, that the Doctor that she loves is still there.
LOSING DANNY...
And so we reach In The Forest Of The Night and the relationship between Danny and Clara reaches a crucial point. Danny discovers that Clara has been lying to him about travelling with the Doctor. Patient boyfriend that he is, he forgives her and asks that they have an important sit-down where she can tell him the proper truth of things.
We see the control freak at her best as she calls Danny on his way to her flat and tries to go through the whole process over the phone with a room full of flash cards. She is so scared of losing Danny that she is trying every possible strategy she can to keep him. As she confesses just how truly deep her love is for him (she admits to her love for the first time in The Caretaker - but, here, she proclaims that there is no one she will ever love again) the most horrific twist of fate occurs. She loses Danny.
A good chunk of the season finale involves Clara trying to get Danny back. Her first attempt is another example of a situation that should've ruined her friendship with the Doctor but, instead, enhances it. Betrayed to the very core, the Doctor still doesn't care that his best friend would do such a thing to him. We wonder if there has ever been a companion he has been this fond of.
Sadly, Clara never gets what she wants. She comes so close, several times, to saving Danny. But the soldier's sense of right and wrong, in the end, forces him to stay dead. Once more, we see Clara have to process a deep sense of loss in the same way that she did during Rings of Akhaten. This time, she learns to let go of Danny during a dream sequence in Last Christmas. She will remember him for five minutes every day. But, otherwise, she will get on with her life.
We also get the second "false parting of the ways" for Series 8. In an attempt to protect the other's feelings, the Doctor and Clara lie to each other at the end of Death In Heaven. Both try to claim that they have a better life awaiting them, now, and that they don't need to travel together anymore. Fortunately, they discover the truth in the next story and are re-united. All thanks to help of Santa Claus.
Clara's season reaches its conclusion.
SERIES 9
Some new arcs get introduced into Clara's story as we embark upon her latest and final season. The most important one being this deathwish that she seems to have developed. With Danny now gone, she has lost the will to live. Or, at the very least, she no longer fears death. She is reckless, now. As reckless as the Doctor. But, as the Doctor says himself, she's far more delicate. This reckless streak could become her undoing. And, inevitably, it does.
But we don't really start seeing this til the second story of the season. In Under The Lake, she is openly asking for danger and excitement as the TARDIS materializes in the underwater base. We continue to see this sort of spirit at work in Clara throughout the ensuing stories. Sometimes, it's only subtly hinted at. On other occasions (most specifically, Face The Raven) it becomes a serious problem.
But before all that can happen, we see something else of significance occur in Clara during The Magician's Apprentice/The Witch's Familiar. Clara has gotten quite good at "playing the Doctor" during the last series. So much so, that UNIT actively seeks her as a consultant at the beginning of the story. As things progress, she does a great job standing up to Missy out on the terrace of the cafe. However, as Witch's Familiar ensues, Clara is seriously humbled by the Doctor's arch enemy/best friend. Time and again, Missy manipulates her into all kinds of situations where the Time Lady exhibits total control over her. Our bossy control freak is brought to her knees as she must plead with the Doctor from inside a Dalek casing to save her. She learns the hard way that she might be good at playing the Doctor - but only the Doctor can truly be the Doctor.
Still, she does bounce back and starts showing more independence and strength as the season progresses. She, very much, takes charge of things at the underwater base in Before The Flood while the Doctor is busy messing around in the past. She shows that can she still get the Doctor to do what she wants in The Girl Who Died by convincing him to save the Vikings when he thinks he should just leave them to their fate. And she has a most impressive battle of wills against Bonnie in The Zygon Inversion.
Missy may have taken Clara down a peg - but she is far from broken.
LOSING CLARA
But then we arrive at Face The Raven and Clara's recklessness reaches its ultimate conclusion. It's re-enforced quite heavily early on in the episode when Clara almost slides out of the TARDIS while it's hovering over London. Rigsy and the Doctor have a moment where they remark upon it. Both are concerned about her. They have reason to be.
It's nice in her final episode that the writer still remembers some of Clara's other prominent traits. When the young Janus girl who has been disguised as a boy doesn't want them to enter her home, Clara uses her skills with children to get them in. She might be a bossy control freak - but she has her gentler side, too. And it comes out the most when she's around kids.
As Clara takes the chronolock from Rigsy, her fate is sealed. She is sure that it will just buy them extra time to investigate the murder on the trap street but we know otherwise. All this flirting with danger that the young schoolteacher has been doing is finally catching up with her.
Clara makes an interesting admission in her final moments. She sees how she's become this way ever since she lost Danny. That, maybe, this is what she's wanted all along.
After a brave but tearful farewell, Clara faces the raven.
REFUSING TO LET CLARA GO
As we embark upon the final two episodes, we are under the impression that the Doctor is seeking revenge on the people responsible for Clara's death. But somewhere during Heaven Sent, he works out who is torturers are and adjusts his plans accordingly.
Seeing into the Doctor's "mind palace" gives us some interesting insights into who he is. We also see the full depth of his attachment to Clara. He escapes from all his predicaments by imagining how he tells her how he got out of them while hanging about in the console room, afterwards. It could be entirely possible that he does this with whoever his current companion is. But the strength of Clara's character truly shines through when she yells at him to accept her death and move on.The Doctor's memory of who she is and what she represents is so strong that he knows she would want him to do this. That he may want to give up - but she still needs him to win.
When the Doctor, at last, finds Gallifrey - he does not seem to care. He knows he's in a society that has the technology to bring back Clara and that's all that matters. The political fireworks that he initiates in Hell Bent is just one elaborate plan to get him to an extraction chamber so that he can save his best friend. But we become even more amazed when we learn that his resistance to reveal the identity of the Hybrid for over four billion years was all part of a long game he'd been playing to recover her. Has there been a companion that the Doctor has made a bigger sacrifice for?
EPILOGUE
As if it was some sort of divine punishment for breaking all his own rules, the Doctor loses his memories of Clara and must move on without her, after all. They have what appears to be a final meeting in the TARDIS/diner that Clara and Ashildr now control. It's a very sad wistful sequence that lays the whole story of the longest-serving companion in the New Series gently to rest.
Ultimately, Clara must return to the fate that awaits her at the end of Face The Raven. But she's currently in a fully-functioning TARDIS with someone else who is also immortal.
That wiggle room that she discusses with Me could go on for quite some time....
Missed part one? Here be the link:
http://robtymec.blogspot.ca/2016/09/analytical-companion-retrospective.html
A SEASON FOR CLARA
As if to atone for an ongoing story arc during the latter half of Series Seven that interfered with her character development, Series Eight gives Clara a tremendous amount of extra attention. In fact, it has been referred to as: Clara's Season. Not since those early days of New Who when it was more about Rose than it was the Doctor has the personal life of a companion been put under such a microscope. And, while there was a lot to enjoy about Rose's existence outside the TARDIS, Clara proves to have a far more interesting earthbound lifestyle to delve into.
Having Clara work as a teacher at Coal Hill School was a nice continuity reference during the Fiftieth Anniversary - but now it has to become a legitimate setting for a whole series of adventures that work as subplots throughout the season. The biggest of which, of course, is her blossoming romance with Danny Pink. But, before we can get to all that, Clara has to adjust to the new man that is beating his brow at her.
Not since Peri and Six have we seen a companion reject a new Doctor so vehemently. But, as she goes through her adjustments, several of those character traits that were more talked about than displayed are finally shown quite clearly. As Vastra confronts her in her veil - we see Clara's sense of intellectualism almost savagely revealed. When the Doctor and Clara meet in the restaurant - the "bossy control freak" she admits to being in the previous story also comes out. As was mentioned in Part One of this essay - we didn't see her authoritative nature so clearly because Doctor Eleven was so quick to roll over whenever she started ordering him around. But Twelve is a personality that won't be pushed in any direction he doesn't want to go. When Clara tries to get him to do what she wants she has to try much harder. So we see that bossy control freak all the more clearly. The clash of wills throws things into a sort of sharp relief. And Clara's desire to control everyone and be in charge of everything is as plain as the wideness of her face!
But perhaps the most important development in Clara's character occurs when the Doctor appears to abandon her and she has to confront the leader of the androids all on her own. During that scene, our Impossible Girl truly becomes a fully-fledged companion. She can stand on her own two feet in a crisis, now. She doesn't need the Doctor to solve things. From a writer's standpoint, she can now propel the plot forward totally on her own if she needs to. There have been moments in Series Seven where she comes pretty close to doing this. Nightmare In Silver, for instance, has her acting quite independently for large chunks of time. But she is only mildly effective. She still needs the Doctor to get anything serious done. During that pivotal moment in Deep Breath, we get the sincere impression that she really could have kept talking her way out of the predicament. She doesn't truly need the Doctor to show up. And, if fact, when he does - he doesn't truly save her. He's just trapped with her, now. This really is the first time that Clara flies solo and really rocks at it. From this point, onward, we will continue to see moments such as these. Where Clara really can take care of herself, now and get things done without the Doctor holding her hand.
Of course, the Doctor taking her hand at the end of that sequence shows something important about the dynamic between them. Yes, he has changed. But he is still the Doctor who will always have her back. This isn't quite enough for Clara, though. She is still ready to leave him at the end of the story. It is only when Eleven makes that fateful phone call to her from the past that she can truly manage to accept this new Doctor. But once the call is made - she is able to let this stranger into her heart. The friendship between the Doctor and Clara can continue, now.
A NEW TRAIT STARTS EMERGING....
With everything now settled between Clara and Twelve, our Coal Hill teacher can settle back into her double-life quite comfortably. But a new development quickly presents itself: she meets Danny Pink. Bossy control freak that she is, she is quite comfortable pushing the relationship along as Danny stumbles and trips over himself over and over during Into the Dalek.
But as things start to heat up between the two of them, we start seeing a new character trait developing in our heroine. Certain that Danny won't accept her travels with the Doctor, she begins to try to find ways to cover up the experiences with lies. At first, she's not very good at it. In Listen, she does a terrible job of trying to explain away how she knows Danny's real name. But we see her really starting to hit her stride in The Caretaker. It's only during In the Forest of the Night, when Danny finds irrefutable evidence that she is still travelling with the Doctor that she must truly come clean. Otherwise, Clara is doing a magnificent job as a liar.
Her new-found skill doesn't just help her with her relationship with Danny. At the beginning of Death In Heaven, she lies up a storm to keep herself alive when the Cybermen have captured her. Their cold, logical brains really aren't sure if they've got the Doctor or not. This moment also echoes the confrontation in Deep Breath. It's another sequence where we see a Clara Oswald who can stand for herself if she needs to. But, this time, she uses deceit. She bluffs rather than calling out someone else's as she did when she confronted the leader of the androids beneath the restaurant. When she brags to Bonnie in Zygon Inversion about her magnificent skills as a liar, we more than believe her. We've seen the evidence.
OTHER IMPORTANT SERIES EIGHT DEVELOPMENTS...
The love story of Danny and Clara dominates Series Eight. But there are, at least, two other pivotal things that occur in the season that we definitely need to take note of:
LISTEN - After the big reveal in Name of the Doctor that Clara has been travelling through the Doctor's timeline as a sort of phantom that influences his lives over and over, she takes things one step further. In Listen, she accidentally uses the TARDIS to travel into the Doctor's childhood and actually helps to shape one of the most crucial decisions he will ever make. She hides under the bed in the barn he sometimes escapes to when he's crying himself to sleep and hints at a time when he will return to this barn as an adult. She tells him of an important decision he must face that day and that he needs to remember who he is and that the choice should not be made based on fear. She's referring to, of course, that scene in Day of the Doctor where he feels he must use the Moment to destroy the Daleks and Time Lords in order to save the Universe. Her mot precis may have saved the Doctor from making his worst mistake, ever. If Clara's status as The Ultimate Companion wasn't large enough, already - then the conclusion of Listen definitely cements it.
KILL THE MOON/MUMMY ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS - By the end of Deep Breath, Clara has accepted the fact that the Doctor is a colder man, now. That, ultimately, he's a good man - it's just harder to see that in this new incarnation. But at the conclusion of Kill The Moon, it becomes too hard to see that and Clara is now certain that she wants out. Mummy On The Orient Express becomes a sort of break-up story between Clara and Twelve. They're taking one last trip together and then calling it off. Or, at least, that's what it's meant to be. In many ways, none of us are fooled. We know the Doctor will, somehow, win her back and their travels will continue. But it still shows some interesting nuances to Clara's character. This new Doctor is a harder man to love and she accepts that. But she has her limits. The Doctor finds those limitis during this "rocky moment" in their friendship. But she also teaches Clara some important things about him. That, sometimes, he has to make difficult decisions and she needs to respect him for that. So what should have been a parting of the ways actually makes their friendship more solid.
It also, however, increases her skills as a liar. At the end of Mummy On The Orient Express, Clara starts fibbing to the Doctor, too. It doesn't take the Doctor long to figure it out, though. By Midway through Flatline, he's calling her out on the carpet. The quick reversal of roles, however, strengthens their relationship still further. They see that they are accountable to each other. The Doctor must curb his rudeness and Clara must watch how manipulative she can be. We also see Clara growing stronger and more independent as she must play the role of the Doctor throughout the bulk of the story. The breakthrough she has in Deep Breath manifests itself all the more, here. Clara is proud of herself and has every right to be. She is now capable of saving people just as well as the Doctor does.
There's also a very subtle moment during the Doctor's confrontation with the Boneless that we should touch upon. Watch how often they cut to the look on Clara's face as the Time Lord beats back the two-dimensional invaders. After a few episodes of facing difficult decisions, her heart is racing as she watches the Doctor stare down evil and defeat it at its core. She is convinced, in this moment, that the Doctor that she loves is still there.
LOSING DANNY...
And so we reach In The Forest Of The Night and the relationship between Danny and Clara reaches a crucial point. Danny discovers that Clara has been lying to him about travelling with the Doctor. Patient boyfriend that he is, he forgives her and asks that they have an important sit-down where she can tell him the proper truth of things.
We see the control freak at her best as she calls Danny on his way to her flat and tries to go through the whole process over the phone with a room full of flash cards. She is so scared of losing Danny that she is trying every possible strategy she can to keep him. As she confesses just how truly deep her love is for him (she admits to her love for the first time in The Caretaker - but, here, she proclaims that there is no one she will ever love again) the most horrific twist of fate occurs. She loses Danny.
A good chunk of the season finale involves Clara trying to get Danny back. Her first attempt is another example of a situation that should've ruined her friendship with the Doctor but, instead, enhances it. Betrayed to the very core, the Doctor still doesn't care that his best friend would do such a thing to him. We wonder if there has ever been a companion he has been this fond of.
Sadly, Clara never gets what she wants. She comes so close, several times, to saving Danny. But the soldier's sense of right and wrong, in the end, forces him to stay dead. Once more, we see Clara have to process a deep sense of loss in the same way that she did during Rings of Akhaten. This time, she learns to let go of Danny during a dream sequence in Last Christmas. She will remember him for five minutes every day. But, otherwise, she will get on with her life.
We also get the second "false parting of the ways" for Series 8. In an attempt to protect the other's feelings, the Doctor and Clara lie to each other at the end of Death In Heaven. Both try to claim that they have a better life awaiting them, now, and that they don't need to travel together anymore. Fortunately, they discover the truth in the next story and are re-united. All thanks to help of Santa Claus.
Clara's season reaches its conclusion.
SERIES 9
Some new arcs get introduced into Clara's story as we embark upon her latest and final season. The most important one being this deathwish that she seems to have developed. With Danny now gone, she has lost the will to live. Or, at the very least, she no longer fears death. She is reckless, now. As reckless as the Doctor. But, as the Doctor says himself, she's far more delicate. This reckless streak could become her undoing. And, inevitably, it does.
But we don't really start seeing this til the second story of the season. In Under The Lake, she is openly asking for danger and excitement as the TARDIS materializes in the underwater base. We continue to see this sort of spirit at work in Clara throughout the ensuing stories. Sometimes, it's only subtly hinted at. On other occasions (most specifically, Face The Raven) it becomes a serious problem.
But before all that can happen, we see something else of significance occur in Clara during The Magician's Apprentice/The Witch's Familiar. Clara has gotten quite good at "playing the Doctor" during the last series. So much so, that UNIT actively seeks her as a consultant at the beginning of the story. As things progress, she does a great job standing up to Missy out on the terrace of the cafe. However, as Witch's Familiar ensues, Clara is seriously humbled by the Doctor's arch enemy/best friend. Time and again, Missy manipulates her into all kinds of situations where the Time Lady exhibits total control over her. Our bossy control freak is brought to her knees as she must plead with the Doctor from inside a Dalek casing to save her. She learns the hard way that she might be good at playing the Doctor - but only the Doctor can truly be the Doctor.
Still, she does bounce back and starts showing more independence and strength as the season progresses. She, very much, takes charge of things at the underwater base in Before The Flood while the Doctor is busy messing around in the past. She shows that can she still get the Doctor to do what she wants in The Girl Who Died by convincing him to save the Vikings when he thinks he should just leave them to their fate. And she has a most impressive battle of wills against Bonnie in The Zygon Inversion.
Missy may have taken Clara down a peg - but she is far from broken.
LOSING CLARA
But then we arrive at Face The Raven and Clara's recklessness reaches its ultimate conclusion. It's re-enforced quite heavily early on in the episode when Clara almost slides out of the TARDIS while it's hovering over London. Rigsy and the Doctor have a moment where they remark upon it. Both are concerned about her. They have reason to be.
It's nice in her final episode that the writer still remembers some of Clara's other prominent traits. When the young Janus girl who has been disguised as a boy doesn't want them to enter her home, Clara uses her skills with children to get them in. She might be a bossy control freak - but she has her gentler side, too. And it comes out the most when she's around kids.
As Clara takes the chronolock from Rigsy, her fate is sealed. She is sure that it will just buy them extra time to investigate the murder on the trap street but we know otherwise. All this flirting with danger that the young schoolteacher has been doing is finally catching up with her.
Clara makes an interesting admission in her final moments. She sees how she's become this way ever since she lost Danny. That, maybe, this is what she's wanted all along.
After a brave but tearful farewell, Clara faces the raven.
REFUSING TO LET CLARA GO
As we embark upon the final two episodes, we are under the impression that the Doctor is seeking revenge on the people responsible for Clara's death. But somewhere during Heaven Sent, he works out who is torturers are and adjusts his plans accordingly.
Seeing into the Doctor's "mind palace" gives us some interesting insights into who he is. We also see the full depth of his attachment to Clara. He escapes from all his predicaments by imagining how he tells her how he got out of them while hanging about in the console room, afterwards. It could be entirely possible that he does this with whoever his current companion is. But the strength of Clara's character truly shines through when she yells at him to accept her death and move on.The Doctor's memory of who she is and what she represents is so strong that he knows she would want him to do this. That he may want to give up - but she still needs him to win.
When the Doctor, at last, finds Gallifrey - he does not seem to care. He knows he's in a society that has the technology to bring back Clara and that's all that matters. The political fireworks that he initiates in Hell Bent is just one elaborate plan to get him to an extraction chamber so that he can save his best friend. But we become even more amazed when we learn that his resistance to reveal the identity of the Hybrid for over four billion years was all part of a long game he'd been playing to recover her. Has there been a companion that the Doctor has made a bigger sacrifice for?
EPILOGUE
As if it was some sort of divine punishment for breaking all his own rules, the Doctor loses his memories of Clara and must move on without her, after all. They have what appears to be a final meeting in the TARDIS/diner that Clara and Ashildr now control. It's a very sad wistful sequence that lays the whole story of the longest-serving companion in the New Series gently to rest.
Ultimately, Clara must return to the fate that awaits her at the end of Face The Raven. But she's currently in a fully-functioning TARDIS with someone else who is also immortal.
That wiggle room that she discusses with Me could go on for quite some time....
Missed part one? Here be the link:
http://robtymec.blogspot.ca/2016/09/analytical-companion-retrospective.html
Again, we see Moffat mucking up things. First he kills off companions left and right. Then, we he kills off another one, he sets it up to bring her back! I am happy that Moffat is leaving. Hopefully, the next Producer will not do crazy things like Moffat did, including his creation of the 13th/1st Doctor.
ReplyDeletePersonally, RTD getting us to believe that Rose and Donna would die and then not actually killing them bothered me more. Yes, Rory was "Doctor Who's Kenny". But, for the most part, I felt the deaths and resurrections were done cleverly. I should've been disappointed that he didn't truly kill Clara. But, for some reason, it worked for me. She was a great companion and that's why I wanted to do a retrospective on her. I may look at other companions sometime down the road...
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It's very simple on Blogger. Put www.blogger.com into your search engine and just follow the prompts to set up your own blog
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