Ugghhh.
I have so many feelings about this episode I was compelled to write about it.
Things I loved:
Capaldi Capaldi Capaldi. LOVE him! I think I said that to the Whovian coven every 5 minutes. “Why do you need three mirrors? Why don’t you just turn your head?” “Once upon a time. The End.” Hilarious. I love his grumpy, no-nonsense, no-people-skills Doctor. Also, the Doctor using a normal screwdriver because the sonic doesn’t work. Funny.
Thank you gods for this no-flirting Doctor! It’s actually nice that he talks to Clara like she’s just a normal person and not someone he has to trade quips and smartass dialogue with every darn time. As a result we’re starting to get to know her better. (Ish. More on this later.)
The War Doctor! Yay. Those snippets of his other selves are always so cool. Like seeing an old friend again.
The baby Time Lord! Awww. Yet another of those moments where I just teared up all of a sudden. Don’t you just hate when that happens while watching Doctor Who? Moffat, most times I need to prepare myself. I’m also going to be honest about this part – that casual “He’ll never make a Time Lord” sailed over my head the first time. By that point in the episode, there were too many things nagging at me that I missed it.
It was a good episode, and I loved how it played out like a psychological thriller. I had my hands over my eyes in that scene at the children’s home. I was scaaaaared.
But Clara bugged me. There, I said it. First of all, why did she not tell the Doctor about Rupert from the beginning? Granted, the episode may have been over in 15 minutes if she did, so I can accept that they had to add some drama. But maybe they could have at least given an explanation?
And that reveal at the end about how she comforted the young Doctor (after scaring him shitless) BUGGED. So basically, Clara made the Doctor who he is? She has that humongous significance in the Doctor’s life? I know she spliced herself and jumped into the Doctor’s time stream to save him, but I guess I didn’t fathom the depth of that action until now. And it bugs. I feel that no companion should out-companion any companion in the Doctor’s life. Every companion should be important and have a purpose. And it doesn’t seem right that someone can be that huge in the Doctor’s very existence. Like suddenly everyone else now is just useless. They’re not Clara. And when Clara inevitably leaves, the Impossible Girl will be Impossible To Follow. This is still Doctor Who, right? Not The Clara Show?
I don’t hate Clara. Ok, maybe I did in the beginning. But I was starting to like her after Deep Breath and watching Series 7b again. And I was happy that we were finally getting to know her more. But now it’s like “Whoa Moffat, get ahold of yourself.” We were subjected to a one-dimensional Clara in Series 7 and now suddenly she’s the most important being in all of the universe? Suddenly she’s the one who made the Doctor brave? I wanted character development, but surely it’s not too much to ask for believability too? We’re back to her being the Impossible Girl, and only the Impossible Girl, again.
It feels kinda lonely to be my salmon-y self, swimming against the stream and being the only one to not gush over this episode. And I’m not really mad or ranting. I am just genuinely bothered, more than anything else. Please reassure me because ugghh.
mister beebop 
I liked Listen a lot, but not my favorite either. Hey-you like what you like (or not)!
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That’s too true! To each his own 🙂
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Peter Capaldi had some great lines in this episode! His whole fear is a superpower speech to Rupert was absolutely fantastic! Capaldi has so much range as an actor, and he is just killing it as The Doctor!
The opening to this episode was the one of the best I have ever seen! Also in Clara’s defense, if she left the SPOILERS child Doctor in bed crying, she would have been a jerk for doing so. She was just trying to comfort him and I was okay with that. I read that a lot of fans were upset that Clara said one of The First Doctor’s (William Hartnell) lines from his tenure when she said “…fear is like a companion, a constant companion.”
I really enjoyed this episode, and think it has been Capaldi’s best so far! Peter Capaldi became The Doctor in this episode for me, and now I am all in!
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I totally agree with you about Capaldi – he is truly owning it as The Doctor. I watch the show with my sister and niece, and I think they must be tired of hearing me say how great he is all the time! I see your point about Clara, and I guess I still have to get used to this new companion-Doctor dynamic they have going on. I really want Capaldi to succeed and to stay for a long time just so it’ll be a while before we have to deal with regeneration blues, so I think in an unrealistic way I want all his episodes to be universally beloved. Isn’t it great how emotionally invested we are in this show? I know I am! 🙂
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That’s cool you watch the show with your sister and niece :). Only my two friends like Doctor Who, and we don’t always watch it together, but I still enjoy it! I agree regenerations are always hard to deal with, I was really sad when David Tennant left, but sad and excited when Matt Smith left, it was a strange thing for me. I want everyone to love Capaldi, but hey he may not be everyone’s cup of tea and I am fine with that, just as long as we can all have polite discourse over why we may or may not have liked Capaldi :).
It really is great how emotionally invested we are in the show! I think it’s a testament to how great Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman are as actors. I got a little bit sad when Clara told the Doctor off, I was thinking “No you two are buddies! Why Moffat?!” and I am a guy haha. I haven’t been this emotionally invested in a character since LOST haha.
Sorry for these “novel” replies haha, I love talking about this stuff, hence why I started a blog!
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Oh no need to apologize, I love talking about this stuff too! It’s actually hard to find people here who like the same thing, i.e. Doctor Who, so I only get to talk about it with my family. Now we’ve “upgraded” my other niece!
I was sad at that last scene too! I mean, Capaldi’s face when she said all those things to him, he looked so broken! I am dreading the day that Clara leaves because I don’t want to see Capaldi unhappy. Do you know when that will happen? But I think I want to be spoiler-free haha. Whenever I cry because of the show (like the way I bawled when Matt Smith left), I shake my fist and just say “Damn you Moffat!” haha.
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Same here, besides my older brother none of my family watches Doctor Who. I agree Capaldi did look sad and he played that scene very well! I think The Doctor can survive without Clara, but it will be sad to see her go. There is a rumor that Clara is leaving during this year’s Christmas Special, and if so I hope she gets a good sendoff! So who is your favorite Doctor? Mine is Matt Smith, he was awesome!
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Yay! Matt Smith is my favorite Doctor too! I put off watching his regeneration episode until a week before Series 8, just because I knew I was going to cry so much!
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