Postby Bal » Sun Aug 24, 2014 4:13 am
I didn't feel the discontinuity with Clara myself. Rose had a similar problem in The Christmas Invasion, it just wasn't explored very thoroughly because Davies got distracted by a butterfly or something, but this to me was a much better exploration of the kind of trauma a companion might suffer if they were to witness the Doctor simultaneously die and not die at the same time. You'll notice that it wasn't really Clara complaining that he was old, she was just pointing out the incongruity of a new face being old and how that deepened the overall sense of loss and incongruity she was already experiencing. Other people were projecting their ideas of what was bothering her. As the Doctor said at the end "I never said it was your mistake". What was bothering her is that the Doctor she knew died, right in front of her, and was immediately replaced by someone who, aside from some confusion to start with, is insisting that he's the same man.
Ultimately it was going to be a regeneration episode, and that is what we got. I enjoyed Vastra and company, because who doesn't, and as I suspected, silly to start, moving toward grim as we get to know Capaldi's doctor. I like him so far. He is grim, but there's a sense of vulnerability about him, even by the end of the episode when he's more or less gotten a handle on himself, and not just in regards to Clara. He does need her, but I think it's in the way the Doctor often needs a companion. He seems, to me, afraid to be alone and more conscious of that fact than usual. Usually the Doctor comes out of these episodes all swagger and come on lets go see the universe, but Capaldi's almost begging, and yes part of it is due to Clara still not "seeing" him, but other Doctors would have been like "Suit yourself" *wheezcronk* and found someone else. Not this time. He's desperately afraid to be alone with himself.
New villain seems interesting. Maybe the woman from the shop that gave Clara the number? Obviously these are the hooks for the season, and I look forward to their being explored. Overall I really enjoyed the episode, and I'm looking forward to Capaldi's run.
Man, poor David Tennent. He does all the leg work, and then the next Doctor gets the big budget and better writing, and the Doctor after that gets to be Scottish!