The Most Misunderstood Doctor Who Finale
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- Опубликовано: 18 дек 2023
- Hell Bent is the controversial Doctor Who Series 9 finale, especially after the success of Heaven Sent. But why is it so hated? And is it actually just misunderstood?
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Heaven Sent emphasises the Doctor as a larger-than-life, heroic figure while Hell Bent functions as a contrast by showing us his limitations and flaws.
Also Heaven sent is the denial stage of grief. Hell Bent is the anger.
At least i see that way. The Doctor could just confess. But that would be him accepting the situation.
The timelords set the trap. Clara got killed. He confess. They get what they want. He get free, alone, separated from the time lords.
Thats a good way to think about it
My favorite part of it is how the Doctor _told_ Clara to _be the Doctor._ "Never be cruel, never be cowardly, and never eat pears. That last one's very important, write it down."
Maybe that’s what caused the Bigeneration. 14 ate a pear :P
I remember when I first saw this episode, I felt the pears line was very cringe and still do. Capaldi tried his best with the delivery, but he couldn't make lemonade out of that lemon, IMHO. The first line of the General after she regenerates also still makes me cringe when thinking about it. The portrayal of Rassilon was also very bad and felt cheap. There are definitely some good ideas in this episode, but it just didn't hold together for me.
Be Kind
Be Human
@@CyborgCharlotte Eat a pear, become a pair
The Doctor overthrowing the most powerful and dangerous Time Lord in Gallifrey’s history without uttering a single word is by FAR the most badass thing the character has ever done…
Actually it was with four words. “Get. Off. My. Planet.”
@@legocustomreviews6492even Harriet Jones needed more words than that, Rassilon ain't shit
@@legocustomreviews6492don't you think he looks tired?
@@glowstoneunknown
Holy shit, Rassilon must be beyond exhausted LOL
My favorite badass moments from Capaldi is the 2 body count drops.
He is always unarmed, he is often alone, he never stops.
Hearing that from the Timelords themself, after that rebellious execution is the most badass Doctor Who ever got.
12:22 Actually, the way the scene in Heaven Sent is written, when the Doctor remembers the story of the Shepherd's Boy, and he says, "It's right then, always then!", it likely means he remembers not only the story, but the way he says it; he remembers that the story returns to him at the same moment in each loop. That, at least to me, implies that he remembers each iteration of his past attempts at that moment (likely due to the nature of the Confession Dial). It also explains why the Doctor collapses with such immense exhaustion when he remembers.
it's not an implication
the doctor in his semi-conscious state as he hits the water has the terrible dread in him, but he can't quite recall it yet
at the wall, it all comes back, and untold years of suffering crush him to the ground
It truly surprises me how many people miss that line
When he sees the wall, he says, “That’s when I remember! Always then!” And then when he slumps down and imagines talking with Clara, he tells her that she doesn’t understand what he’s dealing with, and that he can remember every previous run-through. The only thing is that the audience doesn’t learn that he’s in a loop for a few more minutes, so you don’t really catch that until your second watch.
Also, I kind of like the... wiggle room... that the Confession Dial only has the Doctor THINK he got copied, and resurrected, thousands of times...
But maybe that's best left a bit, subjective. It depends how metaphysically iffy one wants to get.
Its 100% that. Thats why he gets so angry and dumbfounded after realising what bird means. Its not that he has to punch through the wall. Its the realisation he is going to have to relive this cycle again and again for billions of years. And then at the end of it still not have Clara.
Hell Bent is the consequence of 4.5 billion years of rage directed at trying to escape for even the smallest chance of seeing Clara again. The Doctor is the villain, and we genuinely don't see this side of him in many episodes. We've seen anger, we've seen his flaws, but we've never seen him truly be villainous and causing all the problems. His home planet and his entire race are back, and he doesn't even care about them. Ultimately, the villainous Doctor succeeded in saving Clara, if at least for a little bit. He and Clara would go so far for each other that the only way for the universe to be at peace was for them to be separated, and the only way that would happen is if one loses their memories of the other.
I don't see him as "not caring" about the Gallifreyans who stand with him actually.. he only really seems to have issues with Rassilon, and with good reason. A confession dial was never meant to be the torture device it's been turned into.
Missy talked about quiet and contemplation, not haunted, hunted, and trapped in an attempt to get information from him. I can see how a confession dial *could* be an experience like Missy mentioned..
Clearly the Sisterhood of Karn thinks the Doctor knew exactly how to leave the entire time. To refer back to Matt Smith's Doctor, he knows things, secrets that must never be spoken.. and so he doesn't.
Hence the line in the sand. He doesn't force anyone to be on the other side of that line except for Rassilon.
The "regular" Gallifreyans who apparently count as "no witnesses" (gulp) don't stand a chance against the powerful, and Rassilon went "Time Lord Victorious" a long, long time ago. The Doctor stands with those regular Gallifreyans.
His anger is directed at Rassilon.. (and at least partially a ruse to get access to Clara). Having kicked Rassilon out of power, he gets Clara, steals a TARDIS and runs.. which.. makes sense.
He leaves everyone else in peace.
And yes, we *have* seen the Doctor that angry before. From the Waters of Mars, the Family of Blood, to Captain Runaway and the Silence.. we have seen his ire before. He chooses to run off and see the Universe instead and tries to give the people s/he loves a chance instead.
❤
He didn’t live those billions of years from his perspective it was a couple of hours
Never picked up on that parallel between Clara not “seeing” the Doctor in Deep Breath, and him not “seeing” her in this episode. You’ve just made me appreciate this brilliant episode even more! Honestly, I’ve never understood the hate for this - it’s automatically on the back foot after Heaven Sent, but is a thrilling space opera AND character piece in its own right
It's actually quite similar to the River Song Arc now I think about it, but more subtle and less timey wimey
This episode is the reason I stopped interacting with fandom and never went back. I dared to say I liked this story and defended it online only to be bullied by certain individuals and told this thing I like is bad and therefore I must also be bad. I'm much happier as a result. I like what I like and idgaf.
You left at a good time. The fandom only got much much worse after this
@@henryandrews700 To be fair I'm a big Tennant Era fan and yet completely agree with everything you just said. Honestly it's the fandom that's kinda made me ambivalent towards my favourite show in the last 5 years more so than the show itself by this point
@@henryandrews700as a fan of the 60th specials i acknowledge it has its flaws just like RTD does, the fandom is toxic in a sense for completely hating on episodesno matter how good or bad they really are, the chibnball era has only made this worse
@@henryandrews700 I like the 60th anniversary Episode. But they're obviously Not the greatest Episodes ever, but Not nearly as Bad as some people seem to think. Was it a mistake to bring tennant back? Probably. Were the Episodes truly Bad? No. Although when it comes to anniversary specials they have to compete the three doctors the five doctors and Day of the doctor which are just better.
.
@@henryandrews700trust me I grew up with Tennant fangirls…they’re the worst
Face the Raven through to The Husbands of River Song is probably my favourite run of episodes alongside The Pandorica Opens to Day of the Moon. Moffat was such a great writer.
I love the husbands of river song, especially when considering the grief the doctor experiences right before it. I feel as though that time with her helps heal his heart.
I've never understood the criticisms levelled at Moffat that he's a bad writer (season 4 of Sherlock nonwithstanding...), given how masterful this trio of episodes is. Bad writers simply do not write something as good as Heaven Sent.
Hell Bent's major flaw is the ending, up until the flying diner I was 100% on board with the episode. I feel like giving Clara the chance to fly off and pick when she goes back to her death kinda cheapens the impact of Face the Raven a bit, but the rest of the episode is so well done I can forgive it that much. The memory erasing scene is among Capaldi's best acting in the show, and that's a high bar to clear.
Imo the issue isn't that moffat is a bad writer, he's written some of the best episodes of nuwho. The issue is that he's a much better *episode* writer than showrunner
@@Sky-pg8jmeven that is unfounded imo. Series 5 is hands down the best written and built season of new who, series 6 fumbled the bag but its ambition is to be applauded. Series 6 is truly the only objectively weak link. Series 8 has amazing single episodes and a very RTD style finale, with Cybermen in London. Series 9 is his second best when it comes to episodic storytelling but the finale is very controversial. Series 10 is his magnum opus, with character work that amazes me to this day. Series 8-10 are really character driven seasons, and they’re done extremely well!
Some writers just can't properly kill off characters and that makes them objectively bad
@@atharvadeshpande6907character driven stories is the bane of doctor who, if you disagree you are simply wrong
Most of his criticisms are as showrunner. He’s a fantastic writer, but he doesn’t always balance the episodic with the seasonal arcs well
Also, people say that this ruins Heaven Sent, but to me it adds to it. After that episode, the Doctor shows that he would do anything for his friends while fighting grief, so to go to the lengths he does to save Clara in this makes total sense and its all set up perfectly in Heaven Sent
People also forget that each time the doctor dies and a new version is born, to him it's as if he's just arrived and his first thought is Clara's death. He's in a continuous loop of grief and it's just as raw when he arrives on Gallifrey as it was when he entered the confession dial.
@@Call-Me-I yeah but if heaven sent was a metaphor about the pain of processing grief, feeling like you're at a constant low over and over again to get back up to punch away that barrier more and more, until thanks to that determination, you've finally overcame it... only with the next episode about the doctor not overcoming it, it makes you wonder what the point of heaven sent was as it didnt even follow its own metaphor in the next episode. like, "here's a metaphor for processing grief, except he doesn't actually process grief, in-fact his grief is still pretty much fresh. but don't worry about that."
@@Call-Me-I metaphor, allegory, and deeper narrative focus, heaven sent seems to do all of these. im just wondering why not follow it through to hell bent, rather than have it just for it to be there.
for me it would have also been an equally interesting plot that once the doctor got over that grief, after the pain of 4 billion years finally mellowing out, his experiences on gallifrey tickles that part of him again. say like a water of mars situation, where after he's moved on, his morals of wanting to save someone + clara being just right in reach right there, taunting him. keep the other stuff in hell bent, while making the doctor's wrath of protecting clara just more built-up overtime, reopening old scars, could be a metaphor for relapsing or as the doctor put it in heaven sent, "all the days that they're gone."
what i mean is just it feels like missed opportunity, especially after a buildup like that where the deeper themes are essentially just scratched and refreshed by the next episode.
also sorry for the long message lol
I don't think Heaven Sent was written or intended to be a metaphor for overcoming grief. The doctor is stuck in a never-ending cycle of grief. He picks himself up and continues out of guilt and anger spurred on by what he imagines Clara would tell him to do. Of course others may interpret it differently but that's how I see it.@@tobitobi2003
@@Call-Me-I well, yeah, he didn't get over it entirely.
but with his dialogue with clara in the tardis, the whole section with "whatever i do, you still won't be there." & "you're not the only person who has ever lost someone. get over it, beat it, break free." & "doctor its time. get up off your ass, and win."
and as these are the doctor's own thoughts and obviously knowing clara is just a figment of his imagination at that point, it seems like very much he was willing to take those steps. and with his breaking the wall, he wasn't focused on clara at all, he was focused on breaking free.
so like i said before, for that to regress in hell bent just feels like a shame imo
Im so glad theres finally a review like this, its far from the perfect finale but i think wraps up the hybrid storyline perfectly and I like the fact that clara still dies, even if its more bitter sweet
does it though? it sort of feels like the hybrid was one of those "mystery box" type plot devices thrown in just to be mysterious and then completely forgotten about later. it feels kind of cheap to me.
@@erubin100 I don't really understand why you think it was "completely forgotten about" when it was at the very heart of the point of this episode, just as Harbo very ably explains. Just because there was no climactic standoff between the Doctor and some Big Bad doesn't mean there was no resolution or that the story didn't go anywhere. If you want cheap (and weak, flimsy, nonsensical), try the whole Bad Wolf arc. What a load of cobblers that was! Or S3's 'space Jesus' stuff. Still, each to their own.
@@erubin100 It's a deconstruction of mystery box stories.
@@najawin8348"deconstruction" these days is just another word for "lazy writing."
@@iancossey105at least bad wolf can be explained by a bootstrap paradox, and at least it still appeared in later seasons from time to time. the hybrid prophecy just came out of nowhere for one season, wasn't really explained, and then was never mentioned again in later seasons as if it never happened. the freaking timeless child has more relevance than that.
The Doctor specifically asked the General which regeneration he was on before shooting and wishes him luck, because he's not a murderer and wouldn't have fired if the General was on his last one and couldn't survive.
I will never understand the contempt for Hell Bent. It follows Heavent Sent, so that's always going to be tough, but even without that taken into account, I think it's still a really, really good episode.
He says it in the vid. Many people wanted or expected a Gallifrey circlejerk and got mad when it's wasn't. Also a lot of people think it cheapned Clara's death.
I mean as an episode it doesn't really work because nothing happens in it, just a lot of standing around and making grand but meaningless speeches. As a series finale it doesn't really work since it undoes all of the interesting things the previous episodes do.
27:05 This shot of Capaldi’s TARDIS is gorgeous, and demonstrates exactly why it’s my favourite interior.
I think as time goes by this era of Dr Who will be very much missed
I miss it and it's *After Christmas* been 6 Years!!!
I miss it so dearly. Rewatching right now, best it ever was.
even for those who hated Hell Bent (for some reason) only had to wait 1 or two episodes of watching his successor , to miss the old writers and cast,
FINALLY Someone else gets it! Heaven Sent and Hell Bent are a character exploration about how The Doctor deals with grief. It's SUCH a good story, and Coleman and Capaldi play it MASTERFULLY. Especially Capaldi with the moments of absolute gutwrenching sorrow turning into this blinding, driving, all consuming RAGE all played out in his facial expressions. This two part story (Face the Raven is more of a prologue to the main event in my eyes) is told on at LEAST Four fronts. The dialogue tells the story, and the seemingly incongrourous actions tell the story, the music is telling the same story and the physical acting from Capaldi, Coleman and both versions of The General are telling the same story in an absolute web of interweaved narratives... it's just... Chefs Kiss. Heaven Sent/Hell Bent might be the absolute greatest piece of televised storytelling yet created and my hat will forever be off to the showrunners and writers who laid the groundwork, the crew who put it all together, and the absolute PINNACLE of performances from the cast that brought this masterpiece to life!
One more season and then the *shudder* Chibnal years *shudder*. Everyone pray for poor Harbo. I agree with this take I think it's underrated and It's aged pretty well.
My main issue with the “she still has to die but she can take as long as she wants to get there” idea is that there are too many things that can go wrong on the way unless she heads straight there. She could get stranded, imprisoned, or, you know, die. It’s completely irresponsible of her to risk the entire universe for a little more time, and the episode treats this as a clever little triumph instead of the exact sort of arrogance that got her killed.
It's established she can't die since she's already dead. She's still "frozen" in that second before her death and doesn't even have a heartbeat. She's effectively immortal, and can't age, drown, suffocate, succumb to injury or illness, etc. Could she, say, end up trapped in a box and be forgotten about forever? Possibly. But she couldn't die even if she tried to, and will still theoretically be "around" to be able to go back to Trap Street any time in some way, shape or form. We also see her death definitively take place in _Face the Raven_ so evidently nothing else does happen to her.
It's overpowered, sure, and can undercut a lot of what this episode and others set up, but she isn't actually taking a risk on that level.
She shows up in Twice Upon a Time, so it's confirmed that she is dead. Moffat left it open on how long Clara waited before returning, but I don't think it was a long time. She loved the Doctor and traveling without him would have been empty and felt like something was missing.
I don't think she went off to do anything terribly dangerous. She probably just went and lived a "normal" life with ME because that was the one thing they didn't get.
It’s difficult to believe The Time Lords would allow Clara to steal a TARDIS and go adventuring. They would put an end to this quick smart
Finally someone who understands the episode like I do. You literally took the words out of my mouth when it comes to their relationship and why both Clara and the Doctor became the Hybrid. I love how you also point out the build up to this climax as it has been shown constantly from back in S7 and people seem to forget. My only criticism of the episode is the fact the potential consequences weren't shown as much as they should have been though i suppose fathers day and other eps have already shown the damaging consequences of meddling with time.
I was glad the 12th Doctor got to see Clara again, and got his memories of her back, in his last episode. This also confirmed Clara eventually did go back to the moment of her death and let things happen as they had to.
The run of episodes including Face the Raven, Heaven Sent, and Hell Bent are my favourite set of episodes in the entire series. Capaldi is firing on all cylinders and the whole Clara arc is ended in such an unexpectedly bittersweet way, emphasising both the Doctor and Clara’s flaws and how they got them in the situation they’re now in.
The problem with Hell Bent isn't that it's out of character for The Doctor, that's obviously the point of it. The problem is that it's just... for Clara. Yes, she's important to him, but so was everyone else who came before her. While most of them never died during their travels or ended up in some way saved, the lengths The Doctor goes to here reeks of Moffat's infatuation with his own creation (Clara). The Doctor is allowed to be consumed by grief, but this just seems frankly ridiculous when held up to the majority of their relationship in the past. Yes, the two of them are toxic together in a way, but so were Ten and Rose and they were split apart in a much more tragic (and sensical in a storytelling sense) way. The majority of Clara's importance that's been talked about is all the stuff Moffat put upon her (like inspiring the child Doctor in Listen). We barely ever see the two of them be kinda dangerous or reckless together, at least not like how it was highlighted in Series Two. It's honestly wild to be that something like that from one of my least favorite seasons can be better than a similar thing from one of my favorites.
Now, you could say that it's all the Gallifrey trauma and the toxic relationship between the two of them... a) Gallifrey coming back should never have played second fiddle to another story arc an b) then why the hell does Clara get "rewarded" in the end. Yes, The Doctor pays a price by losing the memories of her (which he gets back anyways) but Clara getting to run off in a TARDIS of her own for basically as long as the audience wants (since we don't have to return to her death) just shows a kind of cowardice on Moffat's part instead of having lasting consequences stick with Clara. She had to, y'know, Face The Raven, and that should've actually stuck at the end (at least in a way that matters).
I hated this episode so much. Then the Timeless Child finale happened and I thought huh, I guess Hell Bent could have actually been _monumentally_ worse, and I shouldn't have taken it for granted
"Perhaps I treated you too harshly" lol
Whittaker deserved better scripts, she was brilliant in the role and Chibnall just kneecapped her with stories as bad as The Timeless Child.
@@ShinGallonI agree. Shame we'll never get that (Unless she does big finish 👀)
I always felt crazy for thinking Hell Bent was a great finale, so happy to see this review
I've always loved it (pretty much for every reason you said) so I'm glad there's more positivity for it online.
And to the people who always complain that this episode undercut the stakes of Clara's demise, good you're paying attention. The Doctor can't accept it. I mean, if you were in his shoes, wouldn't you try to save the woman you love?
And maybe it does downplay Gallifrey's return, but it's par for the course for Moff. Killing Hitler? The final battle of the Time War? The Siege of Trenzalore? The epic stakes are always a backdrop for the personal arcs. The Doctor can't get Clara back just as he can't get back the Gallifrey he dreamed of since he was Nine. Both things were just pipe dreams he deluded himself into thinking he could get back one day.
Before I watch the video I want it to be known that I really like Hell Bent. It’s one of the episodes that solidified Capaldi as one of my favourite Doctors
The guitar version of "Clara's Theme" is such an absolutely beautiful song. Genuinely one I can (and have) listened to for hours.
The whole of "Face the Raven" through "The Husbands of River Song", Murray Gold is on fire with the score. Easily his best continuous stretch of episodes.
Honestly, not reading many of the other comments, but Capaldi was sooooo underrated! Mysterious, aged, lonely, but compassionate and from his guitar playing you could see how he wanted to break out of his skin like a teenager uncomfortable in himself. He had a sadness that was palpable. He was the last real time lord.
While a lot of his episodes are unmemorable, as a character he’s my personal favourite
I adore Capaldi's Doctor. But then again I don't think I could choose a favorite.
"Dread it, run from it... Hell Bent arrives all the same!"
18:09 I find it funny how even the official Fan Show back in day took issue with that reveal... probably because "that's not what a hybrid is".
Glad to see someone else giving this episode some praise!
The first time watching, I was lowkey disappointed by this episode, in part because of its large focus on Clara and surprising actions from the Doctor, in part because of a lot of unanswered questions, and in part because of how spectacular Heaven Sent was and that this episode failed to (and frankly, could *never* reasonably) live up to that incredibly high bar. However, in the years since and having rewatched the episode a few times, I've grown to love it a lot for what it DOES do as opposed to being disappointed for what it DOESN'T do. I love the fact that you mention the Time Lord Victorious and The Waters of Mars, because I've always gotten massive vibes with the Doctor being at his lowest, broken and stuck in a delusion. It's become one of my favorite season finales, I'd give it a very strong 9.5/10.
Finally! Someone else that acknowledges how good an episode Hell Bent is. It is obviously not as great as the episode that preceded it, but it is good.
I can appreciate a lot of what Hell Bent is going for from a character standpoint, but that ending really sours things for me. I just don't really buy the whole "Clara has to go back and die on Trap Street EVENTUALLY" excuse because, well, everyone has to die eventually and she has the benefit of waiting as long as she feels like. The consequences of the story just feel like they're being undermined (which is a problem a lot of DW showrunners seem to struggle with).
Heaven Sent and Hell Bent are my favourite season end by far, followed up closely by Twice Upon a Time. The trio finale has the Doctor going through a fascinating journey through the stages of grief, and the Doctor and Clara's relationship having to end for not only their good, but the universe's, is so interesting to watch.
One of the things I found v cool character wise was the Clara in the Doctor's head vs the real Clara -- him thinking she'd say to "Get up off your arse, and WIN", vs real Clara going "Why? Why would you do that to yourself?" D&C had had a bit of dissonance for a while, with him constantly wanting to protect her, her wanting that danger cause its all she really had to live for anymore, and that being partly why she died and causing the finale makes it one of my faves. The 12 and Clara relationship is my fave in Doctor Who, alongside 10/14 and Donna, and this finale proves why.
I cannot express how excited I am for when we get to World enough and time/ The Doctor falls/ twice upon a time in a few months
About the Doctor remembering all his previous iterations in the confession dial ... I figure that, because it happened in the confession dial, the Doctor had access to at least echoes of previous iterations. I doubt he had full memories of them, most likely a strong awareness of having done it all before countless times.
The episode explicitly states that he gets all of his memories of being in the confession dial back once he gets to the crystal wall. He walks in to the room, gets angry about the fact that “That’s when I remember!” And then imagines saying this to Clara:
“But I can remember, Clara. You don't understand, I can remember it all. Every time.”
@@therickbarry The reason I can't believe the Doctor remembers all 200 billion iterations is because I don't think even the Doctor's brain could handle it. I don't figure he'd even be able to remember Clara, much less anything that wasn't part of life in the castle.
@@kingbeauregard I think that's probably why earlier in the season they call out the fact that Lady Me can't remember huge swaths of her life, but the Doctor can. They explicitly call out that his brain is built for that kinda thing.
@@therickbarry His brain's better at it for sure; Me couldn't handle a dozen centuries, but the Doctor can. But, 4.5 billion years might be pushing it.
I think anything after the tour de force of Heaven Sent would have been a let down, especially when it seems to include the recurring problem of undoing or softening a character's death. It also packed a lot into a limited time. So it was bound to need some distance to be properly appreciated. Nice to see someone do so, so well.
The funny thing is that Clara being brought back didn’t even come out of nowhere.
I used to hate this episode but as the years have gone by it has grown on me. Beautiful dialogue, beautiful landscapes, emotional drama, its acting, etc. The thing that I still don't like however is the fact that clara was kept alive by the end of the episode. It cheapens death in the audience's eyes (sends the wrong message to children imho). This is the main reason as to why I HATE bigeneration and everything it entails.
Meh, people would be upset no matter what.
I hated that because I was _not_ a Clara fan, and her out there with a tardis felt like an axe hanging over the show. She could have come back _anytime_
...then the Chibnall era happened and I missed Clara
"I'm fine because you fixed yourself" - 15th doctor talking to 14; "bi-generation" doesn't seem to really be a thing, it's most likely the 15th doctor got yoinked out of time whenever he was actually freshly regenerated from 14
@@yeetdabmanyeetbi generation is probably still a thing. Just with tinelords it doesn't mean there's two copies of yourself running around. All it means is that your past and present self get a little jumbled (which makes more sense in my head at least). Regeneration energy still comes from the time vortex after all (regardless of any timeless child BS).
I dislike stuff like this becomes it makes pivotal moments more confusing then it needs to be. Like with bi generation you have some viewers who legit don't think Ncuti is the real doctor and that Tenant still is. Clara's death here is neat for the character beats with the Doctor and seeing impossible magic like time lord tech. But at the end of the day it makes death really confusing. Like Clara died and it's a fixed death so she can't stop it and she's literally dying forever right now. But she also has a TARDIS and can experience literally everything and everywhere in that one second before she dies.
W-wait... people _didn't_ like this one?! Glad I watch Who in my little bubble because I loved the absolute heck out of it.
Ive been a staunch hell bent defender for YEARS now. Series 9 is probably tied with Series 4 for the very best of new who for me. (With the third being probably series 10 so im VERY excited for when we get into that)
The movie clip you used from Shane was Jack Palance, who played a gunslinger hired by the controlling cattle barons to take out Shane, who was most excellently played by Alan Ladd. His character would've been wearing fringed buckskin, not the contrasting black and white of Palance's hired gun.
I love the switch that Clara does for the Doctor. It's so much less painful for both of them.
I'll admit , the beginning of this episode is actually pretty good, but while you definitely do a great job at defending the direction the story goes, I still hate the saving of Clara. Even if it's a half death, Heaven Sent was so good at the Doctor just trying to get over the loss on its own that we really didn't need him to go and try to save her
He spent 4.5 billion years obsessing over her. There was no way that he wasn't going to go to ridiculous lengths once he was back on Gallifrey.
Considering the time lords have all this technology and stuff they can do, of course the doctor would take advantage of that, he never got over her death in Heavens Sent and was simply fuelled by anger, revenge and trauma
@@Call-Me-I but if it feels fresh then he isn't going to feel like he's been in it for billions of years then. He remembers he's been there but does he feel all the years or does it feel new each time?
@@Call-Me-I I just don't like how hell bent ruins the doctors character.
I mean he shoots the general who has to regenerate and it's never something really explored. This is the same person who said regeneration is like dying and becoming someone completely different. The same person who in the same series gave the lecturer at the end of the two part Zygon special.
It's not that I don't get what they where trying to do with the episode and the doctor but it just doesn't work for me. If this was another character, the doctor would have hated the person and lectured them. It just feels too wrong
@@Call-Me-I oh sometimes he can be cruel, take what he does to the family of blood, but he usually has rules and morals.
However usually the characters have crossed a line. The doctor will always usually try to be find a better way first. Look at what he offers the master and the toy maker.
Shooting the general bothers me because it just seems so out of character. I feel he wouldn't shoot anyone to save Susan his own granddaughter yet Moffat wants me to think he'd murder someone to save Clara. It just seems so detrimental to the character in my opinion.
Also your comment about watching a different show, if everyone agreed then discussions would be boring. Take the timeless child stuff, I'm not a fan of it, but I can at least see why some people like it or don't mind it. I wasn't much a fan of blue yonder but get why people enjoyed it
Thanks for finally pulling together everything I feel about this episode - especially the part of the poem you quoted at the last part. It would have taken so much fire and rage at seeing the dying of Clara's light for the Doctor to have endured everything in the confession dial and fought his way out that Hell Bent would have literally described his frame of mind in this episode. What most people don't think about is that if someone is hell bent, it literally means they're going to such negative extremes that they know they will end up in hell - supposedly the worst place of torture and torment -and they're willing to end up in hell as long as they achieve what they've set out to do. The Doctor didn't give a damn as long as Clara was alive again, and the Time Lord(s) responsible for her death paid for it - and that was the birth of the Hybrid they were so afraid of.
To answer your question: I have always believed that if a "confession dial" that emphasized telling new information had any practical use, it would be to return all of those confessions back to the Doctor at the end when he broke out so he would have his full confession when he was judged... which would be why he remembered everything the copies remembered.
I loved Hell Bent. I thought it was a brilliant dissection of the 12th that we had been building up to since Series 8. To see the lengths he was willing to go to save Clara was remarkable. And the framing device in the episode was brilliant. It ended on a note that solidified 12 as my favorite doctor, not because he was perfect or that he was the most heroic everytime, but because he was the most flawed.
Rassilon reminds me of the "Time Lord Victorious"... The Doctor 's most challenging times IMHO because that's when s/he's most at risk of losing themselves.. The vanity and lack of accountability that threatens to make a powerful man cruel and cowardly.. the things the Doctor resolved themselves not to be.. It makes sense to see the Doctor fight with that especially after losing a companion and I think it was beautifully done.
❤
5:28 *"despite his being a highborn Gallifreyan"*
Only later to learn he never was... BUM BUM BUM
High in drugs!!!
Honestly with Donna, the options were either had her memory erased or she died their and then. I don't think is any legitimate argument to be made that he was wrong in that situation. Dude only really had two choices and chose the lesser of two evils.
To be fair, Donna knew that keeping her memories would kill her, and she still begged the Doctor not to wipe her mind. Denying Donna agency over her own mind is pretty questionable and typifies a lot of the casual misogyny that plagued RTD’s first era.
Very interesting video. You've made me want to rewatch it so i can reconsider my stance on the episode. I don't think I've fully come around to it, I still feel like its a rejection of mortality of sorts. Moffat, in general, had this issue for me in his writing. A lot of storylines that have some "death is unnatural and we should reject it" element (Ashielda, the matrix, the idea that death is "unnatural" and creates a rift in space time when a creature dies) that I have never thought is the healthiest message to put in a show that older kids will be watching who are maybe coming to terms with the concept of their own mortality.
This being said, I'm intrigued to give it a second viewing, at the moment I feel Clara still gets a bit of a get out of jail card, she could go on for thousands of years and still not go to the raven. But your points of the doctor effectively being the character in the wrong here are interesting.
But that's Doctor Who. It is a hopeful show. How grim it would be for Clara to try to be the Doctor and to die because of it. Clara still had far more consequences than any other companion:
Jack: resurrected and cannot die ever again.
Rose: gets to live with the Doctor, his father and they are rich.
Martha: She just lives, so there is not really any consequences.
Donna: she wins the lottery and eventually she remembers all her memories and lives with the Doctor.
Amy & Rory: these two cannot ever see the Doctor again. So you have that consequence.
Clara: She lost Danny, and she cannot ever see the Doctor again. The person she loves the most has forgotten her and will never see him again (maybe another incarnation, but not her Doctor). It is by far the companion with the worst consequences.
So many people seem to find frustration in the "wasting" of Gallifrey as a backdrop in this story. But that's what makes it work. Grief so powerful and utterly world-shattering that even when standing on his homeworld, The Doctor can't appreciate it because of the context of what he just went through and who made it happen.
That Gallifrey doesn't matter to The Doctor, that same Doctor we've seen grieve its loss for 8 SEASONS and several incarnations at this point, because the grief he now feels is blinding him like a searing fire in his mind and heart, that's the narrative point. How does grief utterly change someone who has always known it, when that grief is for their (platonic) soulmate? What perspective does one have on their old grief when faced with a new one? What good is being home again, if the new home you found is lost, and your old one is to blame?
Grief makes the entire world around you seem pointless, seem empty. The lives we see The Doctor grieve and fight so hard to save are meaningless to him now because he's become too toxically dependent upon a singular life that he can't save. What's the point of being a doctor, or rather the definite article, if you can't heal the one you want to most? What's the point of being a good man, if your good costs you the one you consider the best part of you? Gallifrey needed to stand as the reflection of what The Doctor no longer was connected to, what he no longer cared for, because what he cares for, who he cares for, is gone.
Personally, I loved how this episode is more than just one city, GALLIFREY is a whole planet, and has people living away and outside of all the Timelord drama! One of the things we see, and plays into all the earlier Doctors, is that he was never interested in the politics and power, but cared about all the people!! You can imagine him and the Master as school friends because they were the outsiders, but the key difference is the Doctor's love for all people. The western style beginning has always been my favorite part!
I am SO happy that we agree on this! We very rarely agree on the more controversial episodes and the fact that this is the one we see eye to eye on makes me feel so happy.
Thinking back to it, Rassilon survived. The Doctor banished him and we saw his escape pod fire out the capital. So currently there are FOUR Time Lords alive. The Master (in Toy Makers Golden Tooth), Rassilon (who was banished) David Tennant's Doctor, and the new Doctor. And the rest became Cybermen Timelords.
There could be more who weren't on gallifrey as well. We still don't know where Omega is, nor have we since old who. It really depends on what RTD wants to do
never understood the hate for this episode tbh, I've always thought it was amazing and the only downside is that it has to follow up heaven sent which is a tall order in itself
Regarding the doctor killing the general, he does specifically ask which regeneration they are on. To make sure that it won't just kill them, and that they do have regenerations left.
The funny part about those two episodes is that - so many people hate one episode and love the other... But not all of them have the same feelings for the same episode. Which really shows you how split the fandom actually is.
It hits harder now, your words about how this tries to "fix" the metacrisis. Because the latest specials... fold both the metacrisis, and this, together. A doctor that accepts he has to face the consequences, accepts the cost it could have, and pays it. A doctor that will accept his own personal loss. He will bear the weight to ensure Donna is safe.. but he only wishes to do right by her now. A doctor that very much accepts "Summer doesn't last forever and he can't keep running." The metacrisis, Hell bent, and the recent specials, are almost a perfect arc, each folding into the next, not retconning so much as "trying something new" with how the doctor handles it. The metacrisis is a refusal to accept death in any way, to pretend it's not there. To kick the can down the road. Hell bent is him pulling the same trick again, trying to refuse to accept death, to try and cheat it.... and he's called out for it. And then now, these specials... are him properly accepting the risk.They are him taking the lesson from Hell Bent, applying it to the metacrisis, and applying it to himself. He is stepping into Donna's life to step *out* of the way of it, giving her the ability to actually live *her* life now, rather than the continuing blur of the two of them she was before. And he is accepting finally that he *can not keep running*. He finally faced the raven himself.
An episode that explores what happens when the Doctor loses his way due to arrogance and pain causing him to act out of character.
If RTD wrote it: *awww, you're sweet.*
Moffat writing it: *Hello, Human Resources?!*
Yes, I saw the same meme in the Facebook group bud. The Waters of Mars episode had a lot more set up to make the Time Lord Victorious concept work. And the Doctor actually had consequences for his actions. We don't see Galifrey after Hell Bent in the Moffat era, and Clara is saved. The Doctor even gets his memories back, so he's basically rewarded for his actions in Hell Bent. The themes are similar, but RTD executed it MUCH better.
Imagine an alternative universe where Moffat made 'Waters of Mars' and RTD did this episode. I bet this will be praised there 😅
*sigh*
The Doctor forgot Clara until his death. He could never see the person he loved the most in that incarnation. That is a way bigger consequence than water of mars.
Or what would you prefer in your life:
-Forget the person you loved the most and never see her again, and only get the memories back minutes before your death?
- Savimg a person because of your arrogance, but then that person killed themselves(and that person would die anyway)?
@charliehultgreen782 The consequence of Waters of Mars he nearly put the whole universe at risk. Imagine if Adelaide didn't have the bravery to sacrifice herself - the Doctor would of put the future of humanity into limbo at best. At worst he would be battling time and space forever because he kept changing fixed points.
The Doctor didn't know he forgot Clara. And he remembered her anyway. And continued to remember her into future regenerations. And he got exactly what he wanted - he saved Clara.
And as a side note, look at Donna. She forgot about the Doctor, was sad because of it sometimes, but lead a happy life with a family and a child. It's really not a big deal.
At the end of Hell Bent Galifrey was fine, the Doctor eventually gets his memories back and Clara is saved. Hell, even the General seems happy in her new regeneration. Its bizarre to me that this story was done better in a Ratchet and Clank game than the finale of a flagship BBC sci-fi show.
@@thehaymaker3660 Donna recovered the memories of the Doctor too. Each Doctor is its own persona, so the Doctor that loved Clara the most never was able to saw her again, and only was able to remember her in his last moments.
And the consequences of shooting someone amd betraying everything he standed for? The consequence of forgetting the most special person for that incarnation? If Clara didn't stop him he would have risked the universe itself just like in waters of mars.
Literally, every single argument you make for waters of mars is also there in Hell Bent, and even more because the connection with Clara is much stronger than with anyone from waters of mars.
I think people don't love Hell Bent as much because they think it is meant to be the climax of the season arc. It is not, Heaven Sent is, Hell Bent is the ending and wrap-up... it is the Souring of the Shire, not the destruction of the ring. I really enjoyed it myself but felt a bit disappointed with it because the last episode was so good. But after thinking about how everything came together I think that this whole season is my favorite of Doctor Who.
I have never missed one of your episodes. You have made me go back to Dr who episodes and understanding it more than before
22:20
Stubagful: "Oh God, my hands. Out, out you damn spot. I am dirty and covered in pain, must get the pain out!"
Personally I always liked this finale
You actually managed to make me appreciate the episode more. Thank you!
Thank you!. Is it the perfect finale? No, but to start with as you say I see the finale as the mayor Me Raven trilogy. Starting on the street. Capaldi aside from a little dialogue from Clara carrying an episode alone wonderfully going through a Billion years of hell for Clara and Revenge when he could leave any time. Breaking through the wall thicker and harder than Diamond and finally getting through is so powerful.
RTD may be able to do it now but both he and Moffat were very limited in truly capturing the might of the Time War or Galifrey but it was Solid job despite the budget. We got what I think is a sequel to 10 saying "Back into the time war Rassilon" Along with the Woman (His mother or adoptive Mother returning)"He doesn't blame the Timelords for the war but Rassilon alone. And you can easily see it in the portrayal of the President that he knows he is to blame. The Doctor refusing his handshake is powerful and telling of The Lord President's part in starting the war. Exactly. This is not meant to be the Doctor. He told Ashildr if she didn't save Clara "The Doctor is no longer here you are stuck with me!" It's far from the first time we've seen the Doctor of War return when facing losing someone he loves. I like when Clara asks what happened to his Doctery Velvit Coat. That's her noticing that despite her best efforts the Warrior who breaks all the Doctor's rules is back.
I could go on but I want to say thank you for making this. It's very misunderstood. Even if it's not Steven's best work I still find it a great end to a trilogy of a finale and as a standalone finale too many Whovians are too hard on it
I'm so excited you're so close to series 10. Love your videos on each respective episode
Good review of Hell Bent! I will say I am not a fan of this story, but after watching your review there could be a chance my opinion might change on that sometime in the future. I will admit it was good to have the story set on Gallifrey, and seeing the beautiful shots are gorgeous. When I first saw this, I was like, what am I watching? I will admit you do have a good mystery why The Doctor doesn't recognize Clara. Speaking of Clara, I know this is her last story and interesting enough she left the same year I graduated High School, so she was the last Doctor Who companion from High School for me, and this story was broadcasted during my post High School year.
Thank you for making this video. Hell Bent is my favourite New-Who episode. I adore it and it doesn't receive anywhere near the amount of love it deserves. The opening Western section absent of dialogue and told through shot composition, editing, music and gestures is so masterful. Then it goes full-on sci-fi. Then it breaks your heart. And it contains the best and most important line Moffat ever wrote: "Every story ever told really happened."
Excellent video. This 3 episode arc holds such a special place in my heart, but given it’s got the 12th, that should be excepted. I really like how Me changes over the season and by this episode, she has lived far longer than the Doctor and she acts it, he is a child doing childish things at the point they meet.
Clara’s finale restates what might have been her original finale in Death in Heaven, where she claims successfully that she is the Doctor. The toxic relationship continues to grow after they both should have left it off when Missy reveals she put the two together. Unlike every other companion Clara isn’t a friend to Capaldi, she’s the Professor’s Apprentice. So when her arc is through, Clara overcomes her teacher and is granted her own Tardis and companion as the only companion to have risen to the same level as a time lord.
His heart beats twice as fast, her heart doesn’t beat at all.
I would love if you could talk about World Enough and Time, The Doctor Falls, and Twice Upon a Christmas next! Honestly its my favorite 12 trilogy and the ending still makes me cry
He can't. He needs to go over the The husbands of River song, the return of Dr Mysterio, and the rest of series 10 first
It's generally known that Heaven Sent is about grief but I think Hell Bent is too, but this time it's about the rage at the unfairness of death and the feeling that you would do anything to bring that person back. Well, if you're the Doctor, you could actually do that, and what would it be like if the Doctor actually gave in to that rage? I love this story because it's an anti-season final. All the usual beats of a DW season final are hit but they're somehow off: the Hybrid is revealed to be nothing but a McGuffin, there only to set in motion the Time Lords capturing the Doctor, in the process inadvertently killing Clara. As a use of this trope, it's up there with Psycho, where the stolen money instigates Janet Leigh's character going on the run and ending up at Bates Motel. The Hybrid serves the same purpose here, inexorably revealing the worst impulses of not just the Time Lords but also the Doctor. Here, the Doctor uses all the characteristics he would usually marshal to save the day, but he uses them for purely selfish reasons and doesn't even gets what he wants. He saves his companion only to be told that she doesn't even want it. Clara is repeatedly clear that she is fine with the way she died. It's Clara who has to 'save the day', thus inverting the new series trope of the companion losing the Doctor against their will (Rose, Jack, Donna, Amy, Rory). It's an incredibly brave episode, realized with total commitment by everyone involved. I suspect a lot of people who dislike it do so because they view it as a series final that somehow gets things wrong. But that's not what's going on here. The dismantling of the series final formula is done deliberately. Because ultimately, this is what grief feels like, it feels like everything is wrong somehow. Things that were reliable now feel confusing, what seemed to give you purpose now feels pointless, and the only knowledge you're left with is that you can never get back what you've lost, but somehow you have to find a way to keep going. That's what Hell Bent captures better than anything else I've ever seen.
I think the main reason people disliked this one is they got it into their heads Heaven Sent was about the Doctor getting over his grief only for this episode to come in and say "no it wasnt he was actually doing the opposite and doing all this to save her".
Its one of those times were an audience interpretation being so different to the authors intent really damaged the perception of the next one. Personally i never agreed with a lot of the interpretations of that story so Hell Bent didnt bother me as much and i kinda just took the 2 parts for what they were. Also helped that whilst i like Heaven Sent a lot, i dont think its one of the greatest episodes ever so i didnt have quite the same level of expectation either
I think this episode would have been a lot better if instead of bringing Clara back, the entire episode was the Doctor organizing a coup with the time lords to depose Rassilon as Lord President as revenge for killing her. This episode seems really disappointing to me because it seemed like the Doctor's return to Gallifrey was what the entire new series had been leading up to and this episode had a lot of potential, but they completely squandered it, and they ruined the narratively satisfying death that Clara had in "Face the Raven.” I think it would have been more profound if Clara had stayed dead, and the Doctor’s main goal in the episode was avenging Clara by bringing down Rassilon, but the Doctor would be able to overcome his grief for Clara by finally reuniting with the time lords after so long.
Totally agree. It had echoes of Peri's death and then not-death, and the determination it ignited in the Doctor to fight for justice.
Idk if he realizes it but he made a Torchwood reference with living forever and dieing forever
Thank you! Hell Bent is my favourite new Who episode. It dared to do and did it superbly well. It feels like an actual ending.
Did anyone actually think the Doctor would be mentally stable after Heaven Sent? He punched a wall for billions of years to save Clara. It’s both sad and perfect.
And what would the Doctor do if he returned to Gallifrey? Steal a TARDIS and run away!
It also contains my favourite line in new Who. “I had a duty of care”
I think it’s pretty clear when Clara and the doctor are in the cloisters and you can tell how frantic and unhinged he seems.. I mean wouldn’t anyone who knows they’ve spent 4 1/2 billion years trapped and while people have argued he can’t remember all of it he literally says he can every time he has a repeat of the cycle so even if the copy that got out remembered near the end doesn’t change the fact he remembers.
This is one of your top five videos of all. THANK YOU for this explanation/vindication of the most underrated and misunderstood of stories...
Thanks for this, I’ll now have to give this episode another look after your new perspective on it
I don't think it's a logical fallacy. This just may be my misunderstanding of how the confessional dial works. But if it's meant to be the place you go to once you are no longer able to regenerate unless you are one of the select few that are given more cycles. I doubt everyone just goes inside there confesses everything straight away and gets released so that they could die. They probably go through their version of it, possibly dying multiple times before getting out with a clean conscience for the lack of a better word. It would make sense that once you get out even though you got reset upon your death inside it, that you retain all of those memories once you step out of it. What would be the point of it otherwise? That being said 12 does claim at one point when being inside the dial and his projection of Clara facing him that "I can remember it all." Though we are not sure if he means all the moments with her or that when he starts his rant saying "That's what I remember!" he remembers what he's done inside the dial up to that point.
So while your body is frozen in time, your consciousness gets to keep all the things your other selves did. That would explain why Moffat said that the Doctor was the one who made the painting of Clara, hinting that the first version of him was trying to process what had happened. Until he decided that he was going to set his future selves on the path of giving himself clues to break out by having him arrive as he was but with those clues this time. Why the painting wouldn't reset along with the clues is unclear. Though I don't think we are meant to think too hard about it considering why wouldn't the azbantium wall reset as well?
I do hope with the new Doctor he addresses his age again to something more concrete. He does say to Donna in the recent special that he is billions of years old now which could mean Heavent Sent. Or when he arrived in this universe as the timeless child and all of those lives that were hidden from them. When asked 15 could have a throwaway line saying that technically he is billions of years old, but he prefers to count from when he became the Doctor with how long he had each of his bodies since then. Because 12 himself in series 10 told Bill he was over 2000 years old, and I think there are a few other references to his age in that series too.
I have always loved this finale. When i
i first watched this season the final 3 episodes solidified it as my favourite. Seeing this season and especially finale be stamped on continuously hurts, cant wait to finally see some positivity.
I really liked Hell Bent for what it was. A character driven close off to the Hybrid and Clara and 12's arc. That said I can understand the disappointment in the lack of it being a time lord and Gallifrey episode. Because it looks SO good as one and the problem is we haven't had a proper one since the classic era. And then it's just destroyed again in series 12, so it leaves a sour taste in the mouth. But ultimately none of that is the fault of Hell Bent. That said I'd have been as easily happy as hell bent ending on the Doctor taking over Gallifrey and the next special showing the Doctor going overboard as lord president until someone reminds him of who he is.
Also, point of information, with the 4.5 billion years. Each copy remembers what the others have been through toward the end. (don't ask me how). "That's when I remember. Always exactly then."
You've spoken repeatedly of the Doctor's "selfishness", but I wouldn't call it that. I think he was emotionally lost, and the only thing that made sense to him in that moment was that Clara needed to live. Now, it was the wrong call, for sure; I just wouldn't characterize it as selfishness, which is usually a matter of actively rejecting compassion.
I see where you're coming from but I think it's still considered selfishness. The Doctor might feel like he's doing it for Clara but he's only going to this extent to save her because he cares for her. I always looked at it as The Doctor trying to cope with his own guilt. Clara even told The Doctor "there will be no revenge" before she died. Yet he actively ignores Clara because he feels responsible for her death and can't live with himself
@@basicbluetrashSelfishness requires you to see that one path is the path of empathy, and the other is the path of self-interest, and choosing the latter. Dude was out of his mind with grief, guilt, or some other emotion; that's not selfishness.
The point of Hell Bent is that he broke all his own rules. He is selfish. He is cruel. He is cowardly. Ironically, it's Clara that puts him on the right track again.
Capaldi’s doctor and Clara is the best representation of grieg I’ve ever seen!
I love how it expresses the strong emotions The Doctor feels for Clara
Thank you for this wonderful analysis to this great episode!
so happy to hear a more positive perspective on this ep!!! i wasn't a huge fan of the hybrid arc or me, or the way this finale went, but upon a second and third watch, it really grew on me. can't wait to rewatch again!
My complaint about Hell Bent is that it didn't satisfactorily pay off the Hybrid prophesy. Yeah they are a nice pair but you can't really say 12 and Clara are some cataclysmic hybrid.
@12:50? In 'Heaven Sent', every instances of the Doctor would repeat a the same/similair cycle, only after arriving in the last Room, when escape is made impossible does that current instance of the Doctor gained the memories of all of the previous ones, altough i expect its 'missed out' any of their deaths from that point, unless telepathic shenanigans happen behind the scene, or even a forced teleport event by the TimeLords as a failsafe?
The doctor literally murders a man in cold blood then makes light of the fact just because they're on Gallifrey. He himself has said more than once how traumatic dying and regenerating is, each incarnation of timelord is their own individual person and each timelord has a limited number of regenerations, the doctor stole one of the general's regenerations. Who knows how many years of like that incarnation of the general had left in him.
And then to add more insult on top of insult and injury, the story supports the doctors actions by making the newly reincarnated general act like she's actually glad her previous incarnation had just been murdered.
Thank you harbo for timing this for my birthday
In the previous episode the Doctor remembers what happened as he gets to the crystal wall, at that moment he knows everything that came before...so I dont think it's a continuity issue.
i love this episode. i love that the doctor is so justifiably angry that he wants to hurt the people who hurt clara past the point of justice and into revenge. i definitely am rooting for him but in sort of a "good for her" way where you are just tired of seeing the protagonist be brow beat and you want them to go nuclear. turning the first part of the episode into a western is BRILLIANT because that's the kind of plot that westerns have - and it's reminiscent of A Time for Mercy, as well. I also loved the idea of "everyone dies, but maybe not yet" which is paralleled with Me saying that everyone has passed on and she will eventually too, and Clara's story -- clara's little "why does everyone think I am so afraid of dying?" is so emotional to me. especially because she knows she has people who have already paved the way for her -- Danny, her mother. like you said, it's self-indulgent that clara and Me (and the Doctor, sort of?) get to PICK their time of death, but it is a sci fi show, and that's the sort of gift the doctor can give the people he cares about
I've always felt this way about Hell Bent for quite some time, and it's refreshing to see another Doctor Who fan say something positive about this episode!
I'm glad to know the episode is defended. My online recollection is that Hell Bent was initially reviled, but since then it has been rated among the highest. But not this bookend to it which is also among my favorites. I understand there is some disappointment in not seeing the hybrid tease paid off in a tangible way, but only with some philosophical hand-waving. But a couple regenerations later their relationship does validate the theory. I do discount it was all down to the doctor's history of neediness or attachment issues. Rather, Clara was the only companion to decipher the Doctor's true drive and methods and emulate them to successfully compete with his radical resourcefulness. After all, one reason the Doctor disdains hand weapons is that he prefers to sabotage star drives or power plants, or left field threats or odd alliances. To someone familiar with time, killing one person isn't enough to avert invasions. No the more lethal flaw is the the Doctor can't abide a competitor when it comes to his attachment problems, a competition with a potential soul twin over who can more creatively demonstrative in proving love. He can't admit such a competitor exists because it contradicts his conviction he won't have such a love in his life. You can't heal an emotional void with a horse race. But it can escalate far enough to threaten spacetime, if two people with access to a time machine have a horserace and especially if one of them needs to prove no one loves him so much. I do think with repeat viewing viewers can get that plot and embrace that character drama, but they have to have paid attention to the season's clues and abandon previous hope for a bombastic action episode as usual. This arc was an unusual character deep dive for the show, and should rank high hereafter.
If I recall correctly so I may be wrong here but long ago in Galifray's more savage rule of the universe past they would host gladiatorial events pitting people from across time and space plucked from their lives against each other perhaps this device that plucked Clara is the same one or a variation on it's design.
Rose via bad wolf was pretty vital!
If it wasn't for her there would be no more time lords and no more regeneration's for the doctor.
Probably the only flaw I could point, is that the Doctor getting its memories erased, kind of makes all this destined to happen again since he didn't learn the experience? Idk, but is something that I always had in the back of my mind. The he forgets thing is nice, * but *
He actually gets those memories back a series or two later
@@geeksvilleu.s.a1969 Yes, at the end of series 10. But I mean it as "Why you do that, is making the Doctor not learn anything", and I feel "oh im doing it because im planning to undo it hehe" seems, so meta? And that would reverse the very intention of doing it? Can't Moffat just make them actually learn and be better instead of whiping memory to undone it for some reason later?
It's been a while since I saw the episode, but if I remember correctly it was implied in Heaven Sent that when The Doctor reached the wall of his confession dial all his memories of his previous cycles returned
I think the Doctors Character is deeper than on first glance. Yeah sure most of the time we see the happy, a bit weird doctor, who rambles on and on and helps people all around him. But there are glimpses what lies beneath the surface and rarely it breaks out. I think it was mentioned by Donna to the 10th Doctor that he needs someone to be with him and i am very sure the Doctor is very aware of that too. I think he chooses companions not out of loneliness, but rather to keep him grounded. To reminding him that he CAN help people and that he SHOULD help people and not misuse this power.
However... hurt his friends... this darkness, this void inside him can easily break through. It is the Doctor how he is without anyone holding him back, without keeping him grounded. And i am very sure that he is as afraid of this as everyone else. I even think he doesn't really care what happened inside him the castle for 4 billion years, but that the Timelords used Clara basically against him, in which she had to die... THAT angers him beyond believe. I think Rassilon can actually be happy that he got away alive from the Doctor...
I think this is one of the best finales and episodes in New Who easily, as it shows how there is more beneath the surface and that the Doctor is actually a rather complex character... and that you should never ever anger him.
I like how capaldis doctor is:
A much more stern and commanding doctor, who comes across much less carefree shown by his demeanour and attire…
Also, he absolutely SHREDS on guitar
The thing is, if an episode is almost universally disliked because it was misunderstood, one still has to blame the storytellers for not creating a narrative that people understand. Steven Moffat was a master at this, and anyone who told him this was of course wrong and not able to see his unparalleled genius. Or _arrogance_ as most people would actually call it.
He had some great ideas, but he also broke unbreakable canonical rules, introduced many nasty plotholes, and he confused people by making it occasionally too subtle and certainly less episodic.
This video is absolute class, well written, structured and put across, loved it mate