Day 825: Hell Bent

If Heaven Sent is all about a Doctor Who story that's completely unique but still acts like a Doctor Who story, then Hell Bent is about a Doctor Who story that retreads a lot of ground and is very much not a Doctor Who story. I don't mean that in a bad way, because it's clearly what the episode is aiming for. The Doctor behaves ridiculously un-Doctorish throughout the episode, shooting people, and ignoring all advice because he's being so driven to save Clara's life, even when it's occasionally clear that she doesn't particularly want to be saved. It's an effective counterpart to the ending of Capaldi's first series, which based itself around Clara trying to save Danny Pink's life, and how the Doctor was forced to act as the Clara's moral compass in these dark times, whereas here Clara acts as the Doctor's compass (that observation comes courtesy of my mother, whose attitude to Doctor Who criticism involves her saying "Can I just say" at some volume, before continuing to re-affirm her misguided belief that the best Doctor Who story of all time is The Lazarus Experiment).

But, of course, where the story really picks up is towards the end, where the Doctor attempts to wipe Clara's memory so that the two of them will no longer be able to be such a dangerous force throughout the Universe - after all, we're now seeing the lengths that the Doctor will go to to save Clara, even when she's dead. And this memory wipe is an unquestionably awful thing, and I would be more than willing to declare this episode awful because of it. But Moffat does something truly good. He makes Clara say no, and he makes the Doctor listen to her. By allowing the companion to have voice, to be able to take their own death on their own terms and not just allow for the Doctor to do everything, it means that the story openly advocates for a position of equality within the TARDIS.

And, of course, that's the way that it's always been aboard the TARDIS with Clara; ever since her first story she's been seen as more or less an equal to the Doctor, which is what makes her a fundamentally interesting character. And seeing her reaffirm that equality by mutually deciding with the Doctor that one of them must lose their memory and the process should be done through some Russian Roulette style gambit where both are on the same footing. It's effectively covering the same ground as Journey's End, but in such a different and more powerful way that creates overall better drama for the characters and doesn't leave a nasty taste in the mouth.

And thus ends the era where Capaldi spends his time with Clara. Not with an explosive bang, but with something all the more powerful - a conversation. There's still one more thing left to cover though, so for one last time, We've Got Work To Do!