"I Will Die, And Nobody Here Or Anywhere Else Will Suffer..."
Here we go then... The departure of Jenna Coleman as long-term companion Clara Oswald has been big news in the Who fanbase for many months now, thanks in part to the overblown nature of the world in which social media prevents such things as spoilers and secrets (Screw you Daily Mirror!) when it comes to high profile shows such as Doctor Who, yet not many would have guessed that the departure of Coleman would have been done so nonchalantly and without warning in an episode that firstly, was not a series finale or mid-season break, but was not in fact penned by the lead writer, with newcomer Sarah Dollard being handed the task of crushing the hearts of many Clara fans out there within the Whoniverse, and given the chance to pen the final scenes between our beloved Twelfth Doctor and his latest favourite human, Clara Oswald. Coming from an eagle-eyed Who fan where even the writing or directorial credits announce something rather epic is set to happen, the untimely demise of our latest companion was a shock to say the least, albeit if it ends up serving a slightly different purpose in the next few weeks left of Series Nine.
Much like the latter end of Series Three, "Face The Raven" seems to be similar in form to that of the rather excellent "Utopia", whereby a first-thought standalone episode may in fact hold the beginnings of an epic trilogy, where this time its' focus is set clearly on the end of the line for Ms. Oswald as well as a possible return to Gallifrey, judging by the clips at the end of the episode which show the destination to which The Doctor is sent via that of a teleportation bracelet. Although the rather far-out plan spearheaded by an unknown entity forcing the Doctor into a sudden change of scenery featured way too many holes in terms of clear-cut explanation, the fact that "Face The Raven" is set to be part of a bigger story in the long-run means the two remaining episodes will hopefully clear up such mind-boggling plot-lines and explain why the character of Ashildr, played with confidence once again by the wonderful Maisie Williams, was ever needed in the first place (So much for her as the new companion too don't you think?)
If anything, "Face The Raven" felt strangely enough like a return of the Russel T Davies led Who, with the sets in which the unknown Diagon Alley-esque streets were presented feeling rather 420p, leading me to believe we had returned to 2007 and David Tennant as The Doctor, a notion not helped by the return of Davies era creatures such as the Judoon, yet witnessing Peter Capaldi looking rather suave in his Pertwee-inspired velvet coat gave a soft reminder that we were in fact back in 2015, with Capaldi once again showing his awe-inspiring range of emotion with his sheer heartbreak at not knowing what to do in order to save his long-term companion, a devastating loss that is set to have major repercussions in the weeks that follow. Whatever you do, don't make THIS Doctor angry. Although Clara's death in this week's episode of Doctor Who seemingly marked the end of the line for our latest companion, the means to her end ultimately felt strangely uncertain, albeit managing to play rather effectively on the heartstrings, suggesting more is certainly set to come within the next few weeks in the concluding parts of Series Nine, a series which just keeps getting better and better.
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