Writer: Sarah Dollard
Director: Justin Molotnikov
Cast: Peter Capaldi, Jenna Coleman, Maisie Williams, Naomi Ackie, Simon Manyonda, Simon Paisley Day
Synopsis: A familiar face calls up the TARDIS with a problem: a mystery which leads the Doctor and Clara to a secret passageway, a second familiar face and the end of the road for one of the Doctor’s longest-serving companions.
Verdict:
After last week’s widely vilified misstep, Doctor Who returns to form just in time for the swansong of perhaps the most controversial companion to grace the TARDIS since the show returned in 2005. Yes, Clara’s finally dead; or, yes, Clara’s unfortunately dead.
Whichever way you look at it, it’s hard to fault the show for finally giving a companion a clear-cut exit – this is the first New Who companion to actually, properly die – and it seems fitting that it should have happened to Clara, the Impossible Girl. She saved the Doctor’s life so many times – throughout all his regenerations – but at the end, he couldn’t save hers.
The manner of her death also retroactively makes her character development over Series 8 a little more forgivable. Constantly accused of stealing the Doctor’s limelight and becoming the focal point of the show, it appears now that it was all leading up to this point (whether Steven Moffat intended it to or not) – the point where Clara tries to be so Doctor-like she forgets she’s mortal.
Anyway, let’s dial it back a little: the episode starts with a classic mystery MacGuffin, the tattoo which has suddenly appeared on the back of Rigsy’s neck. His character makes a welcome return to the series, the highlight of one of Series 8’s flatter episodes (if you’ll forgive the pun), Flatline. As often happens in time travel shows, Rigsy’s done plenty of growing up since last time we saw him, and now has a family of his own – so it’s imperative that someone saves him, if only for his son’s sake. Someone…
Tracing Rigsy’s steps takes the trio to a clearly Harry Potter-inspired (diagonal?) alleyway, whereupon Maisie Williams’ Ashildr makes her third appearance this series. There’s been no word on Clara’s replacement, but the dynamic between the Doctor and Ashildr is certainly an interesting one – though, considering the manner of their relationship after this episode, it’s unlikely the Doctor will be taking her travelling anytime soon.
Once it becomes clear that Rigsy has been branded with the tattoo as a drawn-out death sentence, the countdown trope sets in – although, to writer Sarah Dollard’s credit, it’s the only truly formulaic aspect of an episode that’s otherwise unafraid to take the show to new places. This is Dollard’s first Doctor Who episode, and while the climax likely had plenty of input from Moffat, the journey alone is enough to make her worthy of a return to the franchise.
As the Doctor hunts for a way to relieve Rigsy of his fate, Clara unknowingly relieves herself of her own – to live, that is – as she makes the ultimate sacrifice by transferring the tattoo to her own neck. When the Doctor inevitably succeeds in his endeavours, it’s irrelevant – the deed has already been done.
Here lies the greatest trick up the sleeve of Face the Raven: by the time the characters realise what’s going to happen to Clara, the audience has already figured it out. It makes the reveal all the more dramatic, giving real gravity to the moment: there’s no deus ex machina here; no magic solution to restore the equilibrium. Sure, Clara seems to take it all surprisingly well, and Capaldi plays up the denial and shock elements rather than the sadness, but that seems more in line with his Doctor anyway.
It’s a shame Clara’s departure was revealed beforehand, or that moment might have hit even harder. As is, it’s still perhaps one of the most satisfying endings for a companion yet (dodgy slo-mo notwithstanding) – whether you liked Clara or not, her exit from the show has an air of finality about it that hasn’t been afforded to any other companion thus far in New Who, and has far more of an impact because of that.
So long, Jenna Coleman. It’s been… interesting. (Apart from when it was boring. But we’ll try not to mention that.)
Best Bit:
What else? Clara’s final moments; in particular, the few moments before she walks into the street and, yes, faces the raven. It’s the realisation of her unchangeable fate that really gives the episode the gravitas it requires.
Best Line:
Clara: This is as brave as I know how to be. I know it’s going to hurt you, but please… be a little proud of me.
Doctor Who continues on BBC One next Saturday. Be sure to check out our review straight after here on THN.
