Doctor Who blogging: “Face the Raven”

[previous: "Sleep No More"]

warning: spoilers!

The Doctor and Clara go to Diagon Alley, where Clara gets reckless again. Fatally so, this time.

I feel nothing.

I know, I know. This is supposed to be so very moving:

And so is:

And yet not even the tiniest, flimsiest of my heartstrings was tugged.

At least the Way Cool Ideas here — a tattoo that counts down; the telepathic light; a quantum shade — were actually integrated into the story.

But it's tough to feel bad about losing Clara when I don't feel like I ever really knew her at all. She was a convenient spear-carrier whose behavior always seems to have been dictated by the needs of a story, and hasn't been the result of a semblance of a realistic human being behaving in a way that came naturally to her.

There is one thing I do feel right now: I feel as if Clara has been punished for actually enjoying traveling with the Doctor and wasn't afraid or humbled enough by the danger. If only she hadn't actually gotten a kick of stuff like this:

She might still be alive.

Ashildr turned out more interesting this time.

Neither good nor evil, just opportunistic. But I guess we won't be seeing her again for a while, what with the Doctor warning her to stay out of his way…

Random thoughts on "Face the Raven":

• So trap streets are a Thing now.

Any cartographer who actually created a trap street wasn't actually creating a trap street? He or she was fooled as well? Not sure how that's supposed to work…

• I guess it's the telepathic light that is making us interpret this space as Diagon Alley?

That's what we'd expect a secret street in London to look like? Yup, that must be it.

[next: "Heaven Sent"]

Source: Doctor Who blogging: "Face the Raven"