Hell Bent

MORE OF THOSE DAMN SPOILERS

Was Hell Bent always going to be a slight disappointment after Heaven Sent? Possibly. It’s still good though. Even though I get the impression that it isn’t held in that high regard by other fans. There seems to be a feeling that having waited so long to see Gallifrey again we only get a flying visit before its all back to the Clara story.

But honestly, what was Gallifrey in Classic Who except for a series of dull rooms and an occasional visit to the Matrix or The Death Zone? We get to see some bits of Gallifrey we’ve not seen before. We get hints at the Doctor’s past and then, instead of staying, the Doctor runs away again. Gallifrey is a very boring place. I mean, whatever the theories for the Doctor’s departure, I’m still going with the original: he was bored, and he wanted to see the universe not just look at it from some intergalactic ivory tower.

I like the way this story is told. Chopping between the story itself and the Doctor’s telling of it in the diner. I like the way it ties up several threads without overloading everything. Clara’s original request to the Doctor all the way back to Asylum of the Daleks to ‘run, you clever boy and remember…’ has more poignancy after this story. It tries to tie up the Hybrid theme but then decides not to bother, but not before Me/Ashildr gently hints that the Doctor might be half-human – presumably on his mother’s side – again. Although this gets the brush off. Sort of.

The question of whether the ‘rescue’ of Clara undoes the emotional impact of her death is an interesting one. I felt – at the time – that it did. But then on re-watch, I felt Clara’s loss in Face the Raven as much as I had on the original watch even though I knew what was coming. And her ‘escape’ isn’t quite perfect, and the Doctor is punished for his hubris as he loses his memories of Clara, which might also feel a bit like retrospective karma for what he did to Donna all those stories long ago. So, in effect, although he rescues her, he’s lost her again. And this time he can’t even grieve for her because he doesn’t know there’s a loss to grieve. It’s as heart-breaking as Zoe and Jamie’s fates at the end of The War Games.

The Doctor’s been heading this way though since The Girl Who Died/The Woman Who Lived after he convinced himself he knew why he’d picked his face and that he was tired of losing people. The example of Me/Ashildr didn’t seem to put him off though. He’s still determined to save Clara. Even though she’s dead. It’s un-Doctorish to an unusual degree. It’s like grief has driven him slightly mad.  

I do love the scene that ends with the Doctor saying to Clara after she had found out how long he spent in the Confession Dial, 'I had a duty of care.' Never has a phrase created out of legalese had more of an emotional wrench. It's 'I love you' isn't it? 

Again, I love Rachel Talalay’s direction, which brings a real film feel to this episode. Heaven Sent was incredibly creepy and claustrophobic. Hell Bent is more expansive. Plus, we get an old-school original TARDIS interior to gawp at. This is the second TARDIS the Doctor has stolen and the second TARDIS that won’t get returned to Gallifrey as it is now in the hands of Me/Ashildr and Clara.

The interesting thing in this story is how out of control the Doctor is. He even kills someone. Even if that is a Time Lord and they can regenerate. He’s let off a bit lightly there, I think. The General’s regeneration is another little seed sown in the path towards a female Doctor. Ooh and black Time Lords and Gallifreyans* too. This must be driving the non-PC crowd batshit crazy. Good.

In the end, the Doctor is alone again. In his TARDIS with a new sonic screwdriver. Clara and Me/Ashildr have gone off to have adventures of their own, which I’m sure Big Finish will get around to one day. Clara and Me/Ashildr are effectively immortal so how that’s going to work out, in the long run, I don’t know. I suppose both can be killed. I have this image of the two of them landing for the first time and the Time Lords just waiting for them. I mean it is one thing the Doctor stealing a TARDIS but two random aliens running off with one. That’s not going to end well.

Heaven Sent certainly isn’t as strong as Hell Bent but that is true of most Doctor Who stories. It is still a good story told in an interesting way. And just because Gallifrey is back it doesn’t mean we need to pop by every other week. Let it be there. Waiting for the right moment.

*My theory is that Gallifreyans are the ordinary population. Time Lords are drawn from that population. That becoming a Time Lord – with regeneration, etc – is a process / an education. So not all Gallifreyans can regenerate for example.