User blog:Pinguinus/Kidneys!

'''Title not making any sense to you? Then clearly you haven't seen The Time of the Doctor yet. Go back to your television or alternative viewing platform and watch the special, and then come back. We wouldn't want to spoil anything for you. :)'''

Tonight I watched The Time of the Doctor, in which Eleven took his final bow and the clock struck Twelve. New questions were raised as quickly as old ones were answered, and so I've taken it upon myself to start this as a sort of discussion page for the episode. Please, state your opinions on the episode in the comments!

I'll start off with a couple of random thoughts that occured to me as I watched the episode. Needless to say,



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1: The Time Lords' distinct non-frozenness

A major plot point of the episode is the return of a major recurring character from Steven Moffat's era: the crack in Amy's wall. The crack appears this time as the weak spot in time and space, through which the Time Lords intend to re-enter reality. It is revealed that the people of Gallifrey have been actively trying to escape their pocket universe for some time now, asking the oldest Question in the universe as a means of verifying which dimension they're entering. After Clara does a bit of begging, they grant the Doctor a brand new regeneration cycle, thus averting his death on Trenzalore and giving us the chance to meet Peter Capaldi as the new Doctor.

There is a question inherent in these going-ons. The Day of the Doctor states that Gallifrey is frozen in time, and its denizens shouldn't be capable of even thinking, much less providing crucial Deus Ex Machina. So what gives? Do the Time Lords have an extra trick up their collective sleeves? There's something we're missing here, guys and girls.

Speaking of Time Lords and their wiley ways...

2: The Twelfth Doctor's inexplicable amnesia

In another memorable Moffat regeneration scene, the Twelfth Doctor tells a bewildered Clara: "

"Stay calm. Just one question. Do you happen to know how to fly this thing?"

This is alarming for a number of reasons, which is OK because there are a number of possible reasons for it. Perhaps gaining a new regeneration cycle caused a temporary bout of amnesia, and we're worrying too much. Perhaps, seeing as the Doctor has spent centuries over the course of the episode without his TARDIS, he's simply a bit rusty with the controls. But what if something more sinister is at play here...

During the regeneration from Patrick Troughton's Second Doctor to Jon Pertwee's Third, the Time Lords exiled the Doctor to Earth, erasing his memory of the TARDIS workings so he couldn't leave the planet. Has something similar happened here? The Lords of Time aren't exactly known for their altruism. Why would they go out of their way to save the Doctor's life if there wasn't something in it for them? Has the Doctor become an unwitting pawn in a plot to restore Gallifrey?

3: Why oh why did Handles have to die

Seriously. I never thought I'd be so affected by the death of a severed Cyberman head. Why, Steven Moffat, why? :(

And that's about it for now. I'd love to hear your thoughts on the episode. :D