Get ready for ‘Honey, I Shrunk the Kids” meets ‘Flatlands’, the crossover we’ve all been waiting for. All those months on A03, seeking out fanfics that would do this wasted! All I had to do was wait for this episode of ‘Doctor Who’!
Okay, let’s be serious. This episode was amazing. I don’t know how shrinking the TARDIS and fighting two dimensional aliens would be amazing, but it was.
I’m getting ahead of myself.
Clara is doing her whole lying-to-Danny thing, and adventuring with the Doctor. As the Doctor tries to get her back to the right time and place (oh dear, did we learn nothing with Peri?) they end up in Bristol… and the TARDIS is smaller. And then it proceeds to get even smaller while Clara wanders off and the Doctor is trapped inside. If you don’t think this equals comic gold, think again. You thinking again? Seeing it? Good. Because wow.
So this episode features Clara as the Doctor. For those of you who are remembering Donna, do not despair. It will not end as badly as that. In fact, it ends with Clara saving the day, though I still don’t understand how she figured out how to read the sonic screwdriver.
But wait. Did you hear that? Clara saves the day! Now, it certainly isn’t new for companions to save the day, and it’s not necessarily new for Clara. But this time it’s special. This time, a companion is actually given autonomy in their decision making. This time, they are the Doctor, and they are making quick decisions. This season is making me like Clara more and more, but I didn’t know I really loved her until this episode.
Clara has truly gone from unforgettable in ‘Asylum of the Daleks,’ to incredibly forgettable in the following season, to a well-done character that is relatable and still laudable (well, aside from the lying, but I’m still having difficulty figuring out where I stand on that particular subject). There is nothing I don’t love of Clara Oswald, her most endearing quality being when she goes into teacher-mode. Perhaps this is why I like her better this season. Clara is fully a teacher now, and because of this, the dynamic between her and the Doctor is quite different than that of companions of late.
But let’s not forget what a unique opportunity it is to see the Doctor truly out of his element (while ironically being in the TARDIS, which is admittedly his element all of the way). Since Martha, I don’t think we’ve ever seen the Doctor so powerless and dependent on his companion, and I’m glad it’s take-charge Clara.
So yes, for shrinking the TARDIS, fun side characters, interesting alien that turns things 2D, and Clara continuing character development, I give this episode
