‘Doctor Who’ season 9 finale review: Clara Oswald gets another farewell
While it felt a couple of weeks ago as though the story for Clara Oswald on “Doctor Who” was coming to a rather-abrupt, depressing end, we’re now pleased to report that this was not the case in “Hell Bent.” Jenna Coleman got a chance to leave the show in a little bit happier a fashion, and in a way that almost makes her somewhat of a Time Lord in her own right.
Granted, was this a logical end? Not entirely, given that she and Ashildr (otherwise known as the woman responsible for “Face the Raven” in so many ways) spent the end of the episode going off on their own adventures. Eventually, Clara will likely have to face her death in time, but this is somewhat of a reprieve for her to exit out in a way that allows her and Maisie Williams to return at some point.
Granted, would the Doctor even recognize her after the memory wipe? He and Clara are the hybrid together, but it’s hard to really know just where their purpose lies separately … at least for now. The important thing here is that the Doctor is better, free from his prison, and set up in a way to continue his adventures … though with that being said, we don’t like the idea of him killing anyone. That particular moment was a little jarring and darker than we like to see the character go … at least the one not played by John Hurt.
Overall, our biggest critique with “Hell Bent” is that while the first part of the finale reveled somewhat in its simplicity, this was a little too complicated in between the references to Rory, Amy, the Dalek, and even Panny Pink’s descendant. Yes, we love bringing up “Listen” at every opportunity, but it may have worked better in other capacities. The episode was so full that it is hard to construct a full opinion of it without taking some time away. Maybe we’ll have a better chance to do that in time. Grade: B.
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