Let’s take a look back at some of Clara’s best almost-exits so far…
3) ‘Kill the Moon’
It turned out the main thing that was killed in this episode was my feelings. It was easy to see both sides of the argument, and if you were anything like me, you may have been silently willing the two of them to just hug it out already.
It was painful viewing seeing Clara and the Doctor part on such unhappy terms, and I’m fairly certain that if you pause the video on Peter Capaldi’s face at just the right second, you can pinpoint the moment the Doctor’s hearts break. What a relief it was when she returned for that last hurrah that turned out not to be last at all.
2) ‘Death in Heaven’
The TARDIS dematerialises, taking the Doctor with it, as Clara turns and sadly walks alone down a busy street, each having placed the other’s happiness before their own, and unwittingly resigning both to a lonely future apart. And that hug was a beautiful, perfect moment.
Surely, there will come a time when we’ll all be sat in front of our televisions, calling the show’s bluff, but at the time, it sure was a much more bittersweet note to end on then the last false finish in ‘Kill the Moon’.
It was the perfect moment to end on, but this in no way made me any more pleased to learn of Capaldi and Coleman continuing together for Season 9.
1) ‘Last Christmas’
This must be the last time Mr. Moffat will be able to pull off what seems like it’s about to be a Clara goodbye without the viewing public rolling its collective eyes in disbelief, but it worked.
This was cruel storytelling indeed – allowing the viewer to believe that Clara had indeed gone on to live a normal life all by her lonesome, with the Doctor only returning to her one last time when she was a much older woman with probably not many Christmases left – only to reveal that it was indeed one last layer of dream.
I dare say it was worth most of the arch emotional manipulation we’ve endured to get where we now stand, with this pair continuing to grow together in Season 9.
Which of Clara’s exits has been your favourite? Let us know below…