The Woman Who Lived

"It can't have been easy... outliving the people you loved."

Writer: Catherine Tregenna 

Format: TV 

Broadcast: 24th October 2015

Series: 9.06

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor

Synopsis

When the Doctor tracks an alien artefact to England 1651, he clashes with a notorious highwayman known as the Knightmare. The pair discover they have a common goal and form an uneasy alliance. But you should never trust a highwayman and this one has been economical with the truth. There's been no mention, for instance, of the fire-breathing beast which lurks in the grounds of the Knightmare's home...

Verdict 

The Woman Who Lived was a simply sensational episode of Doctor Who. It really was. Halfway through and we've already had two full mark stories from myself (with The Magician's Apprentice/The Witch's Familiar a two parter so that's really half of the episodes getting full marks) but yet the series can't reach the five million mark when it comes to the viewing figures which I just find baffling. I blame it entirely on the BBC schedule, as I have mentioned in a few blogs of Series 9 episodes now. 8.20pm is just too late - it should be on two hours earlier. I will watch whatever time it is on but I do think the younger viewers and more so their parents will be put off by the fact Doctor Who will be finishing later than 9 o'clock. But anyway, hopefully BBC learns from their mistake. Anyway, back to the episode and it was just phenomenal from start to finish. It's so nice to see a female writer back and I'm a big fan of Catherine Tregenna for her stuff in Torchwood but here she's just blown things out of the water! An immediate sequel to The Girl Who Died, a story which was obviously but nicely referenced, this bettered it. I was quite surprised that we only got a snippet of Clara in the closing scene but my goodness did Jenna Coleman look amazing. Speaking of which, Maisie Williams looked absolutely divine. Having watched her in Game of Thrones she rarely gets the chance to dress extravagantly but here she looked dazzling. I love the choice of title implying that now Ashildr is no longer a girl but a woman. She has been living for around eight centuries now so I guess she does qualify to be fair. Ashildr, or Me as she now liked to be called, had certainly changed considerably since being made immortal by the Doctor. She was finding things very tough though watching those she loves die while she just stays the same. I'm actually in the midst of studying the Plague, specifically in London, but the figures were similar everywhere. The amount of death was incomprehensible and she had lost her children to that. I can't blame her for not wanting anymore that's for sure! What she wanted was to not be on the slow path experiencing all of History as it all happened. She wanted to see the stars and go travelling with the Doctor. Maisie Williams absolutely has to return in the future based on dialogue in this episode. She knew a lot about the Doctor and although I love the idea of her cleaning up once the Doctor had abandoned those he saved, but I'm absolutely convinced there's something more especially with her popping up in Clara's pupil's selfie. Still watching. Still lurking. Still wanting to fly. She wanted it earlier though and joined forces with Leandro to try and open the portal to the stars. As we've seen so many times before, she was just being used but brilliantly once she was horrified by the realisation, Me ended up saving the day. The usage of the second Mire medical kit was such a good inclusion bringing both episodes, though absolutely not a two parter, around full circle perfectly. It was a fantastic end to a magnificent episode. I absolutely adored the chemistry between Peter Capaldi and Maisie Williams when they were searching for the portal creator or Eyes of Hades. They were just so good together. I must say that Peter Capaldi is doing an absolutely stellar job as the Twelfth Doctor and I'm just loving him this series, especially in that he's embracing the hugs from Clara. She really does mean so much to him and the feeling is definitely mutual! They need each other but with Clara echoing the words of Rose in Army of Ghosts, she's leaving soon. I really like how they've kept quiet on how or when she's going to depart but when she does I will be gutted for sure! However, she's had a good run and this episode was a preview of life without her. But we still have six (hopefully) more episodes of her left so let's enjoy them! But let's enjoy thinking of when Ashildr/Me returns! There's something else going on there and I can't wait to see what. Overall, a stellar episode of Doctor Who. A lovely Captain Jack reference, superb plot and sublime strangeness. What more could you want?

Rating: 10/10