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Sometimes what I write could be considered sort of a hybrid of review and recap, but more often it's like impassioned reactions to the best, most traumatizing moments. So, what you will see here today are a lot of words about basically one scene.

Spoilers from here on!

I knew "Face the Raven" was going to be a sad one; Peter Capaldi confirmed it, and I do assume that most episodes will have some emotionally piercing moment. But I thought Clara would face her end in the finale, which is usually when a series would decide to off a main character or leave on a cliffhanger for the next season. I was quite sure I would need a few tissues. I was certain beyond all doubt that this departure would stick with me. If my experience with Doctor Who has taught me nothing else, it has taught me to expect change and brilliant heartache and to accept and embrace them.

It's inevitable that every companion and every Doctor leaves, so you might think it would get easier. But the writers and actors are relentless when it comes to wringing every last drop of emotion from a moment. You think you can prepare, and then they do something like this, something that was somehow even more poignant than expected, because they did the unimaginable: neutralized the Doctor and gave Clara no way out.

Clara, there's nothing special about me. I am nothing, but I'm less breakable than you! I should have taken better care of you.

"Face the Raven" was amazing. Haunting and beautiful and devastating. Ashildr - now going by Mayor Me - set a trap for the Doctor, a trap that works all too well. She knows he cares so much for others that he will always put himself in harm's way for them. Ashildr counted on the Doctor's selflessness, to do what he always does, to save people even when he knows something is up. She needed to exchange the Doctor for protection for her people. So, she tricked Rigsy, last seen in "Flatline," into thinking he killed a woman, which is a crime punishable by death by Quantum Shade, which takes on the form of a raven and destroys from the inside. Of course Rigsy didn't hurt anyone, so his memory had to be altered. A countdown tattoo was placed on his neck to draw the Doctor into the mystery and eventually to get the Doctor to use a TARDIS key to free the supposedly dead woman, trapping himself with a teleport bracelet in the process.

Though Ashildr's plan was elaborate, the outcome should have been simple: the Doctor would sacrifice himself, and Rigsy's countdown would be stopped. But Clara did something Ashildr never imagined and she was genuinely shocked by. Clara thought she had it all worked out, that the raven wouldn't come for her because she was under the protection of Ashildr, who had given the Doctor her promise that Clara would be safe. But taking Rigsy's fate upon herself broke the contract, and the raven could not be stopped by Ashildr or the Doctor, leading to another scene that will always be remembered as one of Doctor Who's most poignant.

You don't be a warrior. Promise me. Be a doctor.

What's the point of being a doctor if I can't cure you?

Heal yourself. You have to. You can't let this turn you into a monster.

It was the saddest goodbye ever, because they actually got to stand there and say goodbye. The dawning realization on his face that he really was losing her, saying that this wasn't happening, was unbearable. Then Clara ordered the Doctor to not seek revenge, lovingly touched his face, and he gently kissed her hand for the last time. And the raven cried out. If your eyes were dry throughout this, or if you felt nothing else, then you might be dead inside.

This is another episode that will stick with me forever. No matter how it happened, it would have been sad, even had Clara just left, which would be wildly out of character, or been lost to time and space. I had hoped for an ending where she could live on. Instead it was the most devastating it could get, especially considering her life has ended before...in other times, before we and the Doctor knew her. I dreaded that happening again, but it seems inevitable it had to happen this way. It was just such an awful moment knowing Clara was about to do something that would lead to her death. An even more awful moment when the Doctor understood that this time he could do nothing. After all he's done, nothing could be done. With all his knowledge and brilliance and luck, he was powerless to save his best friend, his Impossible Girl.

You will not insult my memory. There will be no revenge. I will die and no one else here or anywhere will suffer.

What about me?

If there was something I could do about that, I would. I guess we're both just gonna have to be brave.

Oh my God, Capaldi's eyes and face in this scene, especially the sadness in his voice when he says, "What about me?" Ouch. His entire body language is spot on. He's slightly trembling with a grief that's about to overwhelm him, not able to do anything else but accept the inevitable, hardly able to look at Clara, trying not to break down. Could Capaldi be any more unerringly brilliant?

I love this scene for being exactly what I had hoped it would be, that Clara would make the Doctor promise that, through his pain, he would change not for the worse but for the better, that he wouldn't be out for blood. A scary, emotionally raw Doctor is an amazing one, but so is a forgiving and kind one. Either way, his hearts will still be broken, but he can choose whether that will make him less willing or more willing to let people in.

I loved this scene for being the the one where the Doctor needed a hug the most and, as at the end of The Zygon Inversion, didn't shy away from it. I loved this scene for being equal to his war speech in terms of the beauty and truth of the emotion, but surpassing it because the crisis could not be averted, only faced with bravery. I loved this scene for Clara's farewell to the clever boy who will want to run from his emotions but will forever remember her. It was terrible and beautiful and delicately handled.

And this is all okay. Everybody knows that everybody dies. Unfortunately, this wasn't one of those days in a million where everybody lived. Clara will be missed deeply. Her character grew and grew until she was indispensible. She saved the Doctor on numerous occasions throughout his existence as a time meddler. She was fun and funny. Coleman played her so well and was eminently likable. I can't say they should have given her a nicer end. Acting and thinking like the Doctor was always going to get her into trouble she couldn't get out of. Clara was so important to the Doctor that he would have found a way to keep her by his side if it were possible, so a death impossible to run from was the only way that was genuine for her to go, and it gave us one of the greatest gut-wrenching moments ever in the series.

This is as brave as I know how to be. I know it's gonna hurt you, but, please, be a little proud of me... Goodbye, Doctor.

If you're distraught (or even a little miffed) and don't understand how they could possibly do something like this to you, Doctor Who is a story about change and loss as much as it is about imagination and adventure. Without the pain, or the threat of it, how could you appreciate the good? Clara was always going to leave and she wouldn't have done so willingly. I'll let Capaldi and Moffat explain why Clara faced the raven.

That sorrowful music was just perfect. Did you hear the emotion in Capaldi's voice? He didn't expect her to die. Aww.

It is in keeping with the character that Clara would only stop running with the Doctor if she could no longer physically do so. The series wouldn't compromise its integrity by taking the easy way out and have Clara suddenly be who she isn't just for a happier ending. This will resonante with the Doctor for a long time to come, and I hope he heeds her words! If not immediately, because of his pain, then eventually, honoring her memory by being better. One thing's for sure, this will be one of the most memorable, remarkably acted and emotional moments ever in the entire series. And I can't say I would ever want to change it if I could to make the fans not feel these emotions. It's better with them than without.

The final two episodes, "Heaven Sent" and "Hell Bent," will let us delve even deeper into the hearts of The Doctor as he deals with yet another loss, and one so very personal. He could do nothing but impotently threaten Ashilr as Clara told him to stop. He could only stand there once he realized there was no going back, no way around it, no controlling what was coming, no negotiation, no talking his way out. He could only stand there with tears in his red eyes as Clara hugged him in the most beautiful embrace they've ever had, as she told him to not seek revenge, to not become a monster and taint her memory. And now the Doctor faces his emotions alone.

It was all quite intense and I wouldn't want it any other way. If a drama doesn't make me cry and feel for the characters then it's completely wasted my time. Doctor Who has never wasted my time.

To cheer you up after that depressing episode, just watch this blooper.

I would love to see Peter and Jenna working together again.

Just the sweetest words.

Listen to the Nerdist podcast if you need support. Someone tweeted that it was cathartic, like an episode of The Talking Dead. I haven't had the chance yet because of work this week and distractions and Thanksgiving and trying to finish this post before the new episode. Speaking of new episode...

Where to Watch

"Heaven Sent" will be on BBC America this Saturday night at 9 PM Eastern. "Face the Raven" and previous episodes are available on Amazon and various other places, like iTunes, or streaming on AMC.com and BBC America's OnDemand cable and satellite channel. For more options, please see BBCAmerica.com.

Face the Raven

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The Doctor and Clara, with their old friend Rigsy, find themselves in a magical alien world, hidden on a street in the heart of London.
Price: $1.99 SD, $2.99 HD
Runtime: 46 minutes
Air Date: November 21, 2015

Series 8

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Price: $31.99 Blu-ray, $53.26 DVD

Images and video belong to the BBC. Check out more images from "Face the Raven" at BBC America.

Let me be brave. Let me be brave.

Once again I have lost sleep over this series and the episode hasn't even aired. Here it is, folks. We have come to the end of Clara Oswald. I'd much rather it was a joke or something she could come back from in the future for at least a brief time, but that's highly unlikely, I would think. I had hoped Jenna Coleman would finish out this season of 12 episodes, but Capaldi confirmed that "Face the Raven" will be her last. It will be followed up by "Heaven Sent" and "Hell Bent." Those are two intriguing titles. Obvious that it's another two-parter. I love those. Even though there's an overall arc to the season, as usual, and this is a series where characters grow and past events influence the future (or even vice versa), I do adore stories that take longer to resolve and delve deeper.

I wonder who or what is Heaven sent. Will it be the Doctor who is Hell bent? On revenge? On trying to get Clara back? He won't succeed if that's the case, so that's a devastating scenario right there. It's always sad to see a great companion go, and I keep reading that it certainly is not a happy time, but you only have to look at their eyes in the trailer to see how devastating it will be for both Clara and the Doctor. Whatever happens, I wouldn't be surprised if it matched the series high point of Twelve's ardent speech about war, which happened quite recently in "The Zygon Inversion." Can I dare hope that this mostly excellent season have another episode to remember? Bitter but still so sweet with the emotion that comes through from Capaldi and Coleman? Yes, I think I can.

Any time I think of ravens, I of course think of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven." So, even if this sure to be devastator has no hint of inspiration from or tribute to that Gothic poem, I'm sure I'll feel a tug forevermore whenever I read it, hear mention of it, or watch that Simpsons Treehouse of Horror episode. I'm not going to delve deeper in to any synopsis of the episode, because I'd like to go in as fresh as possible. I would rather have not even known which was Clara's exit, though I and everyone else knew for a long time that it was coming this season, but it just popped up in my Twitter notifications from @Superhero Feed yesterday afternoon and I just had to share a thought or two.

I don't doubt this will be a proper farewell for Clara. She was a highly enjoyable, smart, strong, capable companion, and I can't see the Doctor getting over her any time soon...or ever. She'll likely be mentioned now and then in passing for a while, then on down the road at random vulnerable moments for this Doctor or even the next. Theirs is a deep friendship, one that was strengthened immeasurably when Clara lost Danny, and she was so desperate to get him back she threatened the Doctor outright rather than take the chance that he would refuse. She didn't know if she could trust him to do something so massive for her, so outside the realm of possibility. She didn't really know his new incarnation at all, but Twelve cares for her so much that he forgave her betrayal without a second thought.

I can't see anything other than him being devastated by this, after everything they've been through together, and everything he's been though before, like when Amy and Rory were zapped to the past by Weeping Angels, when he had to wipe all of Donna's memories of him, when Rose was pulled into another dimension, and many other devastating things. He's lost everyone he's ever loved and that will only continue. Farewell to the Impossible Girl and I wish Jenna Coleman luck in her new role. If you'd like to say a few nice words, you can find her on Twitter, @Jenna_Coleman_.

Where to Watch

If you missed Sleep No More, The Zygon Inversion, or any other episode, you can buy them on Amazon and various other places, like iTunes, or stream them on AMC.com and BBC America's OnDemand cable channel. For more options, please see BBCAmerica.com. And don't forget to watch "Face the Raven" Saturday night at 9 PM Eastern.

P.S. Bring a box of tissues. We're losing a valued companion here, which would be a poignant enough moment on its own, but we also have to see the dawning realization on the Doctor's face and the brokenhearted aftermath of this parting of the ways, whether that be through distance or death. And this just after he finally started getting used to hugs, too.

Look at that smile. *swoon*

I hope this experience doesn't shut him down - not for too long anyway - but instead bolsters his insatiable love of life and makes him hold onto his relationships that much tighter. And not just the characters themselves. No matter how great they are, remember that these are two actual people that work closely together in intensely emotional scenes and seem also to have a lot of fun and enjoy each other, and now they're saying goodbye. The feelings and tears are always real and truly conveyed, because Capaldi and Coleman are consummate actors, but there will be an extra layer of palpable pain there.

Do you ever think or care what happens after you've flown away? I live in the world you leave behind...because you abandoned me to it.

The following part review/part recap/mostly ramblings contains spoilers.

I really loved Peter Capaldi's debut season as the Doctor. I had no doubts that I would. Change being a regular and major part of Doctor Who, I'm always receptive to the new guy even while mourning the last. I welcome him with open arms, and then he proves to be interesting and endearing in his own way, playing different aspects of and sides to the same character. In a Doctor's first season, we get acquainted with a new face, attitude and personality just as the Doctor is getting to know himself all over again, and the actor gets to imbue his own life into the well-established character. What a great experience that is.

As I have come to expect, there was no shortage of incredible imagination, emotion, or stories; episodes like "Listen" and the two-parter "Dark Water" and "Death in Heaven" being outstanding examples. Peter Capaldi's Doctor, though harsh and alien at the start, became more relatable as the season progressed and he absolutely embodied the character. He is equal parts odd and whimsical and funny and aloof and brilliant...and never forget poignant. And now season 9 has really hit the ground running and has already given season 8 a run for its money with three brilliant two-parters.

In "The Girl Who Died," the little Viking village the Doctor and Clara have landed in has a small problem with alien invaders posing as gods. In a culling of the warriors, Clara gets transported aboard their ship that no one ever comes back from, and the Doctor again thinks he's lost her. Poor guy. He's lost so many, but he gets Clara back. The villagers want to fight, particularly a brave girl named Ashildr (Maisie Williams, Game of Thrones). The Doctor wants to leave, knowing there's no way they can win and that everyone will be slaughtered. Clara convinces him this is who he is, and he comes up with one of his patented last minute, stroke of brilliance with a heaping of luck plans.

Then when the aliens have been sent packing with their tails between their legs that's when tragedy strikes. Ashildr's been drained like a battery after using her imagination to scare away the aliens with their own technology. This really gets the Doctor down. In a quiet moment, which this series does so well, he tells Clara that he's sick of losing people.

Look at you...with your eyes, your never giving up to anger, your kindness. And one day the memory of that will hurt so much I won't be able to breathe, and I'll do what I always do. I'll get in my box and I'll run and I'll run in case all the pain ever catches up. And every place I go, it will be there!

But that's when the Doctor remembers what has been eluding him from the first time he saw his face in "Deep Breath." When he hilariously asked a homeless man in an alley, "Who frowned me this face?" and went on about his "attack eyebrows," all while still dressed in a nightshirt. Since he brought it up, fans knew it had to be more significant than just an actor who was also a fan getting his dream job. The payoff was a while in coming but saved for just the right moment.

I know where I got this face and I know what it's for!

Okay, what's it for?

To remind me. To hold me to the mark. I'm the Doctor, and I save people. And if anybody happens to be listening, and you've got any kind of a problem with that, to Hell with you!

In a montage from the David Tennant episode that Peter Capaldi was in, "The Fires of Pompeii," we get to relive the moment we (or at least I) fell in love with our long gone Donna Noble begging the Doctor to save just one person. Donna made him realize he could save someone even if he couldn't save them all. He saved a family and chose the face of the father, Caecilius, as a reminder. And that, kids, is how a guest star on a sci-fi series can years down the line become the star of that series, even though he's playing a different character. And it's awesome.

But things don't always go the way the Doctor hopes. The final scene of "The Girl Who Lived" starts with a happy Ashildr getting another chance at life. Sadly, though, she's the only one of her kind and the Doctor has left her behind. As the years pass and the centuries turn, signified by innumerable sunsets as she remains the same age, her face turns from happy to be alive to grim with the understanding she will always lose those she loves and forever be alone. A very dark end to that wonderful realization of the Doctor's.

Following that we have "The Woman Who Lived." Unlike the Doctor, Ashildr had no worlds to save, no companion to keep her sane and caring, no way to escape her pain except to lock it away. The Doctor runs, but the pain is always there. This scene is another affecting testament to the brilliance of this season.

I didn't know that your heart would rust because I kept it beating. I didn't think that your conscience would need renewing, that the well of human kindness would run dry. I just wanted to save a terrified young woman's life.

You didn't save my life, Doctor. You trapped me inside it.

The Doctor saying he didn't know Ashildr's heart would rust will likely be my favorite line of the season. It reminds me of a line from The Blacklist: "Beneath the iron and rust beats the heart of a man swimming in immeasurable grief." It elegantly describes what could happen to someone if their life was so long, and the lives of their loved ones so fleeting, that the mountain of loss was too much to bear.

It was a memorable moment in an unforgettable episode. The torment in Ashildr's words and what the Doctor felt for her was beautifully portrayed by Maisie and Peter. Earlier, the Doctor had insisted he knew Ashildr wasn't as cold and uncaring as she was pretending to be, and here he seemed stunned to find out he had done so much damage by saving her. He's sitting there tied up, listening to what became of her, trying to think of a way out, something to say to change her mind. In a nice touch, he kept glancing away from her eyes, presumably looking at her chest, hoping he could reach the heart that used to be there.

It's great storytelling when they include those moments that remind the Doctor that he can do as much harm as good, that choices to help can also hurt. It sure isn't an easy life being an immortal time traveler, going wherever you want because you crave new experiences, getting involved in the affairs of others because they are a problem to solve and then getting involved emotionally. Luckily for the Doctor, he usually has someone that reminds him who he is and who he needs to be.

And, oh, that last scene between Ashildr and the Doctor.

So are we enemies now?

Of course not. Enemies are never a problem. It's your friends you have to watch out for. And, my friend, I'll be watching out for you.

Ashildr, I think I'm very glad I saved you.

Oh, I think everyone will be.

It the kind of scene that makes you smile, maybe brings tear, and gives you chills at the same time.

And then there was the hug at the very end. I know it's wishful thinking, but if only every episode could end like this...

If you missed these episodes or want to watch them again (Who wouldn't?), here are a few ways to do just that.

The Girl Who Died

Buy at Amazon

Price: $1.99 for SD, $2.99 for HD

The Woman Who Lived

Buy at Amazon

Price:$1.99 for SD, $2.99 for HD

The Girl Who Died is also available on AMC.com for the next 8 days and The Woman Who Lived will be up for 2 more weeks. Episodes are also on iTunes and on your BBC America On Demand channel if available. And don't forget to watch on Saturdays at 9 PM Eastern on BBC America.

Alrighty, time to get ready and excited for a new episode tonight. I can't believe the season is half over already.

All images copyright BBC.

All the graves of planet Earth are about to give birth.

I think I need the Doctor to explain time to me; specifically, where it goes and why I don't have any. It has been so long since I wrote about this decades- and generation-spanning series with no shortage of imagination or superb performances. Mostly it was because of said time just hiding from me, but some of it was due to Who's dense history and complicated everything. One thing leads to another and I'll get twisted around, end up in a loop, stumbling around paradoxes, probably fall into a pocket universe, and lose my mind trying to get back. It's a daunting task, but I planned on writing at least something during the interminable hiatus. Somehow that entire period came and went and I only found myself finally jotting down some thoughts about this new Doctor of ours after the premiere of "Deep Breath," which I then never shared.

Spoilers Ahead...

I had written before that Capaldi was instantly intriguing. After experiencing the heart he put into this role in the first episode, I was convinced he was a perfect choice. Literally, I saw Capaldi's pulse when the Doctor was in bed (hello, rewind button). Always endearing. Then when he had a chance to show what's in his chest with performance, he made me sad for a dinosaur plucked out of her time, who was frightened and alone. This Doctor has profound compassion and vulnerability often hiding behind a stern face, scattered mind, and callous demeanor. And he's just really funny, though I never doubted that Capaldi could deliver witty banter. Capaldi also does wonderfully in conveying the Doctor's curiosity and enthusiasm for the undiscovered and unexplained. Speaking of which, there's this a whole thing with a sentient droid. The Doctor tells him, "Those people down there, they're never small to me." This is one of those lines that serves to fully invest you in Capaldi if you weren't already. Shortly after, we are introduced to Promised Land/Heaven/The Nethersphere, a recurring mystery throughout the season. And the episode ended with a lovely, bittersweet little treat in the old doctor encouraging acceptance of the new with a call to Clara to assure her that he's the same man, that "he is more scared than anything [she] could imagine," and that he needs her. And it was a promising start to a season so long awaited.

This is exactly what it sounds like. The Doctor, Clara, and a few soldiers are miniaturized with technology used for surgery a la Fantastic Voyage and Innerspace, which the Doctor hilariously remarks upon as a "fantastic idea for a movie, terrible idea for a proctologist." They do this to go inside a malfunctioning Dalek suddenly burdened with morality to find out what went wrong. The Doctor's fitful anxiety about himself, aggressive certainty that there's no such thing as a Dalek that isn't pure evil (though there was an exception before in Oswin "Souffle Girl" Oswald), and insensitivity to deaths around him while he's trying to save the ones who are still here is so well balanced by Capaldi. He was having such a great go of it that after just two episodes I was already dreading the day he decides he's overstayed his welcome and passes the mantle onto someone new.

I find it interesting that he has to ask Clara if he's a good man and that she is unsure. He's a complex character that has had to make many unbearable choices and live with what he's done. But no matter how cold he may seem at times, how unforgiving, he goes to great lengths to give second chances, to save everyone he can. Yes, he is a good man. There is no doubt. He has so much love of life and has seen so much tragedy that he cannot be a witness to suffering.

Then there were the episodes I didn't have a spare moment to write a comment about, since life became permanently busier before the premiere, but something stuck with me from each of them. Wait a sec... Did something stick with me from "Robot of Sherwood"? I remember it being an odd one. I did get quite a few laughs out of it, such as "I don't need a sword. Because I am the Doctor and this is my spoon." Better than that, though, was the Doctor asking Clara when she started believing in impossible heroes. He can be adorably clueless sometimes.

This was far superior to the previous episode: a beautifully done, emotionally charged story. The monster was chilling in that it wasn't a monster at all but the imagination of a scared child, the shadows in the dark that we all feel yet never catch a glimpse of. Clara discovers by travelling to the end of time, where the dark is empty now, that she is connected to Danny Pink, someone she barely knows, revealing that he will be special to her or prompting that connection. From young Danny to the last days of the universe, and finally to the beginnings of the Doctor. I got goosebumps when Clara reassured a young boy in a barn on Gallifrey that it's alright to be afraid and the fear doesn't have to make him cruel or cowardly.

I love a good bank robbery and this one was quite hilarious at times. No one had a clue what they were doing because their memories were sucked out to protect them from the mind-reading/brain-souping security slave at the most impregnable bank in the universe. And so we got a few hilarious gems like, "My personal plan is that a thing will probably happen quite soon." and that morale would plummet if they were blown up by the bomb they were to detonate, but only for a very brief moment. Balancing the comedy, there was drama, and Doctor Who is excellent at both. I was surprised that it turned out to be a rescue mission from the future. The timey-wimey stuff always chokes me up.

This started with a great montage of Clara's whirlwind life with the Doctor and her attempts to keep it from Danny. Then there was a funny misunderstanding when the Doctor thought Clara was with a teacher that looked like his previous self, the adorable Matt Smith. But the best part of it was Danny finally getting fed up with the Doctor's constant intentional misremembering of Danny's teaching position and mocking of his former life as a soldier. He recognizes a leader and thinks he's of the kind that just gives orders and doesn't have to personally deal with consequences.

Not my favorite story, I'm sorry to say. I didn't question the space whale with a city on its back, but the moon as an egg didn't really work for me. Though, even the lesser episodes of Doctor Who are better, more thought-provoking, and more emotional than the best that many shows have to offer. I enjoyed most of it and it was appropriately creepy. I got chills when Clara was asking the entire world what she should do and the Doctor was staying out of the decision between billions and the last of its kind. After spending so much of his life saving people, he was sure putting a lot on us all of a sudden. I feel like being the last of his kind, he couldn't bear to be a part of it, though he made the excuse that it was a decision for humans to make since it's was our home and not his. A few episodes later he even wanted to stay on Earth during its last moments because it was his planet, too.

After being a bit disappointed with "Kill the Moon" (not every episode can be a winner), we got back on the right track with this episode, the resolution of which, as so often happens on this show, put a lump in my throat. First of all, a train in space. That's just cool. Second, a mummy. In space. That kills in 66 seconds after you see it. Then the Doctor being his now usual callous self while trying to figure out a way to save everyone. When he's firing on all cylinders, there seems to be no room for nice. And in the end of that episode, Clara asked the Doctor if he was just pretending to be heartless. He asked her if it would make it easier for her to think that and continued on to say that sometimes all you have are bad choices, but you still have to make them. He cares too deeply and has taken the weight of all of time and space on his shoulders.

Tiny TARDIS with the Doctor trapped inside! I lost it when Clara put them in her purse, then when she pulled a sledgehammer out of there, and again when the Doctor tried saving himself from a train by "walking" the TARDIS off the tracks like Thing from The Adams Family. It was also peppered throughout with an unstoppable adversary that kills by pulling people into walls and floors. Of course, the Doctor hopes this horror is a misunderstanding and gives whom he dubs the Boneless another chance, because "you cannot be too quick to judge." I mean, he knows "a race made of sentient gas who throw fireballs as a friendly wave." His goodness is again in evidence, always trying his hardest to save everyone and foster peace.

And, unfortunately, this episode brought us back to too hard to swallow territory with trees that popped up overnight, and I'm usually up for any kind of suspension of disbelief. This uber rapid growth seemed silly even in the far-reaching realm of speculative, fantastical, completely bonkers sci-fi. But what matters to me most are the power of the words and the poignancy of the acting that have this ability to pull me back into the story. (Also, the great deal of quotable, humorous dialogue.) Clara, normally not one to give up, accepted the fate of the world, and the Doctor, normally not one to be completely defeated, ran out of ideas and was forced to leave alone to quietly watch all of humanity burn, losing the world he had fought for so many times. I knew Clara would choose to stay behind, that she wouldn't want to become the last of her species like the Doctor, a comment that hurt him and which he understood completely.

That's ten episodes down already and now suddenly we're on the verge of the last episode, "Death in Heaven," the second part of the two-part finale that started with "Dark Water."

If you are not caught up, just stop reading now.

Not kidding, because I have to address a few spoilery things from this penultimate episode. I saw some things differently than Christina at Televixen.com. (We agree on the awesomeness of The Strain, though.) I could not stop myself from writing. It's the whole reason I actually decided I had to finish this post before the finale.

I adored "Dark Water." It may be my favorite episode of the new season. Either that or "Listen." The Nethersphere, which had previously been introduced to the dead as Heaven, finally came into play. And creepy-crazy Missy was such a delight, pretending she was a droid, taking the Doctor's hand to feel her heart. The reveal of who she is was unexpected to me. I briefly thought when the season started that was a possibility but then dismissed it since it had been so long. I'm being vague now, but that's in case you haven't seen it and are still reading despite my spoiler warning. This one's too good. I hope the finale tonight isn't the end of Missy. That would be a shame.

I was also stunned by the depth of feeling, though not surprised, and the lengths both Clara and the Doctor were willing to go had me holding my breath. Clara was compelled by grief and I could never hate her for that. Regardless of how long they were together, Clara's love for Danny and reaction to his death felt real, both possibly more intense in a shorter span because of her knowledge of the future; and after all that's happened this season to make her doubt The Doctor and her desire to continue travelling with him, her monumental betrayal was understandable. I can only imagine how it would feel to be talking to someone one second and have them taken from you the next, but Jenna Coleman portrayed the shock and numbness of loss in a way that was terribly familiar.

As anyone can relate to, Clara just wanted to turn back the clock; unlike anyone else, she could. She knew the rules about messing with your own timeline, but she had seen the Doctor make possible so many impossible things. She was still unsure of him. He had changed from gregarious and warm to manic and far less personable and she doesn't realize how much she means to him. She didn't trust that the one person who could help her, someone who owed his life to her many times over, would help unless she had leverage. And for a moment there I did the same, overlooking the Doctor's love for those closest to him and innate need to make things right, and started to believe that his refusal was genuine.

Stealing the TARDIS keys and threatening to destroy them one by one was a scene that was breathtaking in its sheer desperation. It was compelling to see her breaking down and him becoming more defiant. It was wonderful to then be reminded of the Doctor's essential goodness. I fell in love with Capaldi and his Doctor for probably the twelfth time this season when he said, "Do you think I care for you so little that betraying me would make any difference?" Even knowing Clara was willing to throw away their friendship and potentially strand both of them in a volcano, his feelings for her are unconditional. It might be the most powerful moment I've seen, and that says quite a lot.

It doesn't matter to me that the Doctor never before attempted to go to the afterlife for anyone. It was less about who he was trying to save than about the person he wanted to do it for. It was not about his own pain this time. Someone he cares for deeply was begging for help, betraying him in a most unexpected and cruel way because she didn't trust that he would. He had to have felt responsible for making Clara think he would only help her under duress. Her willingness to go so far proved to him that he couldn't just sit back and watch a friend suffer. And having already gone to the end of time because of Clara's connection to Danny, the Doctor had one thing he could try.

And let's not forget what happened in "Listen." As Tom Gardiner at ThreeIfBySpace.net said, "Dan is a symbol for the kind of man the Doctor has become." It was because of Clara's words to both of them as children and Danny's toy soldier, who was so brave he didn't need a gun, that the Doctor became the man he is, someone who risks his life for even the least significant of people in spite of his fear, because he's never met aybody who wasn't important. More reasons why it was believable that he would be willing to go so far. He never went so far before because sometimes an impossible thing is just that. He is a good man, so if he had the choice to save a friend and didn't, it would be to save even more and a devastating choice to live with. Or maybe the writers just had never thought of going to the afterlife until more recently or only just figured a way to use the idea. Stories come when they come. They can't be forced. And does any of that really mean that a new incarnation should not be ever more sensitive, out-of-the-box, and willing to go to extremes to save people?

Overall, I really enjoyed this season and a few gorgeous episodes in particular that were breathtaking in scope, incredibly acted, and thoughtfully written.