Being as ‘late’ as we’ve been here at the Tour regarding Last Christmas it has been interesting seeing how fan reaction accumulates. Even moreso than The Time of the Doctor, Last Christmas feels like ‘just another episode’ of Doctor Who, more properly the season finale for Series 8. Likable enough in it’s own right, and as “interior” a Christmas Special as you’re ever likely to find, we still can’t find the same critical hosannas we read from others.
This is not to say that Capaldi and Coleman weren’t on top form, and it was nice to see Samuel Anderson back again and used well enough within the context of the story, after all dream logic has its benefits, it’s rather we now have concerns about Clara as a character.
It’s easy enough to forget that we’ve been seeing Clara off and on, mostly on, since Asylum of the Daleks. As a puzzle that has been solved she’s been around since The Name of the Doctor. Her status as a companion who basically does day-trips is unique in the history of the program, and Jenna Coleman has simply been magnificent, but we can’t help but be a little troubled that she’s staying on, so we’ve been told, for the whole of Series 9. Had her story been concluded, as the older Clara at the end of Last Christmas it would have been a nice ending for her and Series 9 could have had a complete reset.
Now the idea of Clara as a ‘full-time’ traveling companion has some intrigue, especially in light of the characters past, but it’s also important to remember that companions come and go, very few have lingered for more than two years, and for good reason, as they are the real pivot points along which Doctor Who history is written.
It’s also worth remembering that Mount Moffat has a rep for being a little loose with the truth as well. Perhaps Clara isn’t as much of a fixture as we all presently believe.
