Well, this episode didn't go where I expected it! I think it was a good thing that the focus wasn't so solely on Gallifrey; you might hate me for saying it, but man, Gallifrey and the Time Lords are boring.
The first 15 minutes were nice, though. I liked how they kept him completely silent in the beginning; words are his weapon, but he used them sparingly here (side-note: it may possibly have been unintentional, but them saying "drop your weapons!" and he then lets go of his spoon was funny if you remember Robot of Sherwood). Then it got a bit boring for a while; the impeccable Doctor/Clara-chemistry pulling the work here and saving what would otherwise be quite bad. Gallifrey works better as missing and/or gone, unless you have a really good story to tell there.
Initially it was a disappointment to see Moffat be so...Moffat, and retcon the Clara-death. It would've been a fine ending for her. However, ultimately I'm ok with it because I think what they are doing instead is better. Having the end be "she fails at being The Doctor" is ok, but for her to be so characteristically Doctorish and run away from her own fate in that way, in a classic TARDIS no less, is simply too heartwarming for me to not feel fulfilled with. The "anti-Donna twist" (didn't know any better thing to call it, lol) of The Doctor getting his memory wiped instead of Clara was great, too. In the end all these events clears us from the typical "Doctor is sad because he lost a companion"-period. We sort of got that in Heaven Sent and it was great, but it's definitely the most triumphant companion exit since Martha, which means we'll have a Doctor who's already moved on in the Christmas Special and series 10, and who won't go on about Clara and how great she was when a new companion shows up.
By no means a perfect episode, but it worked where it counted, and that's the most important thing. Also, props to Murray Gold for good (though not quite as good as last week) music, and to Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman for great performances once again.