I've got some theories that I haven't read anywhere yet so I'm gonna share them even if it seems a bit far-fetched. Possibly spoilers (well, in case I'm right, and I believe I am...). Sorry if there are some grammar errors, english is not my first language.
I think somebody mentioned it already, but I'm pretty sure Clara has been dead for some time. We share Clara's point of view, which is the present, but I think the Doctor is out of phase with her, and with us. I think he has lived some really difficult things and what we're seeing this season is the Doctor coming back to a time where he could still spend some time with Clara.
There is the dialog with Clara at the end of the Zygons Inversion:
- So, you must have thought I was dead for a while?
- Yeah.
- How was that?
- Longest month of my life.
- It could only have been five minutes!
- I'll be the judge of time.
A month ? I don't think he says that because he's been playing this game with the Zygons for longer than we'd think. Well I think he has, but that's not what he's refering to here.
There's also the line with Osgood :
- Never really met Clara. Pretty strong, yeah?
- She was amazing.
- No. Not was. Is.
I don't think the Doctor would ever speak about someone in the past tense if he wasn't 200% sure of what he's saying. Especially for Clara.
There have been many instances during this season where Clara talked about the fact that she would never stop traveling with him, that she wouldn't go anywhere. At first I thought it was to make us think « heh, that's sad, we already know she's leaving ». But I don't think it was only a foreshadowing irony. I need to re-watch some of these scenes but the Doctor doesn't seem happy to hear that. So at first I thought it was because he's never intended to travel forever with anyone (because bad stuff tends to happen, and he can get bored, etc.), so he was ready to break her heart someday. But I think it's his heart that is broken, he's already lost Clara but we haven't seen it yet.
Not convinced yet ? Well, bear with me a liitle more
Something struck me earlier today, when I thought about the scene in which the Doctor plays his guitar, alone in the Tardis. It may be stupid but the first time I saw that scene, I thought about Eric Draven in The Crow. A guy, alone, playing a sad but powerful tune on his electric guitar. Though at first I had not realised why I felt sad during this scene, and then it became clear. He wasn't playing some random tune, he was playing
Amazing Grace, a song that is mostly played at funerals ! It's the song for people that are in mourning.
Is there another detail suggesting that the Doctor is grieving, hidden in plain sight ? Well of course. I don't think Moffat would destroy the Sonic Screwdriver on a whim without a really thought out reason. Black sunglasses. They're not only for rock stars. People who are in mourning after the loss of a loved one also wear black sunglasses (for instance, at funerals). The Sonic Screwdriver will return once the Doctor has coped.
The Doctor grieves, he aches so much that he sometimes hide his eyes behind black sunglasses, so that everybody thinks he's just being goofy and is in a rock star phase. He's the Doctor, that's what he does. Still, I love that he plays guitar, Capaldi is brilliant, but I'm convinced there is something more to this. Of all songs, he chooses to play Amazing Grace, alone.
The way that he talks about Clara lately, there's something more to it. He made sure that Clara could be there after his speech because he says really nice things to her, as if he was trying to make up for something, to say things he wishes he had said before, when he still had the chance... But hey, he has a time machine so he may just be doing that right now.
Also, the next two-parter is named after Edgar Allan Poe's poem, The Raven. My all time favorite poem, and it just happens that it deals with a man grieving after a terrible loss, and torturing himself with the memories of the person deceased.
I'm genuinely scared of what will happen in the next episodes. I've always liked Clara. I'm just wondering what the Doctor will do about whatever's supposed to happen (and have happened already from his perspective, if my theory is correct). Will he act the way he did for Ashildr ?
In episode 5 or 6 he said :
- You're always talking about what you can and can't do, but you never tell me the rules.
- We're time travelers. We tread softly. It's okay to make ripples, but not tidal waves.
This season deals with the consequences of the Doctor's actions, and he chose his new face by remembering a guy in Pompei for whom he had broken the rules. He did so again with Ashildr, and I hope he'll find a way to do it again for Clara...
Either way, I think we're all focused on the ripples in front of us, so much that we're not seeing the gigantic tidal wave coming from behind.
I love how the different thematics have been treated this season, the authors have indeed treaded softly, there are a lot of hints in each episode, and I think after the end of the season we'll look at some scenes in these episodes in a totally new (and sad) way.
Of course I may be totally wrong, but I think my theories have some ground and it's not that far-fetched for this show. If I'm right, well it means that what the authors intended is playing out beautifully, it is some solid, clever, thoughtful and touching writing.
Also, why is it that nobody seems to understand what Osgood means when she says that it doesn't matter if she's human or zygon ? She says «I'll answer the day nobody cares about the answer ». Of course, it's like if I asked my neighbor « are you french or morrocan ? ». Why the fuck would someone ask this kind of question ? Tolerance and open-mindedness are some of the main themes of the episode, basically anything that can work against radicalisation. What Osgood is saying is that the day this question is not asked anymore, she will truly be accepted for the individual she is, but there's still a long way to go. Asking the question is sowing bad seeds, and even if the Doctor asks out of genuine scientific curiosity, he's given the same answer. I think it's this determination that makes him a fan of Osgood in the end. She's a symbol of peace and tolerance and nothing, not even The Doctor she adores, is able to weaken her stance on the subject.
But then again, my interpretation could be wrong.
Oh my, what a long ass post...
