Full Length - Doctor Who | 9x12 "Hell Bent"
Added 2023-09-30 02:56:13 +0000 UTC
Comments
Hellbent is probably one of the most devisive episodes in Doctor who. There are people who love it and there are people who hate it. Subversive in nature, It starts like a typical finale, high stakes, end of the world type stuff and then switches to an intimate character piece. I can understand that some people could find it quite underwhelming especially if they were expecting that type of finale. Coming of the back of arguably the best Doctor who episode maybe adds to that. However if you look at series 9, I think there's clear foreshadowing that things may go that way. In Dark Water the Doctor refuses to bring Danny back,knowing the damage it could cause. The girl who died, he states that he's sick of losing people. Before the Flood "I'll come back for you,I swear. The Doctor's promise to himself to save people, even just one,becomes his undoing. There is a criticism that this undoes Clara's death scene but Clara dies in Face the Raven. Her ending is not in Hell bent. Her ending is in Face the raven. Her appearance in Hell Bent is post death because It's already happened. I can also see it's flaws. Maybe the longer run time isn't necessary but I still think there's a lot to like. Clara becomes a Doctor with her own TARDIS and companion. I think it's fitting for a companion who left such an impression on the doctor.
Jennifer Mcilvenny
2023-09-30 16:53:40 +0000 UTCSeries 8 and nine are so thematically rich, dealing in themes of death, loss and grief. They are interwoven throughout
Jennifer Mcilvenny
2023-09-30 14:39:23 +0000 UTCI have very mixed feelings on this episode but I do understand what it was trying to do and think that there are some very poignant moments within. I don't think it needed to be an hour honestly, and I think the hybrid stuff was handled pretty poorly in the grand scheme of things, but also the inter-character pieces of the episode were what really did well imo. Overall I think I like it but absolutely understand those who don't. I am very much looking forward to your discussion on this episode but also the 3 episode arc + Clara's arc as a whole. I think Clara is much better than fans give her credit for, and her arc of addiction and self-destruction fascinates me.
The Kernewek Penguin
2023-09-30 11:22:12 +0000 UTCNotes I jotted down while rewatching: - New callbacks to season premieres I hadn't noticed before: The plane shadow over the table from "9x1 The Magician's Apprentice", and Twelve looking into the reflective shards of glass frim "8x1 "Deep Breath". And, the debut of Clara Oswald in S7 has a line about not having to wait for breakfast when you have a time machine, which Twelve references when they're in the TARDIS. - I really do love the time extraction as a plot device for how practical and natural it feels for Time Lords resolving conflicts. It's so clean and straightforward: take someone out of their time stream at the very last second, get infinite use out of them and then restore them without disrupting anything. I don't know, it's oddly satisfying to me. - Clara's unwavering determination followed by immediate regret and remorse after the memory wipe feels so painfully human. Also, because recently you mentioned Arcane in your Eva discussion, it reminded me of the scene with Jinx and Silco in the season finale. Overall preliminary pre-discussion thoughts: Very excited for the discussion. I noticed a mixed expression, sort of a "I don't know how I feel about this" from you towards the end which is understandable as this is one of the most hated episodes of the whole show (many consider it to be one of the worst). I've rewatched it more than Heaven Sent, and found everything from when they escape in the basic TARDIS to the end captivating when I was a kid, with Clara opening the door to the tardis as her theme played being my favorite moment of the whole show for a while (however, while this show has a problem with blaring the same tracks over and over, I think it's even worse in this episode with how many damn times Clara's theme plays hahah To me Hell Bent has always been a few golden scenes surrounded by a lot of hollow filler (not exactly what you want in a season finale), with the filler getting worse but the gold remaining the same after rewatching -- I think the Me stuff has improved, though. I know a lot of the scenes are for atmosphere, but with the hour runtime I question if all of it was necessary -- well I don't question it, I know it isn't. Still, I maintain that for me it somehow manages to make a Clara exit after THREE fake-outs (five if you count every Clara iteration, making this her sixth exit, oof) actually feel both meaningful and emotional. I've talked at length about how meta Capaldi's era is, and I'm sure I'll get into it more with the end, but I think by incorporating that meta aspect into this episode it stays sharp and poignant. But I really can't blame anyone who feels a disconnect with it because again after so many exits, culminating in a very unconventional and arguably anticlimactic narrative (with ambiguous or nonexistent answers depending on how you look at it), it's a difficult spot Moffat put himself in and I'd never try to defend it on a factual basis, as it's a very subjective emotional experience for me.
tom
2023-09-30 05:10:42 +0000 UTCAs much as I really love the upcoming season 11, this episode feels like it could have been the perfect regeneration episode. Rather than a memory wipe, the Doctor choosing to die and regenerate to stop the hybrid and save Clara. We've got a lot more great stories with 12 to come though, cannot wait.
SeeJay
2023-09-30 04:41:39 +0000 UTCI personally really like this episode and the shot at the end of hik entering the tardis is beautiful, I can't wait to see you reaction tomorrow when I wake up
Cas_nc12
2023-09-30 04:07:06 +0000 UTCYES
tom
2023-09-30 02:57:08 +0000 UTC
