Face the Raven (TV story): Difference between revisions

{{Infobox Story

|season number  = Series 9 (Doctor Who)

|enemy          = [[Ashildr|Mayor Me]]

|writer          = [[Sarah Dollard]]

|broadcast date  = [[21 November (releases)|21 November]] [[2015 (releases)|2015]]

|network        = [[BBC One]]

}}{{you may|Face the Raven (reference book)|n1=the reference book of the same name}}

 

The episode saw the return of [[Rigsy]] from [[Series 8 (Doctor Who)|series 8]]'s ''[[Flatline (TV story)|Flatline]]'', and saw [[Ashildr]] make her third appearance in the series, as well as her first time meeting with Clara since ''[[The Girl Who Died (TV story)|The Girl Who Died]]''.

The Doctor having to face the loss of Clara would set the stage for the climax of the [[Series 9 (Doctor Who)|Series 9]] arc. Upon discovering the root cause of the events that led up to her demise, the Doctor would shift into a quiet but insurmountable fury, seeking answers and justice for his companion.

The Doctor and Clara enter the TARDIS after an adventure when they get a call from [[Rigsy]], who said that a [[Chronolock|mysterious tattoo]] has appeared on the back of his neck and is counting down to zero. They arrive at his flat finding out he has a [[Jen (Face the Raven)|fiancee]] and a [[Lucy (Face the Raven)|newborn daughter]]. He tells them he has no idea on how the [[tattoo]] got there and that he doesn't remember any events from the previous twenty-four hours. His [[iPhone|mobile phone]]'s screen is cracked and Clara can't find any evidence of any activity. The Doctor scans him and discovers that Rigsy has been in contact with [[alien]] life and that he will die when the countdown gets to zero.

The Doctor and Clara attempt to help him by trying to piece together his movements over the last twenty-four hours. Looking at maps of [[London]] in the [[Great British Library]] to find where Rigsy may have been, Clara mentions something called a “[[trap street]]”; a street invented by [[cartographer]]s (map makers) to catch people who would copy their maps without giving the proper credit. They search for the street, finding it when Rigsy drops his phone and begins to remember what happened.

Entering the alley that contains the street, they find that it is occupied by "refugees" of various aliens species who appear human to each other by use of a telepathic field. Soon, they encounter [[Ashildr]], who is “Mayor Me” of the street. She explains that the street is a refugee camp and that Rigsy is being sentenced to death for killing [[Anah]], a two-faced [[Janus (species)|Janus]] female. He had been retconned and given time to say goodbye to family. She also reveals that the tattoo is a chronolock that leads a [[Quantum Shade]], which appears normally as a [[raven]], to find him at the predetermined time; killing the victim when the countdown gets to zero.

The Doctor and Clara believe that Rigsy did not kill Anah and has been framed for the murder. Me allows them to investigate the case and to convince everyone that he did not commit the crime so that the truce in the street is at peace and there will be no rivalry.

Later, [[Chronolock guy|a man]] had a chronolock on the neck for stealing medical rations and his wife tells him to pass it on to her. Ashildr announces that she ''can'' remove the chronolock but she will not as peace on the street must remain absolute. Everyone watches as the raven flies into the man and he dies in agony. Clara soon learns that a chronolock can be passed on to any willing recipient, and chooses to take Rigsy's as she has absolute protection over herself from being in danger. Rigsy is reluctant, but Clara talks him around and he agrees to pass it on. He does so, leaving Clara with 33 minutes.

When asking others questions, the Doctor discovers that Rigsy tried to call the Doctor when he had found out he was in the trap street and believes Me was trying to get him to come here. Clara also discovers that everyone except [[Anahson]], the "son" of Anah, was looking at Rigsy in a different way to everyone else. The Doctor and Clara find out she is really a girl and is dressed up as a boy to stay safe and to hide her ability to find the past and future in someone. Using her ability, she tells them that Me had made up a mystery to bring them here.

They all go to where Anah's body is and find out she is alive and put inside a [[stasis chamber]] and can be only unlocked by the TARDIS key. It appears that this was all a trap to allow Me to gain possession of the TARDIS, but the Doctor refuses to deprive a girl of her mother and uses his key to open the chamber. When he unlocks it, his wrist is trapped and a [[teleport bracelet]] is wrapped around his arm. Me arrives and tells them that this was never about the TARDIS... Me was contacted and told if she wanted the street kept safe and secret she had to hand over the Doctor, who is to be teleported away. Me asks for his [[confession dial]] and what it is before she activates it. When she goes to remove the chronolock from Rigsy, they discover Clara has it, causing Me to be stunned and horrified at this, protesting that she never meant to harm anyone. Clara is confused at this, causing the Doctor to ask about how she knew how to remove it. She says that Rump told her that she can pass it on, but before she can say the rest, she suddenly pauses with dawning comprehension, so Me finishes with: "''But you can't cheat it altogether."''

Rigsy, shocked, says that Clara didn't tell him that and asks to have the chronolock back. But Me says that she had arranged to use the chronolock on Rigsy and that she would not kill him. Clara broke that contract by accepting the chronolock from Rigsy and Me cannot take it off her or give it back to Rigsy. Clara is doomed to die...

The Doctor, refusing the fact that Clara is going to die, admits to her that he cannot save her. However he turns on Me and insists she save Clara. When Me says she can't, he becomes furious and threatens to unleash [[hell]] on her for all of time ''and ''end the secret of Trap Street, even promising to bring the [[Dalek|''Daleks'']] to destroy Trap Street, unless she saves Clara. Me tries to calm herself by pointing out the Doctor wouldn't do such a thing. However, the Doctor furiously yells ''"The Doctor is no longer here! You are stuck with me!"'', showing him ready to unleash his wrath on her and everyone's she attempting to protect.

Clara is shocked by the Doctor's anger and tries to calm him down. She makes him promise that he will not harm anyone who will come in his way of this and will not take revenge on what has happened, reminding him why he became the Doctor. As the Doctor starts to speak, Clara silences him with a hug, telling him that everything he is about to say she already knows. Clara touches the Doctor's face in sadness, who in turn tenderly kisses her hand.

When the chronolock counts down to zero, Clara goes outside to face the raven. The Doctor follows and watches her from afar in despair. She stands there waiting for the raven and asks herself to be brave. The raven strikes Clara, causing her to scream in pain. The black mist of the Quantum Shade comes out of her mouth, and she drops to the ground.

The Doctor returns inside and tells Me in quiet fury that what Clara had said was not to save him but to save ''her''. He says that he will do what he can to follow Clara's wishes, but advises her to stay out of his way, saying that the universe can be a small place when he's angered. Numb at the Doctor's anger, Me then teleports him away.

Sometime later, Rigsy is seen putting the finishing touches on his latest bit of [[graffiti]]- a mural dedicated to Clara on the front entrance of the now empty TARDIS. He then walks away, leaving the abandoned TARDIS with no Clara and no Doctor.

|Electrician5=Andrew Williams

|Carpenter8=Keith Richards

== References ==

* The Doctor threatens Me to save Clara, saying that he will bring [[Unified Intelligence Taskforce|UNIT]], the [[Zygon]]s, the [[Dalek]]s, and the [[Cyberman (Mondas)|Cybermen]] down on her trap street.

* Me mentions she had been in the trap street "since Waterloo." The Doctor believes she is referring to the [[Battle of Waterloo]]. However, she corrects him, saying that she meant the [[London Waterloo|Waterloo station]].

== Story notes ==

* In one scene, there is a poster with a diagram of a [[flux capacitor]], a direct reference to ''[[Back to the Future]]''. It is accompanied by writings in [[Aurebesh]], the main alphabet used in the ''[[Star Wars]]'' franchise. This writing spells out "[[Delorean]]", the car used in the ''[[Back to the Future]]'' franchise.

* Clara becomes the first ongoing, longterm companion to permanently die on-screen since [[Adric]] in [[TV]]: ''[[Earthshock (TV story)|Earthshock]]''. Circumstances in later episodes do not undo the fact her final death is depicted. Though her predecessors [[Amy Pond]] and [[Rory Williams]] were also killed in their final regular appearance, their actual deaths were off-screen and depicted as happening long after they left the TARDIS.

* The Doctor and Clara find that Rigsy's memory has been "[[retcon]]ned". The retcon drug was frequently used by [[Torchwood Three]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Everything Changes (TV story)|Everything Changes]]'')

* Clara tells the Doctor that his "reign of terror" will end at the sight of the "first crying child", noting his need to be kind when children are sad ([[TV]]: ''[[The Beast Below (TV story)|The Beast Below]]'', ''[[The Day of the Doctor (TV story)|The Day of the Doctor]]'', ''[[The Girl Who Died (TV story)|The Girl Who Died]]'')

=== DVD releases ===