Theory:Doctor Who television discontinuity and plot holes/Hell Bent

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This page is for discussing the ways in which Hell Bent doesn't fit well with other DWU narratives. You can also talk about the plot holes that render its own, internal narrative confusing.

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• The Doctor's reasoning for up and deciding to part ways with Clara seems flimsy. It's supposedly because of what the fear of losing her did to him, but if she's essentially immortal until she goes back to the raven, then presumably they could travel for the rest of time and he would never have that fear again. And it's not as if the web of time would be damaged at all, since we're led to believe that Clara and Ashildir can travel about with no consequences. So, what was standing in their way really?
  • I think it's largely due to Ashildir's theory that the Hybrid was the combination of the Doctor and Clara. If they continued down the path they were on, the Doctor would only become more ruthless and would end up fulfilling the prophecy. So he came to the conclusion that it would be best if they separated.
• Not necessarily a plot hole, but the Time Lords put up with a lot from the Doctor in this episode. Respect for a war hero is one thing, but given how ruthless we've seen the Time Lords be in the past, it's hard to believe that the general would just let the Doctor shoot him/her and then just stay back as he monkeys around in the Cloister.
  • Considering the general know not only of the doctor exploit during the war, but may know about the doctor taking care of Omega (Twice), Goth and of course valeyard spectacle. He may have decided he rather risk regeneration then the doctor wrath.
  • The General also seems to personally respect the Doctor quite a bit. He did also save the General, the High Council, and indeed every single one of them from destruction by the Daleks. He is more than just a war hero.
• How did Ashildr/Me tell the Doctor "Clara died billions of years ago" if she has a finite memory? In "Face the Raven", she said something along the lines of "immortal body, finite memory". So how did she remember Clara dying?
  • Its stated during the scene that she's the one keeping together the small pocket of universe left so she has somewhere to live, so its completely possible she could've done something with her memory.
  • She just didn't forget that. A finite memory doesn't mean she forgets everything. In The Woman Who Lived we learn that she forgot her name and her village, but she still remembered the Doctor.
  • There's also the point that she tends to keep notes about things that happen to her. She may have considered this a major event (and rightfully so) and just kept up with that journal entry.
• How can Ashildr live until the end of the universe? I mean, really? Even Captain Jack Harkness, who was immortalised by Bad Wolf the almost-all-powerful-entity, faced death after living so much time. How can simple medical circuit make someone immortal by that time? After all, where are the Mires? They are the ones who invented the magical immortal circuit.
  • She lives because she created a Reality Bubble where she can live and watch the universe dying, the other immortals are all dead because of the end of the universe
  • Additionally, it's not just an ordinary Mire medical kit - the Doctor modified it when he saved her life.
• Ashildr claims to be at the end of the universe but then says that Clara died billions of years ago, not trillions as we were led to believe back in "Utopia", where the end of time was stated as being the year 100 trillion. To further this, The General also states that Clara has been dead for 4.5 billion years, "half the life of the universe". That's means the universe lives for 9 billion years, most certainly not 100 trillion. This is most certainly a discontinuity?
  • It was just a figure of speech. He didn't mean half the life of the universe, he was just talking about a long time
  • What about Ashildr's claim of Clara dying billions of years ago?
    • There are many billions in a trillion, so it is correct. She could've said millions and it would still have been correct. Not very accurate, but correct.
  • It could also be that the Time Lords were speaking from the Doctor's perspective of time. He was transported straight after Clara's death into the Confession Dial, where he spent over 4 billion years, and then breaks free onto Gallifrey. Ashildr's claim of billions of years? Hard to say.
    • It could have been a figure of speech, or she was also speaking from the Doctor's perspective.
• The Tenth Doctor made a huge fuss over regenerating, to the point where he claimed that it was essentially another man walking away with his memories... yet Twelve dismisses regeneration as 'man-flu'? Huh?
  • The Tenth Doctor also hated guns, the Time Lords, taking advantage of his victory in the Time War, etc. The Twelfth Doctor is much different psychologically; the Tenth Doctor was very emotional, so even though every incarnation is a separate persona, it was also a minor inconvenience for some. I think it's mainly that the Tenth and Twelfth Doctors are different personas, so they have different perspectives.
  • To further that, he also wasn't going to let the man stay standing, he wouldn't "get out of the way". Also, the Doctor was willing to shoot the Master or Rassilon back in "The End of Time"; he only changed his mind when he realised the link wasn't either of them.
  • The Tenth Doctor is literally the only Doctor who made a big deal about regeneration. The only other doctor who got upset about regenerating was the second and that was because he was being forced to regenerate. It should be obvious that the Tenth Doctor's reaction is the exception to the reality of what regeneration is like for a Time Lord.
    • I think it's worth noting that the Eleventh Doctor dismissed the Tenth's attitude towards regeneration as "vanity issues".
      • Remember too that in this story the Doctor has really gone off the rails. He's prepared to risk the destruction of all time and space to save Clara. 'You've broken every rule you've ever lived by' says the Sisterhood of Karn. 'I've gone too far' he says at the end. So naturally he'll dismiss robbing a fellow time lord of a life as inconsequential. We really see the Doctor at his lowest. I found myself almost siding with the Time Lords, especially when he Doctor is told that all he had to do to escape the confession dial was admit what he knew of the hybrid.Great story, though I was a little disappointed that, having been reintroduced to the Matrix after three decades, it played no real role in the story. Similarly the sliders, scary as they were, didn't exactly do anything.
        • Fair points but I don't think it changes my initial comment about the Tenth Doctor much - he really had the most negative view of regeneration of any Doctor. The Doctor may have gone off the rails in this episode but the idea that regeneration isn't actually big deal for most Time Lords isn't necessarily him going to far.

You also have to think though that at that point, he knew this was his last regeneration. He knew that that was it. His last incarnation. Imagine how you might get when you're at that time of your life. At first, you really fear it, but then, once you're closer to it (Eleven, circa Time of the Doctor), you sort of just accept it. Ten was just suuuuuper scared is all.

• The Doctor said he was looking for the TARDIS in London after losing memory. So he just got to Nevada, then went to England, then again to Nevada? It seemed that he was going to the bar straight after waking up.