Hell Bent (TV story): Difference between revisions

It was the final regular appearance of [[Jenna Coleman]] as [[Clara Oswald]]. Although Clara met her demise in ''[[Face the Raven (TV story)|Face the Raven]]'', the [[Twelfth Doctor]] arranged for her to be extracted from time using Time Lord technology; Clara would remain conscious of everything happening around her, leaving her alive but no longer affected by physical qualities such as breathing, heartbeat or even ageing.  

[[Ohila]] and the [[Sisterhood of Karn]] also reappeared, wherein Ohila was hinted to have a greater personal history with the Doctor that may have gone back to his earlier days. [[Ashildr|Me]], also known as Ashildr, made another appearance as well, having persisted to the final moments of time. She eventually ended up in possession of [[Clara's TARDIS|a TARDIS]] which the Doctor stole, and began travelling with Clara, who was not ready to return to Gallifrey and face her end. ''Hell Bent'' ended up being full circle the Doctor, where he was once again running away in his TARDIS. The story also saw the return of the [[sonic screwdriver]], a brand new model to replace the model seen between ''[[The Eleventh Hour (TV story)|The Eleventh Hour]]'' and its retirement in ''[[The Magician's Apprentice (TV story)|The Magician's Apprentice]]'' / ''[[The Witch's Familiar (TV story)|The Witch's Familiar]]''.  

In the chamber of the [[High Council]], the [[Cloister Bell]]s are ringing without end, warning of great danger. [[Rassilon]] wonders if that means the Doctor has returned; [[the General]] confirms it, radioing a guard named [[Gastron]]. Gastron has arrived via lift to the [[Cloisters]], being advised not to approach them; he reports that [[Cloister Wraith]]s are more active. Rassilon wonders why the Doctor hasn't arrived yet. [[Ohila]] enters the chamber with two guards, annoying Rassilon that the [[Sisterhood of Karn]] would arrive uninvited; she tells him that at the end of time, one should expect the presence of immortals. Having heard that the Doctor has returned home, she came to see the resulting "fireworks".  

In the meantime, the Doctor is trying to enjoy a bowl of soup, with a small crowd of [[Gallifreyan]]s watching him in awe. Gastron arrives in a military craft, asking that everyone back away; they don't comply, even when he warns that its for their safety. Gastron orders the Doctor drop his weapons and come peacefully.  Instead of going with Gastron, the Doctor walks up and drags his heel through the sand, drawing a line; he then resumes eating his meal, unconcerned. Watching from the Council room, Rassilon wonders what the Doctor is up to; Ohila retorts that he's just finishing his soup. The General decides they should try talking to the Doctor; words are his weapons, but when did they stop being theirs? The General and some soldiers try, failing; so does the High Council. Rassilon wonders what the Doctor is doing. Ohila then goes on to explain the Doctor doesn't blame the Time Lords for the horrors of the [[Time War]], just Rassilon.  

The Doctor demands to know why he was imprisoned within his own confession dial; it's meant to purify a Time Lord's spirit so they can be uploaded into [[the Matrix]] without regrets, not to be used as a torture chamber. The General starts to explain, but is caught lying by the Doctor a few times; seeing he can't prevent him from knowing the whole truth, the General explains in detail. All Matrix predictions foresaw the birth of [[The Hybrid|a hybrid]] from two warrior races that will stand in the ruins of Gallifrey as it breaks millions of hearts to mend its own; the Doctor mockingly asks "what colour is is it?", pointing out "the problem with prophecies; they never tell you anything important." Ohila tells him he shouldn't be playing the part of the fool. The Doctor says he needs help; he turns down the General and Ohila, saying people with bad hats cramp his style. He needs to talk to an old friend...  

Clara's death by the raven is shown again; however, right before it kills her, time freezes. Confused, she looks behind her to see the Doctor looking out from Me's home. She then sees a light, with the future Doctor motioning for her to come into the light. Clara complies, finding herself in a sterile room with technicians and the General. Clara asks where she is and the Doctor tells her they are on Gallifrey "billions of years in the future and [that] the universe is pretty much over." Clara hears a ringing in her ears, as the Doctor and General argue over telling her the truth. The Doctor finally relents, and explains she is frozen between two heart-beats; the ringing was her realising that she can't hear her heartbeat anymore. Thus she doesn't have a pulse or need to breathe (though she still does so out of habit). The General goes on to explain that her death is a fixed point in time; they will return her once they find out what they can from her about the Hybrid.  

However, the Doctor takes the General's gun, threatening "on pain of death, no-one take a [[selfie]]". Clara is shocked by his actions, wondering what happened to him since she died. The Doctor asks for a human compatible [[neural block]]. The General informs the Doctor that his weapon has no stun setting, and that there is no way he'll allow the Doctor to leave the room with Clara. The Doctor coldly pronounces, "I will not let Clara die," before asking the General what regeneration he's on; confirming his regeneration is the tenth (meaning he is not at the end of his regeneration cycle), the General is wished good luck and shot. The Doctor takes the device and drops the gun, running off with Clara. Clara is shocked by what the Doctor has done, but he explains death on Gallifrey is basically man flu. Gastron arrives in the extractor room, reporting the regeneration; he asks the General if he's okay, finding that he's regenerated into a female. The General is glad to be back to normal, explaining to Gastron that her last incarnation was her only male body; and sneeringly asks "dear god, how do you cope with all that ego?" The moment she starts wondering where the Doctor has gone, Ohila enters the room; she explains that the Doctor ran straight into the most dangerous place on Gallfrey.  

The Doctor takes Clara to the Cloisters, an area located below Gallifrey's Capitol; it is guarded by the Wraiths, which only attack if they attempt to leave. Many enemies attempted to steal information from Gallifrey during the [[Cloister Wars]], and were imprisoned within the vines - [[Dalek]]s, [[Cyberman|Cybermen]] and [[Weeping Angel]]s are among these victims. There is a secret door they can use to escape, he used in during his childhood when he got lost; the wraiths use projections of enemies who attacked to attempt scaring them into retreating, to no avail. Clara asks what he's talking about, so the Doctor explains that "the Time Lords have got a big computer made of ghosts, in a crypt, guarded by more ghosts". They find the secret hatch and begin working on getting it open. The Doctor begins telling her about the time he spent in the confession dial; they are observed  by the General and Ohila, who decide to go after them. Clara, meanwhile, is shocked to learn that the Doctor knew that the Time Lords were responsible for her death; he pretended to know about the Hybrid, so he could get back to Gallifrey and use their tech to resurrect her. He just "had to hang in there for a bit".  

The General and Ohila arrive via lift, demanding that the Doctor come with them; Clara silences them as she tries to get the Doctor to tell her how long he was trapped in his confession dial, getting no result. Wondering how long the Doctor spent inside the confession dial, Clara turns to the two and demands to know how long. Thinking a moment, Ohila says 4.5 billion years; the General explains that the Doctor could have left any time he wanted, just needing to tell the Time Lords what he knew. Clara is shocked by this, realising that she meant more to him than she thought possible. Turning to the Doctor, she tearfully asks him why he'd put himself through hell for so long, and he replies with a simple, "I had a duty of care", and the significance of what had become a mantra for him in recent adventures is brought into sharp relief. She tells him that "people like me and you, we should say things to one another" and, taking his arm, proceeds to do so - words kept private from the audience and from the General and Ohila, to whom she refuses to divulge what she said.

Clara yells at the General and Ohila with a furious tirade - "Do you know why you have to hide here at the end of time? You're monsters! You are hated. You. Are. Hated. And by no-one more than me." Smirking, she then tells them part of what she told the Doctor; he doesn't need to worry because, they will be looking at her. The Doctor has gotten through the maintenance hatch, and is heading to the repair shop to steal [[Clara's TARDIS|a TARDIS]]; as one appears around her, Clara waves good-bye to them. The Doctor asks Clara what she thinks of the original design for the control rooms; she's not too fond of it. Ohila demands that the Doctor face her; seeing her face on the monitor, the Doctor opens the door and sticks his head out. Ohila points out that the Doctor has gone against everything he believes in, just to give Clara false hope; he just shuts the door and takes off. The General wonders where the Doctor is going; Ohila says "away".  

**It also shows the first change of skin colour from white to black. The first incident was of [[River Song|Melody Pond to Mels]], but the change was never seen, but the change the other way around was seen in [[TV]]: ''[[Let's Kill Hitler (TV story)|Let's Kill Hitler]]''.

**Me states that the Master loves chaos. ([[TV]]: ''[[Terror of the Autons (TV story)|Terror of the Autons]]'', et al.)