‘Doctor Who’ recap: ‘The Name of the Doctor’

In Doctor Who’s season 7 finale, “The Name of the Doctor,” Vastra, Jenny, Strax, and River Song return, and the mystery surrounding Clara is explained.

The episode opens with the 1st Doctor stealing the TARDIS in Gallifrey. Clara shows up and tells him he’s making a mistake and to chose the other one. There’s a sequence of Clara trying to find the Doctor throughout time. She says: "I blew into this world on a leaf. I’m still blowing. I don’t think I’ll ever land. I’m Clara Oswin. I’m the impossible girl. I was born to save the Doctor.”

In 1893 London, a mass murder is singing a tune about the Whispermen in prison. Vastra shows up to get information from him, and he says he knows about the Doctor and his secrets. Vastra returns home to Jenny, and Jenny hears strange whispers. Strax has the day off and is in Glasgow fighting until they send him a message. Vastra wants to have a conference call with Strax, Jenny, Clara, and River Song. In order to have the call, they have to be asleep. Clara is trying to make a souffle and notices a letter on the counter from Vastra. The letter has a substance on it which makes Clara unconscious. Clara and River show up at the call. An awkward moment occurs when Clara mentions she didn’t know Professor Song was a woman.

Vastra tells them about the murderer, Clarence Dimarco and the coordinates he gave to her for his life. He said it housed a huge secret concerning the Doctor. River mentions she knows the Doctor’s name and Clara is surprised she knows it, given that she knows little about the Doctor and River’s relationship. Vastra asks if River has spoken to the Doctor, but she says no. Meanwhile a Whisperman has broken into Vastra and Jenny’s home. Vastra says she trusts the information because the man said Trenzalore, which she has heard before, and River recognizes the name. Jenny notes she didn’t lock the door and someone is in the room. She says she’s dead and disappears from the call. Vastra and Strax wake up, thanks to River. Whispermen show up in the call, as does the Great Intellgience. He says the Doctor must go to Trenzalore in order to save his friends, while River says he can’t go there.

Clara wakes up and the Doctor is blindfolded searching for Angie and Artie. Clara tells him the kids tricked him so they could go to the movies. Clara asks about River and tells the Doctor what happened during the call. The Doctor goes to the TARDIS and links Clara to the TARDIS to find the coordinates. He says Trenzalore is where his grave is, and he can’t ever go there. He says he has to go there to save his friends, so they head to Trenzalore even though the TARDIS disagrees with the destination and shuts down right above Trenzalore.

They arrive at the graveyard and see the TARDIS, though it’s bigger than it is right now. River Song is still linked with Clara and talks to her, while the Doctor notices River Song’s grave, even though it shouldn’t be there. Whispermen come to attack them, while River mentions her grave is probably an entrance to the tomb. The Doctor also mentions in that moment that River is his wife, which surprises Clara yet again. In the tomb, Strax and Vastra are there, along with Jenny’s dead body. Vastra demands Strax save Jenny, which he thankfully does. The Great Intelligence shows up with Whispermen and he tells them they’re at the Doctor’s grave. River tells Clara about her death at the library and how the Doctor uploaded her and left her "like a book on a shelf."

The Great Intelligence talks about the Doctor’s demise and says he’s a destroyer. He says the Doctor will have various names before he dies including, “the storm, the beast, Valeyard.” Vastra asks him how he knows this information, and he claims he is information and shows he can alter his appearance and use the Whispermen. Meanwhile, Clara and the Doctor go through the TARDIS and Clara keeps remembering things the Doctor made her forget. They show up at the entrance of the tomb, and the Great Intelligence says the Doctor’s name is the way to open the door.

The Great Intelligence says his friends will die if he does not give his name. The Whispermen attack and the Doctor refuses to tell his name and then shouts “please” and the doors open. River told the door his name to save them all. The Doctor pushes open the doors to the TARDIS and they see the Doctor’s “scar tissue,” his timeline, from time traveling over the years. He uses his screwdriver and the voices of the Doctor are heard throughout the room. The Doctor falls to the ground and says there’s paradoxes because he’s at his own grave. The Great Intelligence enters his memories and says he will destroy his life, even though it means killing himself. The Doctor’s timeline is being written by the Great Intelligence.

Clara is questioning how she saved him in the different timelines. Vastra sees the stars are going out and that Jenny has disappeared. Strax doesn’t know her anymore and she vaporizes him to save her life. Meanwhile, Clara decides to give her life to save the Doctor’s, so he can live and so can all the people he’s ever saved. River tells her not to, because there will be a million copies of herself to try to save the Doctor. She turns to him before she enters his timeline and says “Run you clever boy and remember me”.

Clara is seen following the Doctor throughout time. All of them but Clara show up in the tomb. The Doctor is determined to save Clara, while River tells him he can’t go through his timeline. She tries to smack him to get his attention, and he grabs her hand. He reveals he’s seen her this whole time, but he didn’t talk to her because he “thought it would hurt too much.” He kisses her and tells her she’s “an echo” and says he doesn’t know how to say goodbye. Before they say their goodbyes and she tells him she was linked with Clara and she’s still there, so Clara can’t really be dead.

Clara is in a dark place, and hears the Doctor’s voice. He sends her leaf and finds her. But then, he sees a man and is afraid. The Doctor says the man is him, but he’s not the Doctor. “The name you choose is like a promise you make. He’s the one that broke the promise,” the Doctor says. Clara faints and the Doctor picks her up and says the man is his secret. The man says, “What I did, I did without choice in the name of peace and sanity.” To which the Doctor replies, "But not in the name of the Doctor." The man turns around and is introduced as John Hurt as the Doctor.

Quote and Comments:

"The heart is a relatively simple thing." “I've not found it to be so." (Strax and Vastra after he revives Jenny)

I want to know exactly who the man is in the end. Is he a lost regeneration? A future one, a past one, or someone completely different? I’ve read some interesting fan theories so far, but what do you all think? Once again, I adored Jenny, Vastra, and Strax and think it’s a shame they still don’t have their own spinoff. I didn’t enjoy what they did with River and the Doctor. I felt it was pretty terrible of him to ignore her when he could see her just because he didn’t want to get hurt and doesn’t like endings. I like that Clara decided herself to save the Doctor, thus saving everyone he’s ever saved as well. However, I don’t think her entire mystery is solved and I look forward to learning more about her. This personally was not my favorite Doctor Who season finale, but it had memorable moments and I enjoyed seeing so many loved characters in one episode.

Doctor Who returns November 23rd.