Meta: The Time of the Doctor

[elisi]

Welcome to the Meta Café!

However, this is not comprehensive meta, as I only scratch the surface of a few of the main themes, so there will be more later. (One about all the stuff that wouldn’t fit in here, one about Moffat’s story telling and one about Clara. Possibly more.) Hopefully the others will be more coherent, although I’ve tried my best to make it flow. Beware though, at the end I can do nothing more than just stand back and love my Doctor.

Because this is the story of The Man Who Stayed for Christmas.

Trenzalore
As the days passed, and the years, the Doctor stayed true to his word. On the fields of Trenzalore, he stood as protector, both of his own people, and his new home.
Tasha Lem

The man who balked at the dullness of Leadworth, the man who got bored after watching Vincent paint for a day... Found a home in a place that made Leadworth look like Grand Central Station. And stopped running...

He appointed himself Sheriff, just like the gunslinger in A Town Called Mercy, and spent his days fixing toys and fighting monsters... With the light from his own people brightening his life, and the life of his adopted home unfolding all around him.

THE DOCTOR:
Time travel is... damage. It's like a tear in the fabric of reality. That is the scar tissue of my journey through the universe. My path through time and space, from Gallifrey to Trenzalore.

What he didn’t guess then was that he would be travelling from one home to another - and that Trenzalore would be the place where he would find his people calling.

(When Handles tells him that the planet below is Gallifrey, he denies it vehemently, ending with the words: "That is not my home!" But oh, it is...)

I shall get back to the crack further down, for now I want to look at why is the town called Christmas? Yes it’s a lovely idea, and plays on the whole Christmas Special thing, but there are more layers to it...

This story, basically, has the same structure as The Girl in the Fireplace, except with a few roles reversed - specifically the Doctor has Reinette’s role, living along the slow path, whereas Clara is the one to ‘step from one chapter to the next without increase of age’:

REINETTE
There is a vessel in your world... where the days of my life are pressed together like the chapters of a book so that he may step from one to the other without increase of age... while I, weary traveller... must always take the slower path?

And staying means ageing. The Doctor ages at a different rate to the humans around him, but he still ages and grows old.

So thinking, his untrimmed hair fell down about his shoulders, the stone slab at the side of the antelope skin was dented into a little hole by the foot of his brass-handled crutch, and the place between the tree-trunks, where the begging-bowl rested day after day, sunk and wore into a hollow almost as smooth as the brown shell itself; and each beast knew his exact place at the fire. There were few changes in the village. The priest was older, and many of the little children who used to come with the begging-dish sent their own children now; and when you asked of the villagers how long their holy man had lived in Kali’s Shrine at the head of the pass, they answered, “Always.”
From ‘The Miracle of Purun Bhagat’ by Rudyard Kipling

Speaking of the slower path and TGiF, then the Doctor abandons Clara just the way he abandons Rose - and quite simply because other people need him more.





And although he is initially trapped (since the TARDIS takes 300 years to come back because it’s trying to protect Clara at the same time), the second time he could leave whenever he wants - and yet he stays.

Because they are his people and his town. And they need him... It is also, of course, a callback to The Day of the Doctor, and the references to The Beast Below that the episode brought:

If you were that old, and that kind, and the very last of your kind... you chouldn’t just stand there and watch children cry.

And indeed, is there a lovelier image of the Doctor in Trenzalore than the starwhale carrying a whole people on its back?



And we even have the Doctor living ‘below’ - he lives under the church. And - for centuries - he carries the people of Trenzalore. If he leaves, the place disintegrates, and falls. Of course he goes back/stays.

~~~
I said, in my initial reaction, that Moffat went baroque again. The last time that happened to such a degree was The Wedding of River Song, and indeed, the mirrors pile up to a ridiculous degree:

CHURCHILL:
What time do you have, doctor?

MALOKEH:
Two minutes past five, Caesar.

CHURCHILL:
It's always two minutes past five. Day or night, it's always two minutes past five in the afternoon. Why is that?

MALOKEH:
Because that is the time, Caesar.

CHURCHILL:
And the date. Always the 22nd of April. Does it not bother you?

MALOKEH:
The date and the time have always been the same, Caesar. Why should it start bothering me now?

In TWoRS the time of day/date never changed. Here, it is always Christmas - always snowy and with twinkling lights. In TGiF they wonder why the spaceship chose Reinette, not realising that the vessel was called ‘Madame de Pompadour’. There is a similar thing going on here: for Clara it is a single Christmas Day - for the Doctor it is centuries, yet he, too, is living ‘in Christmas’, throughout.

And there is another dimension here, a very gentle breaking of the fourth wall - for us, it is also a single Christmas Day. An hour, as a matter of fact. We are Clara, dipping in and out of the Doctor’s life on Trenzalore, having a story told to us... One that speeds up as time goes on, as centuries pass while we step from one page to another with ease.

But let me go back to the mirrors. The Doctor to a great degree does what River did in TWoRS - he forces time to stop, creating an endless stand-off.

But it’s not just TWoRS - Clara is kept safe and ‘frozen’ by the TARDIS, static and unchanging, much like Abigail in A Christmas Carol, whilst the Doctor ages, like Kazran. (Clara has, in many ways, taken River’s role - I’ll try to get back to that.)

This is also something specific to Clara - she who has lived countless lives, always saving the Doctor. He keeps changing, she stays the same. Leaping into his time stream, she encompasses all of him - from Gallifrey to Trenzalore.



Tasha Lem and her Church
“Tasha Lem is an old friend of the Doctor's. She has worked her way up through her organisation, the Papal Mainframe. We haven't met her before, but we have met her troops. She's like the head of the galactic UN - but much more warlike.

I always meant to ask Steven Moffat if he was referencing Stanislaw Lem, who wrote Solaris. I wondered if it was a nod to this father of sci-fi.”
Orla Brady, the actor who plays Tasha

Names are always important when it comes to Moffat’s characters. Let’s have a look at Tasha Lem. Because there’s more than sci-fi authors here (with thanks to owlsie for the 'Lem' part):

Tasha
The name Tasha is a Russian baby [boy] name. Tasha is an Abbreviation of Natasha - the Russian form of the English Natalie 'Born at Christmas/born on Christmas Day’.

Lem
In Scots ‘Lem’ means 'a disciple of St John’ and in Hebrew it means ‘Belonging/devoted to God’ - both of which of course tie in with Tasha’s ‘nun’ status very nicely.

Now, I like the idea of ‘Space UN’. Despite a few cheap (but funny) digs at religion, Moffat has by now evolved the Church of the Papal Mainframe into a good and solid player, and part of the ‘verse. It is, essentially, the organisation that has stepped into the void left by the Time Lords. They keep the peace, protecting people and planets.

Indeed, towards the end of the Trenzalore Siege, the Church of the Silence is the only thing in the path of the Daleks - again underscoring their position.

(There is, of course, the Shadow Proclamation, but I think Moffat likes the moral complexities of the Church of the Mainframe better. And the Shadow Proclamation was never very... involved in anything. Maybe a lot of bureaucracy, and not a lot of activity? The Church goes out there and gets its hands dirty. Probably because it believes it has a moral obligation/right.)

But going back to the beginning, then Tasha Lem and the Doctor are old friends (so old, that she has not seen his eleventh incarnation before), and they are on very flirty and intimate terms. However, I’d say there are trust issues (she takes his TARDIS key), and Orla Brady has described her character as somewhat scorpion-like, and likely to strike at any point. Which the Doctor likes...

However, when the Doctor discovers the origin of the message (and what it means), Tasha Lem is swift to act. Seeing clearly that letting the Time Lords return would result unmitigated mayhem for the universe, and start the Time War again, she does not hesitate to let the Doctor know that should he act, she will destroy him and Trenzalore - and dedicates her church to Silence Falling.

And thus, we have a delicate balance of mutually assured destruction, as laid out so carefully in ‘Cold War’.

~~~
RIVER:
How do you know who I am?

KOVARIAN:
I *made* you what you are.
Closing Time S6.12

Now, a lot of people have remarked upon the fact that Tasha Lem seems River-like. I shall start by quoting lyricwrites:

‘Kovarian is essentially River's abusive adopted mother. [note: In fairy tale terms, Evil Stepmother] No, as Amy says, she didn't get all her characteristics from Kovarian—but Kovarian was a formative influence.

Kovarian is probably a very close protégé of Tasha Lem, possibly the closest to a daughter that she has. After all, she must have been pretty close to the top in order to commandeer that much of the Church; it makes sense that she'd be Lem's hand-picked successor. It also makes the whole thing more personal, sort of a Shakespearean tragedy that we never get to see.

Thus, Tasha Lem is sort of like River's grandmother. It's a familial resemblance, just emotional rather than genetic.

Which means that (a) the Doctor's relationship to in-laws is getting weirder by the minute, and (b) quite a bit of the episode was filled up with various grandmothers checking out the naked goodies and thinking, "Aw, yeah, Santa's being very good to me!"

Mostly though, then we can trace River’s earliest influences back to the teachings and codes of Tasha Lem’s church. She was brought up by Bossy Psycho Space Nuns, and it shows.

Now follow me through the story of the Silence...

Tasha Lem sets up the initial siege, and dedicates the Church to the Doctor’s Silence. Kovarian 'rebels' - splits from the main church and tries to change the past to stop the whole situation in the first place:

KOVARIAN:
Do you understand yet? Oh, don't worry, I'm a long way away. But I like to keep tabs on you. The child then... What do you think?

DOCTOR:
What is she?

KOVARIAN:
Hope. Hope in this endless, bitter war.

DOCTOR:
What war? Against who?

KOVARIAN:
Against you, Doctor.

Tasha Lem is the Doctor’s friend, but to Kovarian he’s probably only ever been an enemy, and this is the mindset she instils in River. But River - when meeting the Doctor herself and making up her own mind - in her turn rebels against Kovarian, refusing to play her part, and (because she is a Pond, something Kovarian failed to take into account) becomes the Doctor’s protector, keeping him safe and alive until he reaches Trenzalore...

Which brings us back to Tasha Lem and the stalemate. Which is rather beautiful. The Women of the Silence... and Ouroboros.

Also, it is quite obvious why River can’t be present in this particular story. (Apart from the fact that she is dead.) a) This is what she was born to prevent and b) She’s no Tasha Lem. Please compare and contrast:

DOCTOR: River, you and I, we know what this means. We are ground zero of an explosion that will engulf all reality. Billions on billions will suffer and die.

RIVER: I'll suffer if I have to kill you.

DOCTOR: More than every living thing in the universe?!

RIVER: Yes.

Vs.

TASHA LEM: None of this was for you, you fatuous egotist. It was for the peace!

Not that River didn’t mature as she grew - as we see in her wonderful dressing down in AGMGTW - but at heart she’s a very particular kind of psychopath:

Also, you have to remember, she’s a specifically engineered psychopath and it never really goes away - she loves her mum and dad, and her fella, but the rest of the universe can go hang. She falls in with the Doctor’s moral code because she loves him, not because she especially feels it - bad girl, turned good (kind of).
Moffat

Tasha Lem is the head of a church/peace keeping organisation. Her objectives are to keep the peace, to sacrifice the few for the sake of the many if it comes to it.

Now, I shall ask you to imagine River being present at the end of ‘The Time of the Doctor’. The Doctor is literally walking to his death, old, frail and helpless, calmly expecting the Daleks to finally do him in - and River WOULDN’T personally kill every single one of them? Seriously? River is a Pond with a Time head, and she rejected the church and her teachings a long, long time ago. Her only objective is to Keep the Doctor Safe. The universe be damned.

~~~
”Flying the TARDIS was always easy”
Tasha Lem

Please consider the following list of what the Church of the Silence have done with Time Lord technology:

- Part-created River Song. Which included a) knowing that exposure to the Time Vortex would enable Time Lord abilities, b) how to utilise and expand upon that so as to create an actual human Time Lord, and c) how to keep a direct line to the TARDIS at all times in order to keep flesh!Amy ‘online’.

- Exploded the TARDIS, including flying it remotely.

- Built a proto-TARDIS (seen in The Impossible Astronaut and The Lodger).

So far, the only explanation for all this that we have had is Eleven’s ‘Yes, they’re very clever’ from AGMGTW, and - unless we in the future discover that someone like Omega is behind everything - this is all the work of Kovarian/Tasha Lem’s church. So yes - if she kept on top of what Kovarian had been up to (which she quite clearly did ) flying the TARDIS would be easy for her.

Sidebar: She also confesses ‘It was flying the Doctor I never quite mastered’- something River of course did naturally and utterly effortlessly, right from day one. But then, she was bespoke. ;)

Someone should write something about The Women of the Silence - writing and re-writing the Doctor’s story, everything turning around this one place. And Silence Falling.



Cracks
(The Beginning is the end is the beginning)
What we call the beginning is often the end
And to make and end is to make a beginning.
The end is where we start from.
T.S. Eliot (Little Gidding)

The way Eleven’s story loops around back to the beginning makes me happier than I can begin to explain... Instead I’ve put some images together.



Prisoner Zero taunts the Doctor, because he doesn’t know where the cracks came from... Yet the truth is so much more than an exploding TARDIS. Because as Prisoner Zero showed us - there is something on the other side of that crack...

SIGNORA CALVIERRI:
There were cracks. Some were tiny... some were as big as the sky. Through some we saw worlds and people and through others we saw silence... and the end of all things.



Most importantly... At the other side is Gallifrey.

Memories are more powerful than you think, and Amy Pond is not an ordinary girl. Grew up with a time crack in her wall. The universe pouring through her dreams every night.

The crack in Amy’s wall - it was Gallifrey calling. Is it any wonder she become the mother of a Time Lord?

But the crack is dangerous, a gateway between worlds. It stole people, erasing them. And the original TARDIS explosion was destroying the whole universe. Yet here the danger is of a different kind - what could come through is what causes the war.

Story-wise, the crack is a thread, weaving together the whole of Eleven’s era, from first to last:



I’ve quoted T.S. Eliot’s ‘Little Gidding’ above (it was owlsie who first brought it up, and promethia_tenk expanded upon it - see image below), and will do so again, because the poem beautifully encapsulates this episode



Here is the whole section:

If you came this way,
Taking any route, starting from anywhere,
At any time or at any season,
It would always be the same: you would have to put off
Sense and notion. You are not here to verify,
Instruct yourself, or inform curiosity
Or carry report. You are here to kneel
Where prayer has been valid. And prayer is more
Than an order of words, the conscious occupation
Of the praying mind, or the sound of the voice praying.
And what the dead had no speech for, when living,
They can tell you, being dead: the communication
Of the dead is tongued with fire beyond the language of the living.
Here, the intersection of the timeless moment
Is England and nowhere. Never and always.

Especially the last lines... ‘The intersection of the timeless moment’ - if there is a more poetic description of the crack, and its place within Eleven’s story, possible, I do now know what it could be.

Amy’s crack, deeply tied into her life. And although the Doctor reboots the universe, it’s Clara who closes it. Clara, the Impossible Girl, who Answers The Question.



Of course, she did this already in The Day of the Doctor:

Eleven: And what am I?

Clara: Have you really forgotten?

Eleven: Yes. Maybe yes.

Clara: We’ve got enough warriors. And any old idiot can be a hero.

Eleven: Then what do I do?

Clara: What you’ve always done. Be a Doctor!

His name is unimportant. Who he is (“What was the promise?”) is what matters.

And again, this can be traced straight back to AGMGTW (The Day Everything Changed, the episode at the centre, the heart of Eleven’s run).

Because what that whole episode turns around is the question: ‘What does the name ‘Doctor’ mean’?

And now we have the answer. (An answer we knew already, of course... ♥)

~~~
"When you run with The Doctor, it feels like it will never end. But however hard you try, you can't run for ever. Everybody knows that everybody dies, and nobody knows it like The Doctor. But I do think that all the skies of all the worlds might just turn dark, if he ever, for one moment, accepts it."
River Song

And so we get what the beginning of S6 promised us - the Doctor’s death. Or rather - the Doctor walking to his death, accepting it.



He’s old, and he’s tired, but he is also quietly brave, going to meet his inevitable fate with perfect calm, and even a little black humour.

The trouble with Daleks is, it takes them so long to say anything, I’ll probably die of boredom before they shoot me...

And there is something too wonderful for words about this very, very old and rather grumpy Eleven, looking so very reminiscent of One, waving his walking stick at the Daleks as he expresses his displeasure.

But it is the end, and he will face it. Not running, nor regretting his choices. He has been a guardian, saving people to the last (‘Every life I save is a victory. Every single one’), and that is who he is:

DOCTOR:
No, Stay here.

CLARA:
Why?

DOCTOR:
I’ll be keeping you safe. One last victory. Allow me that. Give me that. My Impossible Girl. Thank you. And good bye.

No, this time it is not the Doctor refusing to accept death and finding a way out - it is Clara, who continually mirrors River; River who refused to accept the choice given to her. Clara became River’s mouthpiece in The Name of the Doctor, and she carries River’s mantle magnificently here.

However, she does not argue with the Doctor himself, like River did in TWoRS - yet her arguments are very, very similar as she pleads with the Time Lords. Allow me to illustrate (Clara’s words bolded, River’s words from TWoRS in brackets):









promethia_tenk once said that ‘83% off all Moffat plots are resolved by characters claiming each other as family’.

When it comes to Doctor Who, I think the figure is probably more like 100%.

Because what else was the resolution to this episode, than Gallifrey acknowledging the Doctor as theirs?

DOCTOR:
We saw the future, Clara. This is how it ends.

CLARA:
Change it! Like Tasha said, change the future!

DOCTOR:
I could have, once. When there were Time Lords. Not any more.

Oh but they’re there. Right on the other side of a crack in the universe... A crack in a little girl’s bedroom, that drew him close the moment he’d regenerated.



We’re all Stories in the End
There's a man called the Doctor. He lives on a cloud in the sky, and all he does, all day every day, is to stop all the children in the world ever having bad dreams.
Governess Clara



One thing that is underlined very carefully in Time of the Doctor, is the fact that the Doctor is a story. Right from the start we had Amelia’s drawings and stories, and here this is multiplied - we see how the people of Christmas make little plays about his adventures, see his joy at the children he is surrounded by. His room under the church is covered in drawings, generations of children documenting his life, as a story. (Just like in the real world...) Even the TARDIS - the TARDIS full of ghosts of the past, that only he could see - was covered in drawings. Because that's who he was.

But all stories must come to an end, and the Doctor know this... And he knows what the important part is. After all, his wife made sure he knew (with thanks to owlsie for spotting the echo):





So he says ‘goodbye’ to everything that made him him - the fish fingers and custard, the bow tie... And, as always, the music spoke volumes:



The show is woven through with poetry, and this episode was no exception, words and images beautifully complimenting each other:



But at the end, we all felt like Clara’s grandmother. If only we could pause time...



This was an episode of goodbyes, and even Eleven's story had to end...

Everything has to end some time, otherwise nothing would ever get started.
A Christmas Carol

And the Eleventh Doctor went to his rest, with a little help from his family - the same way he had helped River... (same place, different time)



And finally, this says it all. Goodbye my Eleven. I will not forget one line of this, not one day, I swear.

Comments

[maggietimelord.livejournal.com]

I shall ponder this meta. It should help me explain what happened to my parents. They have not seen enough to understand everything and I have seen too much to explain it coherently.

[elisi]

Happy pondering. <3

[kikimay]

This meta is gorgeous and I can't even watch the images without feeling touched.

The episode per se isn't perfect. Moffat did his best in "The Day of the Doctor" and other episodes. I think that the biggest flaw is that everything happens so fast. Too many things and too many explanations into little time. We are supposed to go on for centuries with the story, but I can't feel it. Somehow we are stuck like Clara (And maybe that's what Moffat wanted us to feel from the beginning. I don't know.)
But talking about emotional resolution this episode is perfect and the ending is the most perfect one for Eleventh. It really feels like he did a full circle.
(Love the parallels with The Beast Below and The Girl in the Fireplace. Everything in your metas works SO MUCH.)

I'm grateful to the Moff and to Matt Smith. Eleventh is my favourite chapter of the New Who so far and, like Clara predicted, I cried my eyes out. Best Doctor so far, to me, and one of the most amazing television characters ever.

[elisi]

This meta is gorgeous and I can't even watch the images without feeling touched.
♥

The episode per se isn't perfect. Moffat did his best in "The Day of the Doctor" and other episodes. I think that the biggest flaw is that everything happens so fast. Too many things and too many explanations into little time. We are supposed to go on for centuries with the story, but I can't feel it. Somehow we are stuck like Clara
Maybe he was hoping for another season to develop all this in, but then had to wrap it all up in one go.

But talking about emotional resolution this episode is perfect and the ending is the most perfect one for Eleventh. It really feels like he did a full circle.
I love circles best of all!

(Love the parallels with The Beast Below and The Girl in the Fireplace. Everything in your metas works SO MUCH.)
It's only a question of paying attention. It's all there already.

I'm grateful to the Moff and to Matt Smith. Eleventh is my favourite chapter of the New Who so far and, like Clara predicted, I cried my eyes out. Best Doctor so far, to me, and one of the most amazing television characters ever.
I can only agree with all this very very much. *puts on brave face*

[promethia_tenk]

It lives \o/

*puts soothing cold compresses on your brain*

ETA: I think reading your meta has driven home why this episode hasn't really drawn me in. Lovely, lovely, yes, *nods*, that's beautiful, etc., etc. . . . But barring a revelation or two (mostly about the Time Lords being behind the cracks), it is all tying up. There's very little that's unexpected, it's now long-familiar refrains rounded off and brought to completion. Which is good! That should happen. But at the same time it's like I'm shaking the screen violently going AND?!?!?!?!? AND?!?!?!?!

Between DotD and this and now eight months until the next season, I feel like we're in the longest narrative ellipsis ever.

I'm awful: I'm not even particularly cut up about Eleven going. It was time, he got a lovely good bye . . . WHAT DO YOU MEAN EIGHT MONTHS!??! *flops petulantly*

Proper comments in a bit; you did pick out quite a lot I hadn't really registered.

[elisi]

It lives \o/
I'm not sure I do...

*puts soothing cold compresses on your brain*
Thank you. *collapses*

But barring a revelation or two (mostly about the Time Lords being behind the cracks), it is all tying up. There's very little that's unexpected, it's now long-familiar refrains rounded off and brought to completion. Which is good! That should happen. But at the same time it's like I'm shaking the screen violently going AND?!?!?!?!? AND?!?!?!?!
Heh. You'll have to pore over the filing pictures, the way we had to back in 2010...

Between DotD and this and now eight months until the next season, I feel like we're in the longest narrative ellipsis ever.
We might get some minisodes? And just think - we might get all new mysteries!

I'm awful: I'm not even particularly cut up about Eleven going. It was time, he got a lovely good bye . . . WHAT DO YOU MEAN EIGHT MONTHS!??! *flops petulantly*
The not-really-Confidential was what did me in.

Proper comments in a bit; you did pick out quite a lot I hadn't really registered.
Looking forward to them!

[owlboy]

The not-really-Confidential got to me, too. ;~; Maaattttttt.

[elisi]

I daren't watch it again... :(

[devohoneybee.livejournal.com]

*applauds*!!! gorgeous meta. poetic, like it's subject.

something's bothering me about the knowledge of Gallifrey on the other side of the crack, though, and I wonder if you've had any Thoughts about it -- in the episode where the Master revives and is trying to bring the Timelords back through the energy gate, Ten knows the Timelords are still there, in the time bubble. He's not surprised by it. Why isn't he surprised by it? Why doesn't he have an "omg I've been carrying around all this pain from KILLING them all and now it's....not true? Except oops, they seem to be evil"? And yes, he regenerates soon after that, which might account for some memory scramble, but wouldn't Eleven remember that they were there, and that this was NOT A GOOD THING, and them coming through was a thing he STOPPED?

Another thing I've been wondering about is Clara as a character -- her story is almost too contained by her multiple iterations through the Doctor's timeline -- I wonder if it makes her, as a character, too static, with no room to grow outside that very complete circle?

I love your parallels between Clara and River -- and agree about River being an only partially reformed psychopath -- but I think despite that, River has more of a transformative arc then does Clara, appealing as Clara is. Clara is almost beyond human in her "impossible"ness. And it's interesting that when we see her with her family, it comes off rather flat. She's far more lively as a nanny than as a daughter, where "nanny" is, one can argue (and I am) a more mythological figure than actually being part of a human family in all its complexity and mess.

Rambling, sorry. Your meta makes thinky thoughts. :)

[elisi]

*applauds*!!! gorgeous meta. poetic, like it's subject.
♥ That is what I was aiming for. If I'd had three more weeks, no work to go back to, and no family, I'd have gotten there properly.

something's bothering me about the knowledge of Gallifrey on the other side of the crack, though, and I wonder if you've had any Thoughts about it -- in the episode where the Master revives and is trying to bring the Timelords back through the energy gate, Ten knows the Timelords are still there, in the time bubble. He's not surprised by it. Why isn't he surprised by it?
OK, I'll try to lay it out as clearly as possible (which is difficult, because... timey-wimey). The Council of the Time Lords (the ones led by Rassilon) are the ones planning to break out of the Time War and ascend. This takes place prior to the War Doctor's actions. (The generals - at the beginning of Day of the Doctor - mention how the council are all locked up in some terribly important meeting, and the top buy just shrugs it off, because Rassilon's plans have all failed.) Rassilon - on EoT - is told that the Doctor possesses 'The Moment', which probably just makes him act all the more swiftly. And it's possible that the War Doctor stole The Moment partly because he knew what Rassilon was planning. So! When Rassilon & co, break through to Earth thanks to the Master, they do it at a point before the War Doctor has used The Moment. What the Tenth Doctor does is send them back to where they were, and time - and Gallifrey's destruction - will all snap back into place. NOW however, he knows that they weren't destroyed, just saved, which is why the Time Lords calling through the crack and ones at a point in time after Day of the Doctor, and after they agreed for the Doctor to save them. Does that make sense?

And yes, he regenerates soon after that, which might account for some memory scramble, but wouldn't Eleven remember that they were there, and that this was NOT A GOOD THING, and them coming through was a thing he STOPPED?
Well he knows that Rassilon & co. are batshit insane, but he probably figures he can deal with that in time. The rest are OK.

Another thing I've been wondering about is Clara as a character -- her story is almost too contained by her multiple iterations through the Doctor's timeline -- I wonder if it makes her, as a character, too static, with no room to grow outside that very complete circle?
This is one reason I shall have to write meta on her, because she is fascinating, but at the moment she is (in the best possible way) a Magic Pixie Dream Girl. And fairly static because of that. I have a feeling that Twelve will help shake things up a bit.

I love your parallels between Clara and River -- and agree about River being an only partially reformed psychopath -- but I think despite that, River has more of a transformative arc then does Clara, appealing as Clara is.
Oh River is... Well. If you remember, then River started off as smart, sassy, competent, could-do-everything-the-Doctor-did-except-better... And then came S6 and there was this huge messy background story. I have a feeling that there is a lot more to Clara than the very simple story we've had so far. (Because the things she has done... Like I said. She'll get her own post!)

Clara is almost beyond human in her "impossible"ness. And it's interesting that when we see her with her family, it comes off rather flat. She's far more lively as a nanny than as a daughter, where "nanny" is, one can argue (and I am) a more mythological figure than actually being part of a human family in all its complexity and mess.
Mmmmm, yes, I see what you mean. And she *is* sort of mythological... Clara Who?

Rambling, sorry. Your meta makes thinky thoughts. :)
That's the idea! :D

[devohoneybee.livejournal.com]

oh THANK YOU! that Rasilon thing had me bollixed up. Nicely sorted!

[elisi]

I am a pro at this... ;) (I'm not sure that's a good thing, but it's certainly a handy skill.)

[lyricwrites.livejournal.com]

Well, elisi has covered the whole "sequence of events" thing pretty well, but I would add that the last time the Doctor saw Rassilon and the Council, they had just taken an insane, pissed off, and supercharged Master directly to the face. That would tend to derail their plans. The Doctor doesn't really know what sort of situation he'll be facing when he finally finds Gallifrey, but it won't be exactly the same as the one in "The End of Time."

As to Clara—I think the significant question in her arc right now is, what now? What is her relationship with this Doctor, especially considering that she really didn't want to lose "hers?" Does it matter that she never saved this one? And come to think of it, exactly how much does she remember from her copies? I'm not sure I can judge her arc at this point, because we've only just passed one of the first big "beats," where she made the decision to become the somewhat inhuman savior.

[eaweek.livejournal.com]

Amazing work, as always! I really enjoyed the parallels and references to all the previous Moff-written episodes. He's weirdly like Murray Gold in that way: developing motifs that he keeps expanding and building upon; you can tell it's essentially the same music, but with all these wonderful variations.

I also enjoyed the way you delved into Tasha-Kovarian-River. I had the feeling that River herself was probably being groomed as Kovarian's successor until she went off the rails. If she'd done what she was originally intended to do, River would probably have risen immediately to very high ranking in the Church. Interesting stuff! I always saw Kovarian as the evil stepmother.

This was perfect grist for the new year, as the old is passing behind us and the new is still ahead. Thanks so much for sharing!

[elisi]

Amazing work, as always!
Thank you! :)

I really enjoyed the parallels and references to all the previous Moff-written episodes. He's weirdly like Murray Gold in that way: developing motifs that he keeps expanding and building upon; you can tell it's essentially the same music, but with all these wonderful variations.
Ooooh yes. Yes that's it exactly! Thank you!

I also enjoyed the way you delved into Tasha-Kovarian-River. I had the feeling that River herself was probably being groomed as Kovarian's successor until she went off the rails. If she'd done what she was originally intended to do, River would probably have risen immediately to very high ranking in the Church.
Mmmm, yes. Except River got away... I absolutely loved meeting Tasha Lem, and seeing how it all fitted together. And it's always the women in charge. Interesting.

Interesting stuff! I always saw Kovarian as the evil stepmother.
River is the little girl with three mothers - a real one, a fairy godmother (the TARDIS) and the evil stepmother. ;)

This was perfect grist for the new year, as the old is passing behind us and the new is still ahead. Thanks so much for sharing!
Thank you for reading & commenting!
Interesting stuff! I always saw Kovarian as the evil stepmother.

[paratti.livejournal.com]

Lovely.

[elisi]

Thank you. ♥

[beesandbrews.livejournal.com]

Well done, you. That was poetic.

[elisi]

*beams* Thank you! I was aiming for poetic! ♥

[dweomeroflight.livejournal.com]

This was PERFECT. I was a bit the same as some other commentators here in feeling like the story in TOTD didn't quite gel but this meta and some other searching on the net has made it all clearer in my head now. I feel like an entire series rewatch is in order.

My brain exploded at the bit where you parallel Eleven's regen. words to River's voiceover in Forest of the Dead. Just. Wow. Wow Moff!

Random observation- I love how Moffat finds such beautifully humanist ways to encapsulate things. I just love the story within a story theme and the importance of belief. It reminds me of Hogfather. "Humans have to believe in things that aren't true... how else can they become?" which mirrors "The name you choose... the name I chose... it's like a promise you keep." The name that The Doctor chooses, becomes his moral centre. Without the faith in his name, he loses faith in himself.

That quote from The Beast Below encapsulates Eleven's modus operandi so much and as someone else mentioned, TOTD pretty much was a run through of all of the themes that made Eleven Eleven. Even down to the little boy saying that, "I'll wait" as The Doctor flies away in his TARDIS.

krejgojethopop I just love Eleven so much. What wonderful episodes. Also, it's interesting how as seasons progressed, I see River's first two parter in s4 as belonging more to Eleven's run than Ten's. Most of Moffat's themes were laid out in that two parter. I actually like it better than Blink.

[elisi]

This was PERFECT. I was a bit the same as some other commentators here in feeling like the story in TOTD didn't quite gel but this meta and some other searching on the net has made it all clearer in my head now. I feel like an entire series rewatch is in order.
♥ ♥ ♥ Sometimes you have to work a bit harder for Moffat's episodes, but it's worth it. And this one had so much crammed in...

My brain exploded at the bit where you parallel Eleven's regen. words to River's voiceover in Forest of the Dead. Just. Wow. Wow Moff!
See that was actually owlsie, but it's such a perfect example. The beginning is the end is the beginning... And everything is a circle and beautiful.

Random observation- I love how Moffat finds such beautifully humanist ways to encapsulate things. I just love the story within a story theme and the importance of belief. It reminds me of Hogfather. "Humans have to believe in things that aren't true... how else can they become?" which mirrors "The name you choose... the name I chose... it's like a promise you keep." The name that The Doctor chooses, becomes his moral centre. Without the faith in his name, he loses faith in himself.
*nods a lot* And belief is such a central theme (and one I didn't really touch on here) - take the Angel episodes in S5. River has faith [in the Doctor], Amy doesn't. Amy falters, River succeeds. (You have to walk as if you can see...)

That quote from The Beast Below encapsulates Eleven's modus operandi so much and as someone else mentioned, TOTD pretty much was a run through of all of the themes that made Eleven Eleven. Even down to the little boy saying that, "I'll wait" as The Doctor flies away in his TARDIS.
I know! Which is one reason this was so difficult to write - there was just EVERYTHING!

krejgojethopop I just love Eleven so much. What wonderful episodes. Also, it's interesting how as seasons progressed, I see River's first two parter in s4 as belonging more to Eleven's run than Ten's. Most of Moffat's themes were laid out in that two parter. I actually like it better than Blink.
Blink is a one-trick pony. If I had to rank my favourite Moffat episodes, it'd probably be at the bottom because all the others would be more important. (Far better written than, say, The Beast Below, and yet just look at how enormously important The Beast Below is for... everything that follows. Blink is a standalone.) Anyway, yes - the Library episodes are definitely an early visit to Moffat Who, his way of laying out where he is going and why, embedding all the themes and imagery early.

[owlboy]

(rolls in meta)

I like how Amy's goodbye echoes their first goodbye in The Big Bang as well. Instead of Eleven putting little Amelia to sleep it's Amy saying good night. ;~; Augh, I'm having an emotion.

[elisi]

(rolls in meta)
♥

I like how Amy's goodbye echoes their first goodbye in The Big Bang as well. Instead of Eleven putting little Amelia to sleep it's Amy saying good night. ;~; Augh, I'm having an emotion.
Oooh, that lovely. And there is a sense of 'Not belonging in this world anymore' - Twelve can't appear until he has left...

[a-phoenixdragon.livejournal.com]

OMG!! AND I AM CRYING AGAIN...

*sobs*

Perfection.

Thank you...

[elisi]

::sends many hugs::

It was just gorgeous all round, and the ending just... *waves hands around wordlessly* Everything is beautiful.

We're all stories in the end...

[(Anonymous)]

My favourite part...

"And if you love him - and you should - help him."

Followed by:

"Love from Gallifrey, boys!"

And the eleventh story comes to a close. Twelve starts off with eleven other stories that will be a part of him. (Sorry, but that song fits this so well...)

You are the meta-mistress. Absolutely beautiful.

~ srmcd1

Re: We're all stories in the end...

[elisi]

"And if you love him - and you should - help him."
Oh Clara. She is just all the things! ♥

"Love from Gallifrey, boys!"
As far as I can work out, he says 'That’s from Gallifrey, boys!' - which is of course a lovely echo of River's 'Never shoot a girl while she is regenerating!'... (I wanted to work it in, but couldn't find room. But there will be more posts!)

And the eleventh story comes to a close. Twelve starts off with eleven other stories that will be a part of him. (Sorry, but that song fits this so well...)
It really, really does. (I tend to see the Doctor as Russian dolls, containing all the past hims.)

You are the meta-mistress. Absolutely beautiful.
*beams* Thank you. Although it's all Moffat really, I just... unravel it and show it off. :)

[(Anonymous)]

I don't have an LJ account, sorry.

Of all the meta and other analysis I read about "Doctor Who", yours is my favorite - you make sense of everything and it's all so beautiful!

Thank you for your writing!

-renniejoy

[elisi]

I don't have an LJ account, sorry.
Hey no worries - everyone is welcome here! :) (Although getting one is very easy, if you'd want to take the leap. I have anon comments screened because I had a lot of spam at one point, I hope it doesn't discourage people.)

Of all the meta and other analysis I read about "Doctor Who", yours is my favorite - you make sense of everything and it's all so beautiful!
♥ ♥ ♥ Thank you! And thank you for letting me know! And truly it is a labour of love, considering how beautiful the show is!

Thank you for your writing!
It is my pleasure, many times over - especially if it helps other people too!

Elisi

[flowsoffire.livejournal.com]

Can I hug you? I was feeling rather fuzzy and confused about this episode (not "I don't get it" but "I don't know what to think"), and as always your meta just makes a lot of things feel clearer and neater, and highlight some intricate, lovely symbolism =)

The part about Trenzalore, especially, made me feel better about the idea of the Doctor staying—which was beautiful, don't get me wrong, but unsettling to say the least. I love the idea of traveling from one home to another, and the parallel with The Girl in the Fireplace was just fascinating and really spot-on! The Doctor living below, too—this is perfect ♥ And the whole meaning behind the town being called "Christmas" was fascinating as well. The unbalance, for lack of a better word, between Clara and the Doctor, the audience and the Doctor. (And usually he's always the one popping in and out, coming late, but here he is forced to be still… indeed, like when River froze time, in a way ♥)

The Tasha part is wonderful! I loved Tasha, but I was disturbed by the amount of common points with River, the driving the TARDIS especially—of course there would be explanations, but the immediate message is "look how alike they are!" and it just felt bizarre to me. But with the idea that Tasha modelled River through her influence on Kovarian, it all makes sense. Legacy. And thanks a million for the reminder about how much the Church knew and could do about TARDISes, lol. Once more, the immediate reaction was "but we only see the Doctor and River drive the TARDIS!", it's such an obvious common point—but thinking back about everything that went down between the TARDIS and the Church, it all makes perfect sense.
So far, the only explanation for all this that we have had is Eleven’s ‘Yes, they’re very clever’ from AGMGTW
ROFL, that's a very slight understatement from our frustrated and furious Eleventy.

I already loved Tasha's name, love it all the more now that I know all the meaning behind it. *delighted* And everything you said about the Church and Tasha's dynamic with the Doctor was fascinating and spot-on!

And the River part. :D
Also, you have to remember, she’s a specifically engineered psychopath and it never really goes away - she loves her mum and dad, and her fella, but the rest of the universe can go hang.
Moffat
I love this too much for words. *chortles* And of course, you're right about River not belonging in that episode. In fact, personally, I was kind of… mourning River during the episode =P What with their beautiful goodbye in NotD, then the Doctor living 300 years in Christmas, a completely different life, and then regenerating… it felt like closure, definitely. She could still be there in little nods and symbolism, but as a much-loved memory. And no matter how much I tell myself to accept it and move on along with the show, it still hurts ;P (Well, we do have fandom, and your Ponds-watching-the-adventures-of-Twelve fic, thankfully ;))

The part with Eliot quotes and caps showing the beginning/end loops had me sit back and have a quiet moment. ♥ (God, now that I have my e-reader I just HAVE to read all of Eliot's works I can get my hands on at some point.)

Loved the bits about Clara answering the question and Clara mirroring River. Yes, just yes! The reminder of the quote from governess!Clara is lovely, too. And Gallifrey claimed the Doctor again, after dismissing him for so very long. ♥ See, that's the kind of stuff that kind of felt off to me in the episode, because it was sudden, and I can't help it, I'm not really a "magic resolution" kind of girl—I look for the realistic aspect rather than symbolism working out the knots, which isn't the right attitude to take most of Moffat's work with. Heh. Personal thing. But thinking it through in hindsight, with a different state of mind—looking for the layers (*winks*) of meaning rather than focusing on the plot—there are beautiful things, no doubt. And you are ace at delving into them and showing them in just the right light ;)

The music, too! I'm often so caught in the episode I don't notice what the music is. Merry's song! ♥

So yes. Fascinating meta and I'm looking forward to seeing more of your thoughts about this in the future =) ♥

[elisi]

Can I hug you? I was feeling rather fuzzy and confused about this episode (not "I don't get it" but "I don't know what to think"), and as always your meta just makes a lot of things feel clearer and neater, and highlight some intricate, lovely symbolism =)
Of course you can hug me! :)

The part about Trenzalore, especially, made me feel better about the idea of the Doctor staying—which was beautiful, don't get me wrong, but unsettling to say the least.
Am glad that my thoughts worked for you, because I really loved the whole thing. <3 Also the whole thing about time going at different rates... I still feel I haven't quite been able to formulate why it works for me so well, am hoping I will at some point.

But with the idea that Tasha modelled River through her influence on Kovarian, it all makes sense. Legacy.
This story is where all of Eleven's story flows from. Timey-wimey-storytelling.

I already loved Tasha's name, love it all the more now that I know all the meaning behind it. *delighted* And everything you said about the Church and Tasha's dynamic with the Doctor was fascinating and spot-on!
Tasha was grrrrreat! And the whole idea of the Church spelled out properly is wonderful too. :)

I love this too much for words. *chortles* And of course, you're right about River not belonging in that episode. In fact, personally, I was kind of… mourning River during the episode =P
Mmmm, I hear ya. But then Eleven's felt very... old, ever since the start of 7B. Older than before I mean. He lost his Ponds and never really recovered.

What with their beautiful goodbye in NotD, then the Doctor living 300 years in Christmas, a completely different life, and then regenerating… it felt like closure, definitely. She could still be there in little nods and symbolism, but as a much-loved memory. And no matter how much I tell myself to accept it and move on along with the show, it still hurts ;P
Closure, yes, but it doesn't really stop [hurting]. (Still it could be worse, so I'm not complaining.)

The part with Eliot quotes and caps showing the beginning/end loops had me sit back and have a quiet moment. ♥ (God, now that I have my e-reader I just HAVE to read all of Eliot's works I can get my hands on at some point.)
I have a post brewing about Moffat and what kind of stories he writes. One part of which [courtesy of Promethia] will be about how Moffat is T.S. Eliot of the TV.

Loved the bits about Clara answering the question and Clara mirroring River. Yes, just yes!
Clara is totally River's protege. <3

nd Gallifrey claimed the Doctor again, after dismissing him for so very long. ♥ See, that's the kind of stuff that kind of felt off to me in the episode, because it was sudden, and I can't help it, I'm not really a "magic resolution" kind of girl—I look for the realistic aspect rather than symbolism working out the knots, which isn't the right attitude to take most of Moffat's work with. Heh. Personal thing.
LOL. Yes, Moffat is totally 'everything gets resolved by people claiming each other as family. And rainbow sparkles'.

The music, too! I'm often so caught in the episode I don't notice what the music is. Merry's song! ♥
Not just that! (I barely mentioned the music, oh god it killed me.) When Clara is picked up by Tasha and returns to Christmas and the Doctor is really old and about to die, the music is 'Four Knocks' from EoT. And then when he walks up to the top of the tower it changes to the Trenzalore theme...

Oh, it was a beautiful episode.

[flowsoffire.livejournal.com]

Of course you can hug me! :)
*takes full advantage of the permission*

This story is where all of Eleven's story flows from. Timey-wimey-storytelling.
These are the roots and we’ve spent three series enjoying the fruit ;)

And the whole idea of the Church spelled out properly is wonderful too. :)
Yesssss! It’d been everywhere, it needed to get a bit more of focus…

But then Eleven's felt very... old, ever since the start of 7B. Older than before I mean. He lost his Ponds and never really recovered.
This…

Closure, yes, but it doesn't really stop [hurting]. (Still it could be worse, so I'm not complaining.)
And this. ;P

I have a post brewing about Moffat and what kind of stories he writes. One part of which [courtesy of Promethia] will be about how Moffat is T.S. Eliot of the TV.
Can’t wait to see that :D

Clara is totally River's protege. <3
Eeee! I love it. ♥

LOL. Yes, Moffat is totally 'everything gets resolved by people claiming each other as family. And rainbow sparkles'.
*chortles* Totally seconding the rainbow sparkles…

Not just that! (I barely mentioned the music, oh god it killed me.) When Clara is picked up by Tasha and returns to Christmas and the Doctor is really old and about to die, the music is 'Four Knocks' from EoT. And then when he walks up to the top of the tower it changes to the Trenzalore theme...
GOODNESS! :D

*hugs again because you said I could*

[elisi]

*takes full advantage of the permission*
*is happy & squished*

These are the roots and we’ve spent three series enjoying the fruit ;)
Ooooh I love that!

Yesssss! It’d been everywhere, it needed to get a bit more of focus…
Also why it's both a friend and an enemy.

Can’t wait to see that :D
I just need to get my mojo back. I don't think January is good for meta.

Eeee! I love it. ♥
She totally is. :)

*chortles* Totally seconding the rainbow sparkles…
Gallifreyan rainbow sparkles!

GOODNESS! :D
Seriously, the music... Which reminds me that this is one of my favourite pieces. From the very end of The Snowmen: Whose Enigma.

[flowsoffire.livejournal.com]

*is happy & squished*
Hugs make the world go round!

Also why it's both a friend and an enemy.
Absolutely. Ambiguity, I love thee.

I just need to get my mojo back. I don't think January is good for meta.
It'll come back eventually! *good vibes*

Gallifreyan rainbow sparkles!
THE BEST!

From the very end of The Snowmen: Whose Enigma.
It's beautiful! Ohhhh, I think the Snowmen soundtrack is basically the last of the Who ones I haven't grabbed from YouTube… *goes on a hunt*

[elisi]

Absolutely. Ambiguity, I love thee.
(You're going to love my fic. *g*)

It'll come back eventually! *good vibes*
January is interminable. But writing is going well, although meta is still hiding.

It's beautiful! Ohhhh, I think the Snowmen soundtrack is basically the last of the Who ones I haven't grabbed from YouTube… *goes on a hunt*
'Tis very lovely indeed.

[flowsoffire.livejournal.com]

(You're going to love my fic. *g*)
And that is news how? ^_^

January is interminable. But writing is going well, although meta is still hiding.
Can't have everything working out! Writing is great :) And we're almost at the end! February's shorter—if just a little, it still feels a bit different ;)

[elisi]

And that is news how? ^_^
Sorry, I'm in the middle of a delicious Master-scene. Am enjoying myself FAR too much. ;)

Can't have everything working out! Writing is great :) And we're almost at the end! February's shorter—if just a little, it still feels a bit different ;)
Yes, and it's getting lighter. Albeit very very very slowly...

[flowsoffire.livejournal.com]

Sorry, I'm in the middle of a delicious Master-scene. Am enjoying myself FAR too much. ;)
*purrs*

Yes, and it's getting lighter. Albeit very very very slowly...
It is! :D

[elisi]

Aaaand I need to go spend time with the family. Am also falling asleep...

[flowsoffire.livejournal.com]

Go off to your lovelies! ♥

[chase-acow.livejournal.com]

Hi! I just friended you, and I'm super excited to go back and read some of your entries. I asked for Doctor Who recs and meta for fandom_stocking (http://fandom-stocking.dreamwidth.org/442150.html) over at dreamwidth, and the first comment was a rec for you meta tag. : )

I marathoned all the newWho this last summer, but I haven't really been prepared to dive into fandom. I loved this recap post, because so many of the call backs went over my head. Thank you very much for a wonderful post!

[elisi]

Hi! I just friended you, and I'm super excited to go back and read some of your entries. I asked for Doctor Who recs and meta for fandom_stocking over at dreamwidth, and the first comment was a rec for you meta tag. : )
Aw, I feel all special now! ;) Welcome to and I hope you like what you find. Your best starting point might be my Meta Master List, as not everything is on the tag you were given. (I have written SO MUCH OMG! /o\) Anyway, make yourself at home, I always love meeting new people. :)

I marathoned all the newWho this last summer, but I haven't really been prepared to dive into fandom.
Oh, fandom is a scary place. Which is why I hide in my LJ and hope people come to me. <3

I loved this recap post, because so many of the call backs went over my head. Thank you very much for a wonderful post!
Thank *you* for reading, and oh, there will be more about this episode - there is so much there!