thematic elements of Series 8, taken from the SFX episode guide
8×01 – Clara’s uncertainly about regeneration fear of change (standard monster episode)
8×02 – gritty/nasty (Dalek episode)
8×03 – what it means to be a hero for the Doctor and Clara (Robin Hood)
8×04 – the Doctor with nothing to do/scary (small cast, no CGI, bottle episode)
8×05 – normal day (heist movie, guest star vehicle)
8×06 – the people around Clara (funny with occasional serious)
8×07 – normal day (serious drama with monsters)
8×08 – the Doctor tying up loose ends from his past (monster episode with a singer so slightly offbeat?)
8×09 – pause in the character arcs a la Blink (horror story)
8×10 – the last good day a la Fear Her oh please no (poetic fairytale)
8×11/8×12 – Clara and the Doctor and whether their relationship is healthy (action-adventure, Cybermen, UNIT, two-part big more similar to RTD finale)
there’s a lot of cool things to look out for in there… maybe an identity/role/responsibility theme with the Doctor’s regeneration and coming from Trenzalore where he didn’t do his suddenly changing a world for the better thing for a very long time, and Clara losing touch of that balance between her two lives, with almost certain dark!Whouffle development
also the structure is interesting… these couple of fairly standard episodes in the middle are something that the split season doesn’t allow, and they lie on either side of an episode centred on Clara’s home life, so they could be very revealing snapshots of where the Doctor and Clara are at right now
also the last four looks a lot like the end of an RTD series with a possible standalone, a sentimental episode then a big finale on modern Earth… I’m worried with how much that looks like a companion departure tbh
So freaking excited!! Especially Clara losing her ability to balance things perfectly, and the dark!Whouffle thing is a dream come true for me.
Here’s my prediction for the Clara/Doctor relationship evolution this season:
Ep 1-5: Clara having a positive influence on the Doctor’s meanness
Ep 6: The Doctor is also having an obvious influence on Clara’s more ruthless side and that paired with instability in her home life means that instead of the Doctor changing, it’s Clara
Eps 7-10: Slow, background development of Clara no longer prioritising her masks/being the best she can be etc. Way more glimpses of the non-perfect, slightly scary Clara we saw in Hide
Finale: The Doctor is nicer than he was at the start, but Clara is darker and they’re destructive to each other in that they aren’t making each other better, and also to people around them and possibly the universe.
Also the poetic fairytale ep could be an absolutely stunning Clara ep with the idea of Disney vs Grimm Brothers and is your happy ending pleasant or earned with some ruthlessness and darkness. Probably won’t be the point of the episode, but might be a good comparison to make in meta if Clara’s arc goes the way I think it will.
And NO NO NO NO CLARA WILL NOT BE LEAVING but yeah it does kinda look like that in terms of structure…
There’s gonna be at least one Clara’s family episode? EXCELLENT.