11. Why Is Clara Introducing The Doctor As Her Boyfriend?
We start with a quick point that's more of an interesting nitpick than a plot detail, but a curious one nonetheless. In a short advert for BBC One's Christmas programming line-up, we see Clara at Christmas dinner. Naturally, The Doctor is right beside her, and she introduces him to her family with a quick, "This is The Doctor. My boyfriend". Even more curious is his follow up to this remark: a quick slap on the bottom for Clara. Now there's been slight chemistry between the two of them before, as displayed in Asylum of The Daleks and The Snowmen, but that seemed to be put on the back burner (if not entirely quashed) after the beginning of the season. Taking Jenna Louise Coleman's public remarks that she hopes Clara and 12 will be "good friends", isn't it a little late to be springing any romantic surprises on us? Particularly when, you know, 11's going to die in a hopefully epic manner among millions of others, and 12's going to be a bit older than this form. (Which would also leave a LOT of questions for her family to ask, since she'll be staying on as companion for the foreseeable future.) More importantly, after River's supposedly final appearance with The Doctor leaving him emotionally wounded, it just doesn't seem like the right time to try and play that card again. Again, it's a bit of a nitpick, but that's why it's at the bottom of the list. Still, can we just let "Whoffle" die where it stands? Not every companion is going to want to be The Doctor's love interest, and if anyone wants to argue I have two words to counter: "Donna Noble".