Doctor Who Review: Under The Lake – 7 Ways To Sink Or Swim

2. The Relationship Between Clara And The Doctor

Clara is aware of the Doctor’s problems in regard to effective communication with humans and uses her experience as a teacher to come up with a solution. She creates flash cards he can use to mimic the nuance of emotion. The problem however is that the Doctor is not human. We can’t fully understand him but he in turn is constantly grappling with who we are. The Doctor fails miserably even while reading a pre-fabricated platitude because he has no idea where to stop. The important thing though is that they both keep trying. It’s not the outcome that is the most important thing but the willingness to put in the effort.

In a dazzling display of awkwardness the Doctor attempts to warn Clara that she can never be him. He cares about her. He sees where this is going. But he cannot change her and his helplessness is beautifully portrayed by Peter Capaldi. Clara assures the Doctor she understands what he is saying but it’s obvious she really doesn’t. And maybe she shouldn’t. If those of us who live with death hanging over our heads go around worrying about it all the time then we would curl up in corners and never accomplish or experience anything. Sometimes denial is the only way to go on.