5. The Time of the Doctor Clara's Gran's Speech
"I wanted everything to stop. I wanted nothing to change ever again. If he could just keep standing there, so beautiful ..."
This is another speech that is great not because it highlights how far from us the Doctor is, but because it brings the Doctor closer to us. We've all had moments we wanted to last forever, when we wished the universe would just hold still. Moments we could live in for all time. Love makes us feel like that, makes us feel like we can stop. Change is, however, inevitable. Every moment ends, everybody leaves or dies. That's just how it is. No matter how we want it to stop, no matter how much we fight (as the Doctor does), we all know what's coming. This speech is wonderful not just because of these bigger themes, but because of its function in the episode. We all know that Smith is going to regenerate at the end, even as we enjoy the last run. There are moments of hope, as there always are. But the audience, the fans, know the truth. The Doctor can feel it ending. Clara can see it about to happen, and can feel how helpless she is. We all know stories have to go on, have to end. But we all wish they could just stop, that when a great moment comes we could just stick with it. That's what the monologue is about.
Rebecca Kulik lives in Iowa, reads an obsence amount, watches way too much television, and occasionally studies for her BA in History. Come by her personal pop culture blog at tyrannyofthepetticoat.wordpress.com and her reading blog at journalofimaginarypeople.wordpress.com.
