Doctor Who: 7 Key Themes That Defined The Matt Smith Era

2. Endings

It's been a recurring theme since the Ponds took their fateful plunge off Winter Quay in "The Angels Take Manhattan." We've already discussed how the Doctor is always in motion, never looking back because he dare not, either out of guilt or because the anguish of doing so would be too much for his heart(s) to bear. Even as a timeless alien far removed from humanity, the Doctor exemplifies an all-too-human characteristic: the fear of change. He's over a thousand years old, and he's never even finished a book, always tearing out the last page so the story never has to end. If anything, this provides a point of closure for Eleven's long, convoluted story arc: he's an old man at heart, with a deep longing for things that once were and can never be again. Of course he's terrified of change. Of course the last page frightens him beyond all measure. Besides the TARDIS, it's the only true constant in his long, storied existence: things will change, people will leave, and the Doctor must carry on as if nothing ever happened. It's what the Tenth Doctor struggled with and was ultimately defeated by: letting go and moving on. This is why Amy's final appearance at the end of "The Time of the Doctor" is so poignant. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter whether this Amy was real, a Nesteen duplicate, a Zygon general gone rogue, or a hallucination brought about by the stress of the Doctor's impending regeneration. What matters is that a withered old man who'd lived his entire life refusing to face the last page could finally look at an end and find peace instead of despair.