Doctor Who: Peter Capaldi’s 12 Best Performances As The Twelfth Doctor
8. The Woman Who Lived
The Doctor ends up inadvertently doing a home visit when bumping into Ashildr, Me or whatever she's called herself down the years. Wonder if she used the name "Ayra" by any random chance?
Ashildr (yes, that's your name and you can't wear it out) is the starkest example yet of the Doctor's emotional collateral damage inflicted on those whom they believe to have been abandoned by the runaway Time Lord. This episode sees the Doctor dealt a few home truths.
The facial reactions on Capaldi's face when Ashildr tells him she's her "own companion. Singular. Unattached. Alone" not only reflect his concerns for her wellbeing; those words can be ascribed to the Doctor, too, at various points in his life.
In some ways, Capaldi, performs the role of companion to Maisie Williams' complex and eternal character: trying to help her find the person she used to be. Back at her house, the Doctor continues to see himself in Ashildr; her arrogant line of "Because I'm incredibly clever", the countless people killed, an entire village cured of scarlet fever. When the Doctor reads a section of Ashildr's journals on when she lost her children to the Black Death, it doubtless brought back painful memories of losing loved ones during the Time War.
Despite the Doctor's misgivings, it would have made for fascinating viewing to see Me (ok if that's what you want to call yourself) travel, and doubtless, argue, with the Doctor for just one series at least, and simply because Capaldi and Williams work so well on screen together.