Doctor Who Review: The Woman Who Lived – 6 Reasons To Live And Let Live

4. The Story Teller

One thing Ashildr and the Doctor do not share is an eidetic memory. While the Doctor often pretends to or willfully forgets things the implication is that he could always pull past information out of that great brain if he really wanted to. Ashildr, however, is human and has only a normal woman€™s capacity to retain memories. This is a crucial difference as Ashildr is incapable of remembering more than a glimmer of the inquisitive child she once was. She has to work harder to preserve her past lives by recording them in her journals. That fact that she chooses to make the effort to do so is a sign that her core nature remains. She has not lost her curiosity or keen imagination but it is buried beneath years of grief and boredom. She thinks she needs the Doctor to show her new wonders but she comes to understand that she only needs to keep herself open to possibility. She was trapped within her own mind set and she is learning how to break free.