Doctor Who Series 10 Finale: 7 Big Questions We're Asking After 'The Doctor Falls'
3. Did Bill Just Turn Into Clara Mark II?
Opinion is divided as to the merits of the final ten minutes
of The Doctor Falls, with the discontents pointing out the striking
similarities to Clara’s ‘resurrection’ in Hell Bent. The argument is that Bill's salvation is another
example of the fairy tale resolution that undoes all the emotional investment in
a character’s death. But in the same way that Moffat channels the Tenth
Doctor’s ending (falling in the snow, not wanting to go) in order to draw out
the striking differences between his sense of entitlement and the Twelfth
Doctor’s suicidal mindset, so too Clara and Bill’s ultimate fate are
deliberately contrasted.
Both companions have been brought back to life – Clara by the Doctor’s intervention and Bill by the Pilot, without any involvement on his part. Both are now on a temporary jaunt across the universe with a human turned alien partner, Ashildr and Heather respectively. But whereas Bill is set to ‘get back home in time for tea’, Clara will eventually be returning to Trap Street to face the raven. It’s only Bill then who gets a happy ending, and it has absolutely nothing to do with the Doctor.
Sometimes we forget that this is a family show and whilst younger viewers shouldn’t be protected from the harsh realities of the world around us, it is irresponsible to leave them with lasting nightmares. Doctor Who is essentially an optimistic show, finding the good in even the worst of times and of course Bill couldn’t live or die as a Cybermen. From a child’s perspective, unlike Clara teaming up with Ashildr, a life with Heather as the Pilot is hardly comforting. She resembles one of Doctor Who’s scariest monsters – the Flood from The Waters of Mars more than an angel of mercy. The only happy ending for Bill would be a return to normality, albeit tempered by her thinking that the Doctor is dead.