It may seem fairly late to still be talking about Trenzalore a month after The Name of The Doctor premieredbut with the announcement of Matt Smith's departure, and thus The Doctor's regeneration imminentI found myself wondering why Moffat and company did not save Trenzalore for a regeneration sequence. Trenzalore in its current capacity was employed well, bringing to a close one mystery and starting one that is even bigger. It was also the scene for, what I would argue was the most genuine moment of the second half of series seven, the touching conversation between River Song and The Doctor. But compared to the potential of Dorium Maldovar's (yes the blue guy) ominous words in The Wedding of River Song I felt jipped. He said question asked at Trenzalore would mean the fall of the Eleventh. It felt fair to assume that Trenzalore would mean saying goodbye to Matt Smith and welcoming a new face as The Doctor. But this is not just about spoiled expectations, after all most of the time, that is part of the fun. Trenzalore should have been The Eleventh Doctor's regeneration site because Trenzalore defined The Eleventh Doctor's reign. We have known about Trenzalore since the end of series six. Trenzalore was the heart of the mission of the Silence, and the driving force behind River Song. Events at Trenzalore we now know even created the echos of Clara Oswald, The Doctor's Impossible Girl.
In the end I suppose it's a very New Who centered argument. The reboot has so far used regeneration to define each incarnation's journey. The Ninth Doctor gave his life for Rose because she had figuratively given him life again. He was fully free of the cold, closed place he had been when they met. The death of Tenth Doctor was arguably about being reminded the universe was bigger than himself, that something mattered again. David Tennant's farewell also broke new ground as The Doctor reminded us that every time there's a piece of him that just doesn't want to go. Combine that with his tear-jerking farewell tour and Doctor Who was changed forever. While our eyes are trained on the 50th and developments regarding casting the Twelveth Doctor (nothing's final until we see the orange glow for ourselves if you ask me), I will be sparing some time to ponder The Eleventh Doctor's final moments. Specifically, for the incarnation of The Doctor that survived personal assassins, being written out of existence, total multiverse collapses, false realities, Lake Silencio and now Trenzalore, what will be worth finally letting go? And, in those last few moments, will be as distraught and heartbreaking as his predecessor, or will he turn to us with last trademarkable goofy grin and remind us regenerations are cool? So what do you think? Does The Eleventh Doctor have to compete with or try to top the moments in End of Time? Will it be possible to create a satisfying conclusion to our reigning Doctor? Discuss below.