2. Honor The Past And Let Go
Claras journey is not complete until she is able to acknowledge her entire past, both the light and the dark. She must honor the experiences that brought her to this point while giving up the control theyve had over her. Her heroic sacrifice moves her from grieving child to enlightened adult, from pawn to queen. The Doctors use of the leaf to call her back to herself is evidence of this. It is a recognition of her former life as she steps into her future. The Doctor must honor his past with River before he can give her up. His denial of her was a way of holding on to what was, without acknowledging what is. River must do the same, finally able to voice her own good-bye. If the past is not honored it can be rewritten in memory. Reality is determined by observation; different people may experience wildly divergent perceptions of the same event. It is how we choose to remember something, or someone, that matters. When the Doctor no longer exists to observe Strax as a good and loyal person he reverts to a mindless soldier.