6. What If
Claras parents meet when a leaf blows into the face of her future father, causing him to stumble into the path of an oncoming car. He is saved when Claras future mother pulls him out of the way. As Claras father points out, he never would have met his future wife if that leaf had not fallen into his path. Or would he? End results do not necessarily imply causality. Was the leaf falling a coincidence or destiny? If they were fated to meet, might Claras parents have found each other no matter what? If a coincidence, might Claras parents still have met in some other fashion? The leaf may only have significance because the people decide that it does. This doesnt make it any less meaningful. Later in the episode Clara offers the leaf as an example of potential unrealized. Her mom died young and the leaf symbolizes a life unlived. The point is that this is what the leaf means to Clara and that is why it is important. Experience changes us, our identities shift. When the Doctor returns Clara to her starting point everything appears different to her. Her environment didnt change, she did. She is not the same person she was before she left. The Doctor never stands still; his life is constantly in flux. Does he hate death so much because of the emotional repercussions? Or is it that he views it as a fixed point, a kind of stagnation, an end to change? Does he fear that most of all?