... and then she comes back two episodes later. But that is a weakness for that episode, not this one. For this episode, what starts as a fairly run of the mill but solid episode builds in thematic poignancy to an amazing crescendo by the climax. The plot revolves around Clara and The Doctor receiving a phone call from a distressed Rigsy (remember the random grafiti artist from that one episode - - you know, the one with the 2-dimensional aliens in season eight?), who apparently they thought was an important enough character to randomly bring back. Anyway, Rigsy has a tattoo that is counting down, which to be fair is never good. So The Doctor and co retrace his steps to figure out how he got it (can't remember, of course) and how to stop it. Aside from the return of Rigsy feeling a bit random and not particularly called for, this first act of the episode is rather solid, with some decent intrigue and good Doctor and Clara moments.
The second act is a little shaky for me. They discover a "trap street" that is basically an alien refugee camp run by "Mayor Me." While her return is slightly more deserved, I was not particularly pleased with her introductory episodes and the character herself tends to still be tediously irritating at times, but at least she isn't the crybaby she was in "The Woman Who Lived." Any rate, there's some convoluted nonsense about a supposed murder by Rigsy and a Nightshade, but it is at least well acted and successfully sets up the climactic third act as the Doctor and Clara go about trying to prove Rigsy's innocence so Mayor Me/Ashildr will remove the Nightshade's (the titular raven) chronolock from Rigsy (cause you die when that thing hits zero).
And the third act is downright beautiful. Clara's ego gets in the way, having put herself in Rigsy's place as she tries to force Ashildr into a stalemate. It all backfires of course and dooms poor Clara in one of the best scenes written in all of Doctor Who. The Doctor's fury with Ashildr is spine tingling and genuine as he says "The Doctor is no longer here; you're stuck with me now!" Clara talking him down and ordering him not to take revenge in wonderful Clara fashion is beautifully written and heartbreaking as she 'faces the raven,' literally and figuratively in the climax of the episode. Going into the third act I was on the fence if I was going to give the episode an 8 or 8.5 (both respectable scores) but this scene in and of itself elevated the entire episode before segueing into the next one, making it a must watch. 9/10
The second act is a little shaky for me. They discover a "trap street" that is basically an alien refugee camp run by "Mayor Me." While her return is slightly more deserved, I was not particularly pleased with her introductory episodes and the character herself tends to still be tediously irritating at times, but at least she isn't the crybaby she was in "The Woman Who Lived." Any rate, there's some convoluted nonsense about a supposed murder by Rigsy and a Nightshade, but it is at least well acted and successfully sets up the climactic third act as the Doctor and Clara go about trying to prove Rigsy's innocence so Mayor Me/Ashildr will remove the Nightshade's (the titular raven) chronolock from Rigsy (cause you die when that thing hits zero).
And the third act is downright beautiful. Clara's ego gets in the way, having put herself in Rigsy's place as she tries to force Ashildr into a stalemate. It all backfires of course and dooms poor Clara in one of the best scenes written in all of Doctor Who. The Doctor's fury with Ashildr is spine tingling and genuine as he says "The Doctor is no longer here; you're stuck with me now!" Clara talking him down and ordering him not to take revenge in wonderful Clara fashion is beautifully written and heartbreaking as she 'faces the raven,' literally and figuratively in the climax of the episode. Going into the third act I was on the fence if I was going to give the episode an 8 or 8.5 (both respectable scores) but this scene in and of itself elevated the entire episode before segueing into the next one, making it a must watch. 9/10