[Cryptonomica @replies]

@purofilion  The conversation in Into the Dalek goes like this:

Danny is giving the class homework, and finishes by asking “Any Questions?”

One of the boys raises his hand and asks “Sir, Have you ever killed a man?”

As the rest of the class groans, Danny replies, “I was a soldier, there were other soldiers and some of weren’t on our side.  I shall leave the rest to your imagination.  And please, think of another question.”

The same boy asks, “OK, have you ever killed somebody who wasn’t a soldier?”

Danny doesn’t answer, but stares the class and begins to repeat his homework instructions.  A single tear rolls down his cheek.

 

So, it appears that his bad day had something to do with the killing (intentionally or otherwise) of civilians.

[Cryptonomica @replies]

Hello!

I’m new here, so bear with me while I post some random thoughts following my first two viewings of this episode.

The story was clearly all about The Decision which Clara has to make near the end.  Everything else before that is simply setting her up to have to make the choice.

She would obviously rather not have to make it, I suspect because she doesn’t want to have to deal with the possibility of being wrong, and the possible consequences thereof.  Having said that, she clearly knows what the “right” decision is.  As soon as Captain Lundvik asks “How do we kill it”, Clara’s reaction and expression give away the fact that she feels, instinctively, that this is the wrong choice.

She is clearly hoping and expecting that the Doctor will make the choice for them, provide a third option (as he often has in the past), or at least guide them into doing the “right” thing.  When he leaves, despite arguing against the Captain’s decision, Clara still goes along with it.  Perhaps she is still hoping the doctor will return to save the day, even while knowing that, this time, he probably won’t.

Her message to Earth is, I think, a last ditch effort to find a way of not having to decide.  Ironically, her time and experience with the Doctor have probably made Clara the best qualified to choose.  If humanity as a whole make the “right” choice then she doesn’t have to.  I suspect that Clara is not completely convinced at this point that her instincts are correct.  She may feel, as I think the Captain does, that the “rational” choice is much safer.  If she follows her instincts and chooses to let nature take its course, then billions of innocent people may die.  Of course she does not want to be responsible for that, who would?  If humanity as a whole vote to let the moon hatch, then she can follow her instinct to do the “right” thing, while being absolved of much of the responsibility if everything goes wrong.

Humanity, however, votes to kill the creature.  With no time left to make the choice, with the Captain and humanity as a whole set on the path of destruction, Clara is finally left with no option but to make the choice that she has wanted to make all along.  With barely a second to spare, she does the one thing she didn’t want to have to do – risk billions of human lives to save the life of a unique alien creature whose intentions are unknown.

As far as I can recall, it is the first time when Clara has truly had to make such an important decision for herself.  Yes, she jumped into the Doctor’s time stream in The Name of the Doctor, but she did so in the knowledge that she already had done so:  “…this is what I’ve already done.  You’ve already seen me do it.  I’m the Impossible Girl.  And this is why”.  She’s taking a risk of course, but only with her own life.

In The Day of the Doctor, Clara is really just along for the ride.  It is the War Doctor along with Ten and Eleven who actually make the decision (and ultimately find a third option).  Clara is just there as an observer.  Yes, she is the one who persuades the three Doctors that there must be another way, but the decision is still ultimately theirs, and Clara is shielded from the consequences and responsibility either way.  “We’ve got enough warriors. Any old idiot can be a hero.”  “Then what do I do?”  “What you’ve always done. Be a doctor.”

In Kill the Moon, we finally see Clara being forced to step into the Doctor’s shoes, to make the kind of decision he often has to make.  She doesn’t like it, doesn’t want to do it, feels angry with herself that she was almost persuaded to go along with making the “wrong” choice, and scared about what the might have ended up being responsible for.  It’s this anger that she directs at the Doctor in their final scene in the TARDIS.

Phew, I hadn’t intended to write that much!

I’ve still got some thoughts about the Doctor’s part in this, but I think I’ve said enough for now, so I’ll leave that for when I’ve had some more coffee…

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