Series 7 Special: "She Said, He Said: A Prequel"

WARNING: THIS ANALYSIS MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS FOR THOSE WHO HAVE NOT WATCHED DOCTOR WHO OR AT THE VERY LEAST HAVE NOT SEEN THIS EPISODE. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.  

Hello again. It's a big day in the world of Doctor Who - the day the Series 7 finale airs, the episode that Steven Moffat has said will change the show forever. It actually airs in less than an hour where I live, except that I won't be able to watch it live, as I said in the last post.


But before posting on the finale itself, I want to post an analysis of the short 3 1/2-minute prequel that was released for it, called "She Said, He Said." If you haven't gone and watched it yet, I suggest you do so before reading this...I'd rather you did, even with the spoiler warning on this post (which I put on all my analysis posts anyway, mostly for the newer fans like me who are still catching up with the old episodes). You can watch it on YouTube here.

So..basically this prequel takes place in a strange, museum-like room, and consists of two monologues - one from Clara, one from The Doctor - addressed to the camera. In each, the person who is speaking starts out talking about his/her feelings for the other - feelings that appear to be romantic in nature, which should get all the Eleven/Clara (a.k.a. "Whouffle") shippers excited.

But then, the mood quickly changes, signaled by these words that appear in both monologues:

You get used to not knowing. I thought I never would. I was wrong.

This then leads into both Clara and The Doctor (in their respective monologues) revealing to the viewer that they know each other's identities and secrets, and that they found out this information "the day we went to Trenzalore."

I have to say, this clip got me so intrigued and excited for the finale. This clip, confirms, if nothing else, that the Doctor's biggest secret (his name, most likely) will be revealed, as will Clara's identity. It's also suggested we'll find out why The Doctor left Gallifrey to begin with (Clara asks him "What set you on your way and where are you going?" and then later says "I know where he began and where he is going"). The Doctor also seems to be having doubts about Clara, since although he claims she's perfect, perfect in every way for him, always exactly what he needs, he also says, in a worrisome tone, that she's "too perfect." As in too good to be true. Hmm...

I will admit, seeing the frozen, silent forms of first The Doctor and then Clara was pretty creepy, but I assume it serves some purpose in the scene, though what I'm not exactly sure. Maybe it's supposed to be like they're in the same room but on opposite sides of some invisible wall?

Also, if you look close, you can see props from various Series 7 episodes scattered hither and yon in the background. In Clara's part, you can see the rocket mechanism from "The Crimson Horror," Webley's chessboard (complete with Cyberman) from "Nightmare in Silver," The Doctor's painting of Clara from "The Bells of Saint John" and the big seal thing that was on the wall of the pyramid in "The Rings of Akhaten." There's also something that looks like the headset from "Hide" that the psychic girl wore to open a door into the pocket universe, but I'm not sure whether it's it or not cause it's blurry. In The Doctor's part, you can see Clara's Victorian governess dress from "The Snowmen" as well as a sign for The Rose and Crown, the bar Clara worked for in that same episode, plus the Anti-Cyberman gun from "Nightmare in Silver" and the bike from "The Rings of Akhaten."

Looks like somebody raided the prop department...

Also, here we have firm confirmation that Trenzalore, which Moffat had told us was happening, IS happening, and sooner than we thought. The idea of Trenzalore dates back to Series 5 (or maybe 6) and was the whole reason why The Silence was trying to kill The Doctor -- to keep him from going to Trenzalore, where, according to a prophecy, "silence must fall when the question is asked" - a question which was revealed at the end of Series 6 to be "Doctor who?". And it was also revealed that when the question is asked, The Doctor cannot lie or refuse to answer.

Anyway...just watched this again for this post and to prepare for the finale...GAH CAN'T WAIT!!