"Face the Raven" Grade and Discussion Thread
- Thread starter Samurai8472
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"I'd forgotten not all victories are about saving the universe."
-Rory Williams, The God Complex
Of course Clara remembers Ashildr. There's no way for her to not remember. It would have been very eerie if the Doctor didn't remember Ashildr, however. I kinda wish they went that way. Would need a few changes to “The Girl Who Died”, though.
The Doctor is too obsessed with her to forget her.
Not if the Doctor had been going backwards into Clara's timeline and hadn't met her yet.
Fair enough. I missed the context of the original post.
That would have been a little too timey-whimey for me.
I wish the folks behind DW could have scrapped last week's waste of an episode and poured the funds into Face the Raven's budget instead. The face on the back on the head prosthetic did not pass under the scrutiny of HD.
That said, this episode was easily the strongest of the series for me. I agree with the points others have been saying regarding Clara's death. I think it was written well but filmed with an excessive amount of melodrama. I wish the director/editor/whoever could have followed Capaldi and Coleman's lead and practiced a little restraint. The actors' performances were lovely in spite of everything else.
And I can't wait to buy the beautiful Character Options/Underground Toys Comic-Con Exclusive 2016 Flight Control Tardis - Clara Memorial edition.
That said, this episode was easily the strongest of the series for me. I agree with the points others have been saying regarding Clara's death. I think it was written well but filmed with an excessive amount of melodrama. I wish the director/editor/whoever could have followed Capaldi and Coleman's lead and practiced a little restraint. The actors' performances were lovely in spite of everything else.
And I can't wait to buy the beautiful Character Options/Underground Toys Comic-Con Exclusive 2016 Flight Control Tardis - Clara Memorial edition.
And my juvenile mind couldn't shake this out of my head
Truly, that's not your fault. I rewatched the death scene this morning, and I went, "Wait... that was a deliberate directing choice. It's like they wanted to emphasize Jenna's chest there."
I don't really know what they were thinking there.
Clara's death broke my heart. And her death is made even more tragic because it was her own foolishness and recklessness that caused it. She thought she could be the doctor and take death defying risks, play with fate, and a clever strategy will save the day at the last minute, but this time, she got burned. I do feel like her death felt a bit forced because the writers had to break their own rules. We've seen previous episodes where the writers pull a rabbit out of a hat to save the day. For example, why didn't Ashildr take the tatoo since she is immortal. If Jenna were not leaving, the writers would have done something like that but since they had to kill Clara, this time, we are simply told that nothing can be done to save her because "reasons".
I think the Time Lords teleported the Doctor. I suspect the Doctor's confession dial contains some nasty secrets about the Time Lords that they want to keep secret. It would explain why they want it so bad.
I think the Time Lords teleported the Doctor. I suspect the Doctor's confession dial contains some nasty secrets about the Time Lords that they want to keep secret. It would explain why they want it so bad.
And my juvenile mind couldn't shake this out of my head
Truly, that's not your fault. I rewatched the death scene this morning, and I went, "Wait... that was a deliberate directing choice. It's like they wanted to emphasize Jenna's chest there."
I don't really know what they were thinking there.
I wonder if it was an attempt at bookends with The Snowmen.
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Maybe they were thinking "let's emphasize Jenna's chest because it will get more boys to watch the episode and boost ratings."
It had to be a deliberate choice on the part of the director. Not just the camera is shooting from the side but Jenna is pulling her arms back to further puff her chest out.
Surely it was too late in the episode to have that effect.
My attention was drawn more to the fact that they showed multiple cuts of her opening her mouth and flinging her arms back without the smoke appearing. For a few seconds I wondered:
a. Have they forgotten to do the CG effect?
b. Are they going to suddenly stop the music and reveal she isn't dying after all?
I was half-expecting the Raven/smoke to fly right past Clara and attack the Doctor, who had secretly managed to transfer the tattoo to himself while Clara was saying goodbye.
...which is probably exactly what would have happened if Capaldi had been the one leaving instead of Jenna.
...which is probably exactly what would have happened if Capaldi had been the one leaving instead of Jenna.
I think that was intentional to make you think the latter
They did something similar in The Wedding of River Song but then again it could be an editing issue like The Snowmen.
And my juvenile mind couldn't shake this out of my head
Truly, that's not your fault. I rewatched the death scene this morning, and I went, "Wait... that was a deliberate directing choice. It's like they wanted to emphasize Jenna's chest there."
I don't really know what they were thinking there.
Yesterday I saw the last Hunger Games movie and last night I saw the beginning of Jessica Jones. Both have strong female characters that didn't need "Sexing Up". I see that photo of Clara and read you're point and that actually makes me angry.
I thought it was pretty obvious that Adric gave the Doctor the star to use as a weapon against the Cybermen. Adric had no intention of dying.
This probably isn't the right forum, but I disagree about Jessica Jones. Most of the time she's layered up as a fashion choice. Her being "sexed up" is her own decision, and...
...the instant she finds out the truth about Luke Cage, she takes full advantage of what they can do. Probably because it's been years since she's been able to let loose like that for fear of hurting anyone. She found an equal.
Especially since it's strongly implied that Kilgrave controlled her for his own perverse needs too, so if she is to enjoy the natural function of sex, she needs to own it on her terms. Which she can do with Cage.
Especially since it's strongly implied that Kilgrave controlled her for his own perverse needs too, so if she is to enjoy the natural function of sex, she needs to own it on her terms. Which she can do with Cage.
Plus, Jessica Jones is an "adult" show whereas Hunger Games and Doctor Who are decidedly more family-oriented fare anyway. They'd definitely have different ratings if it came to that.