I was at an Islamic Conference in OKC. It was really good for me, and I have learned a lot, and become more comfortable with who I am. I hope not to forget these lessons.

Now, onto “Before the Flood,” and to some extent “Under the Lake.” In regards to my thoughts on this two parter, I think it was fantastic, but just slightly worse than the “The Magician’s Apprentice/The Witch’s Familiar” Story. My main gripe with this was the shoehorned relationship between the secondary characters in the episode. There was no evidence of relationships in the first part, which was a little frustrating. In addition, during the second part of the first Episode, the writer seemed to forget about Clara. However, it was still incredibly enjoyable, with an awesome performance by everyone involved, and with an awesome performance by Sophie Stone who played the first Deaf Character in Doctor Who history. It also showcased just how much Clara has changed, reinforcing the fact that she has, in essence, become a second Doctor in the TARDIS. This is something that is also going on in the American Comics right now.

However, we know get to the point about one singular line.

If you love me in anyway, you will come back to me.

Many fans thought before the episode aired that there was no way this line would involve the Doctor and Clara. Yet, here we are. And the fact is, he figured out a way to do it to, waiting 139 years to get back to her. He pulled a Rory. For me, this is enough that I think that a relationship can be described as canon. And relationships should not be a bad thing. When someone is in constant contact with someone, through thrilling and dangerous times, it is natural for a strong attachment to occur. In fact, I would say that that what we are seeing now is probably more natural that many Doctor-Companion Relationships during the Classic Era, namely the Companions of the 5th and 6th Doctors, and to an extent the end of the 4th Doctor (Essentially, the Jonathan Nathan-Turner era). I will also admit that I am a huge sucker for romance, as long as I think the personalities would be plausible to match (What did 9 & 10 see in Rose?)

Another part that I loved was the Bootstrap Paradox. That got a smile out of me, along with Capaldi playing the Doctor Who theme.

I also do think I have an idea why Jenna Coleman left Doctor Who as well. In one of her recent interviews, she mentioned how she has not watched any Doctor Who episodes with herself in it, because so much of herself into her character, while her other parts for TV are not that way. To me, it sounds like she was about to have issues that both William Hartnell and Tom Baker had when playing the Doctor, in that they would get lost in character. William Hartnell had breakdowns towards the end of his run, and would sometimes forget he was not playing parts in real-life, while Tom Baker had issues for years about him failing to live up to the character he played on television, having failings in his personal life, and being a very harsh person on set. Recently, he has softened wonderfully, and now even talks to Lalla Ward again. But it does not change the fact that Doctor Who is an incredibly intense show, to the point where the character of the Doctor is just as intense a role as Sherlock Holmes, and can erode one’s identity. This is also the reason why I think that Capaldi will be leaving at the end of next Series, along with the Departure of Coleman, and Moffat likely leaving after next Series. Since Tom Baker, no Doctor has lasted more than 3 wholes seasons. And it is probably better that way too.