BWW Recap: Maisie Williams Guest Stars as 'The Girl Who Died' on DOCTOR WHO

Maisie Williams guest-stars as "The Girl Who Died," in tonight's episode of DOCTOR WHO. Maisie plays Ashildr, a Viking girl who's village is attacked by the Mire, some of the galaxy's best warriors. There was a lot of speculation as to who Maisie would play and the importance of the character, and though not what people guessed, Ashildr does become a very important character by the end of this episode.

Ashildr's village, with the help of The Doctor, are able to trick the Mire, using electric eels and a Mire helmet. However, part of the plan involved Ashildr wearing the helmet and using her imagination to trick the Mire, which drained the life out of her and killed her. The Doctor--in a very moving moment played by Capaldi--tells Clara he's sick of losing people. In a moment of compassion and sadness, The Doctor decides to do something, to not let Ashildr die. Unfortunately, in The Doctor's haste, he did not think about the repurcussions of his actions, since he essentially made Ashildr immortal. He tells Clara that Ashildr has alien blood in her now, and in a moment of realization he puts together that she is a "hybrid." When Davros, warned The Doctor of a hybrid, most of us assumed that it was a Time Lord/Dalek hybrid, and although terrifying, that is not what The Doctor has to worry about--at least right now. The final scene of the episode was also very telling, when Ashildr, watching time pass, starts out smiling, and after seeing the world age, turns much darker. Ashildr is most likely the "tidal wave" The Doctor has been afraid of.

This episode also called back to Capaldi's previous appearance on Who as Lucius Caecilius. Back when David Tennant was The Tenth Doctor, Donna convinced him to save Lucius and his family from Mount Vesuvius. The Doctor tells Clara that he chose "this face" to "remind him." Though saving people is good, The Doctor knows the dangers of playing God, and the second-part of this episode will definitely show him those dangers. At the beginning of the episode, The Doctor saw Ashildr and told Clara that he had a premonition, which is just remembering in the wrong direction. Before I just assumed that was about Ashildr dying, but now I'm pretty confident that was The Doctor remembering what's to come--the repurcussions of his actions.

Clara continues to prove her worth as a companion. She even showed herself as more of a Doctor than a companion in this episode: first when she takes the sonic and tries to save Ashildr, and then again when she almost convinces the Mire leader to leave, until Ashildr declares war that is. With the knowledge that this is Jenna Coleman's last season, everytime The Doctor mentions his need to protect her it just feels like foreshadowing for her impending death/loss. I've really grown to love Clara and as the series progresses I get more and more sad at the fact that she'll be leaving. I just hope her depature isn't too heartbreaking, but knowing Moffat, it probably will be.

One last question, since The Doctor gave Ashildr one more revive-chip, does that mean she is traveling around all of time and space with her own companion, and if so who will it be? Since Ashildr seems like she will be less of a companion to The Doctor and more of an issue, whoever she chooses will probably be an addition to the conflict.

I really enjoyed this episode. I love DOCTOR WHO and the unlimited potenital every episode has. Not only did we get Vikings, we got Vikings being invaded by an alien warrior race. I love how this show can balance a light-hearted time with very dark moments. My favorite part of the epsiode was when they had a "party" that the Mire walked in on. My least favorite part of the episode was when they flashed to Ten, because IT HURT TOO MUCH. On the up side, they destroyed the sonic sunglasses, so hopefully we'll finally get the screwdriver back!

Favorite Moments:

-The Benny Hill music dubbed over that video was genius

-The Doctor's 2000-year diary is adorable

-The Doctor: "No not Vikings, I'm not in the mood for Vikings"

-The Doctor: "Clara.." Clara: "Yeah?" The Doctor: "We're going with the Vikings."

-Clara: "The universe is full of testosterone, trust me, it's unbearable."

-Clara: "Uh... he speaks baby"

-The Doctor: "Ripples into tidal waves, into everybody dies."

-Clara: "Start winning Doctor, it's what you're good at."

-Clara: "Did you trap your finger in something again?"

-The Doctor: "I'm so sick of losing."

-Clara: "It's official, silence is even worse in a Scottish accent"

The Doctor: "Immortality is everyone else dying."

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Next week we will find out if The Doctor created a ripple or a tidal wave with Ashildr, so make sure to check back here for my recap of DOCTOR WHO! Also leave your comments on tonight's episode below, or tweet me at @kaitmilligan!

Photo Credit: © BBC WORLDWIDE LIMITED

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