BWW Recap: Season 8 of DOCTOR WHO Comes to a Close in 'Death in Heaven'

Man, oh, man, where to begin! Tonight was the final episode of Season 8, and the second part of the 2-part DOCTOR WHO Finale! "Death in Heaven" was definitely an exciting episode, so let's jump right in! As always, beware of SPOILERS!

Quick Recap: Missy has created Cybermen that can pollinate via clouds and turn the dead into Cybermen. UNIT shows up and captures Missy and takes The Doctor aboard their plane, Boat One, where they tell him that he has been elected "President of Earth." Meanwhile, Danny Pink has been turned into a Cyberman, and he saves Clara, but then asks her to turn on his inhibitor so he can no longer feel emotion. Missy ends up escaping and blows up the plane, but The Doctor is able to get in his TARDIS and escape. The Doctor goes to the cemetery where Clara and Danny are and he gives Clara the sonic in order to turn on Danny's inhibitor. Missy arrives and tells The Doctor that she has created an army that can win any war and that she can control with her bracelet and tells him that the army is his. The Doctor realizes at that moment he is neither a good nor a bad man, but an idiot who's always learning because he has people like Clara and Danny and that love is a promise. He gives Cyberman Danny the bracelet and Danny commands the Cybermen to fly into space and blow up, destroying the clouds. Clara is about to kill Missy, when The Doctor says he will do it, in order to save her soul. Missy tells The Doctor the coordinates of where Gallifrey is and that they can go together, but he doesn't believe he. Just as he is about to blow Missy up, a Cyberman kills her first. The Doctor realizes that the Cyberman is Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart and The Doctor thanks him before Stewart flies away.

Two weeks later, Clara is asleep when she hears Danny calling out to her. Danny speaks through it, saying that his bracelet allows one trip to or from the Nethersphere, and he sends the young boy he killed through, telling Clara to find his parents, and with that Danny is gone. The Doctor meets Clara in a restaurant, and Clara is wearing the bracelet, which makes him think Danny is back and they are together. He tells her that it's ok that she is with him and can no longer travel, and that he found Gallifrey so he's going home anyway. When in reality, when he went to the coordinates that missy game him, there was nothing but empty space. They both say goodbye to each other, not knowing that both of them haven't told each other the truth.

Whew, a lot to recap. Okay, now on to the more in depth analysis of "Death in Heaven."

I am going to start with Missy, since she was the star of tonight's show. Her plan to create Cybermen from the minds of the recently deceased took her all throughout time, and is the reason that humans have the concept of heaven. She did all of this just to give The Doctor an army and show him that they aren't that different. She tells him she just wants her friend back. This incarnation of The Master is the least malicious of them all, only doing what she did in order to get The Doctor on her side. She even went as far as lying about knowing where Gallifrey is to get him to consider going to find it and taking her with him. The terror of The Master/Mistress does seem to be over, however, since Missy was killed at the end of the episode (at least as far as we know). It is actually kind of sad to see her go, because no one is as crazy and as equal of a match to The Doctor as she is. I mean she flew down from the sky like Mary Poppins and sang her own version of "Hey Mickey" for goodness sake. Oh! I can't forget to mention that it was in fact Missy who gave Clara the TARDIS number, bringing Clara and The Doctor together!

Poor Doctor. He went through quite a lot in this episode. From the return of his old friend, The Master/Mistress, to having to save the world from an army of Cybermen, he had a lot on his plate! I tjought it was great how all of earth decided to name him "President of Earth," especially since that scene on the plane felt like every end of the world/president movie ever. However, The Doctor didn't directly save the world this time, instead he facilitated it by giving Danny the bracelet that allowed him to send all of the Cybermen into the sky to blow up. I liked that it wasn't directly the Doctor's doing, because like he said, he's just an idiot who learns from people, and this was a good example of this fact. I could see his pain in this episode multiple times, which was very hard, because when The Doctor is sad, I am sad. Going to the coordinates that Missy gave him only to find empty space was heartbreaking. All he wants is to find and save Gallifrey and to go home. All he wants is to not be alone, and seeing him have a glimmer of hope that is ripped away from him was very hard to watch. His response of hitting the TARDIS console was such a raw moment from The Doctor that we don't get to see very often. Not only did he lose the hope at going home, but The Doctor also lost his companion. The finale ends with Clara and him saying goodbye and going their separate ways. What makes their goodbye even more frustrating that it already is, is that The Doctor lied to Clara, and told her that Gallifrey was in fact there. If he hadn't told her that, she probably would have told him the truth about Danny and they wouldn't have separated. Like Clara said, they are each other's best friend, so watching them separate because of that is really difficult. So much of The Doctor's future is up in the air, with Gallifrey still not in sight and no companion by his side.

Clara once again continues to blow me away. First with her very convincing portrayal of The Doctor when trying to get the Cybermen to spare her. From knowing all of The Doctor's life story, to fast-talking just like him, to exuding confidence that is characteristic of The Doctor, Clara even had me thinking "Hm, wouldn't that be a twist." However, that was the only light-hearted moment for her in this episode. Poor Clara had to see Danny turned into a Cyberman, and even worse she had to turn on his inhibitor to make him lose all emotion. Clara had to watch the love of her life disappear right before her eyes. And when she thought there was a glimmer of hope that he was back, Danny does the right thing and saves the young boy instead of himself. Clara has definitely proven herself in this season as a strong woman who handles pain and loss admirably. However, I hope this isn't the last of Clara like the episode makes it seem. I am not going to lie and say I didn't shed a tear when she and The Doctor hugged goodbye, because their companionship has made this season great. I really hope she isn't gone for good, but if this is it for Miss Clara Oswald, I can say she will be leaving DOCTOR WHO as one of my all-time favorite companions, thanks to Season 8.

We can't talk about Clara without talking about Danny Pink. Danny saved the world and sacrificed himself twice in this episode. Not only did his love for Clara enable him to not be commanded by Missy, his subordinance as a Cyberman allowed him to take control of the army and command them all to fly up into the sky and explode, which burned up all of the clouds. Danny was a true soldier and he saved the world. He sacrificed himself once again when he sent through the little boy he killed instead of using the one trip from the Nethersphere on himself. It's sad that we have seen the last of Danny Pink, because in the end he proved himself as a noble and good man. It was so hard watching him and Clara say their final "I love you's" too. But, Danny made the right and honorable decision when sending the young boy back, instead of himself, because it atoned for his mistakes and gives him a clean conscience.

We finally saw the reappearance of Kate Stewart and UNIT in tonight's episode. After their involvement in "The Day of the Doctor," UNIT was back in a more somber way this episode. From Osgood being killed by Missy-which was really sad for me because I loved her character-to Missy blowing up UNIT's plane and sending Kate hurdling to earth, UNIT suffered a lot of blows tonight. On the upside, however, Kate managed to survive her fall thanks to a Cyberman-more specifically her father, the Brigadier, who caught her in air and brought her to safety. He also was responsible for killing Missy, and The Doctor saluted him and thanked him upon realizing it was him.

All in all, this Season and the finale espeically have been 10/10. I have loved every episode and every story. The chemistry between all the actors this season has been incredible. From The Doctor and Clara, to Clara and Danny, and Missy and The Doctor, the relationships in this season have been what made it so great. Watching the characters fight with each other and grow from each other has made for a season to remember. I am going to miss Danny and Clara and I hope that Season 9 brings something equally as enjoyable.

Favorite Moments from "Death in Heaven"

Clara: "I'm not Clara Oswald, Clara Oswald has never existed. I'm The Doctor."

The Doctor: "Nice bowtie." Osgood: "Bowties are cool."

Missy: "Hey, Missy, you're so fine, you're so fine, you blow my mind, hey, Missy."

Missy to Osgood: "I'm going to kill you in a minute."

The Doctor to Danny: "Pain is a gift

Danny to The Doctor: "You've got to keep those hands clean."

Clara to Danny: "I wasn't very good at it, but I did love you."

Missy about The Cybermen: "The more they kill, the more they recruit."

Missy to The Doctor: "Nobody thinks they're righter than you."

Missy to The Doctor: "I need you to know we are not so different. I need my friend back"

The Doctor: "I am an idiot, with a box and a screwdriver, passing through, helping out, learning."

The Doctor to Clara : "Never trust a hug. It's just a way to hide your face."

That's it for Season 8, can you believe how fast it went by! I swear it feels like just yesterday I was starting my first ever recap with "Deep Breath." Thankfully, we still have the Christmas Special to look forward to, and it looks awesome! I mean Nick Frost as Santa Claus, it already has me hooked! Well until next time, Whovians! See you on Christmas!

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