This week we see The Doctor and Clara visit Professor Alec Plamer and his assistant Emma Grayling in the Caliburn mansion. The Mansion is haunted with a ghost known as the “witch of the well” who has apparently been there since before the mansion was even built.
The Professor is “tracking” the ghost that has been haunting the house with the help of his psychic empath friend/lover/girlfriend Emma.
We’ve seen “ghosts” in Doctor Who that aren’t actually ghosts. “Hide” was no exception.
The Doctor travels through time in the same spot taking pictures seeing if the ghost is still there. He goes to the beginning of the earth all the way to its very last day (which btw the 9th Doctor and Rose were up in space looking down at the earth. whattttt). The Doctor Discovers that the ghost is actually a time traveler named Hila Tukurian who is stuck in a pocket dimension.
The Doctor goes into the Pocket dimension to save her and ends up finding a monster. Clara finally gets the TARDIS to listen to her and they swoop in save Hila and return. The Doctor then discovers that the monster from the pocket dimension wasn’t trying to kill him, but trying to get to the “real world” to be with it’s mate. “every lonely monster needs a companion”
“Hide” was scary. It’s been a while since we’ve had a ‘scary” episode. Things lurking in the shadows, looking down dark corridors, a ghost with a horrified face. That’s scary stuff. Or maybe I’m just a wimp. One of the other. There was a perfect amount of tension and unknown and ghostly figures in photographs.
Clara’s relationship with the TARDIS is new and interesting. Companions never really have trouble with the TARDIS, but for some reason Clara does. Clara has to earn the TARDIS’ trust when no other companion has had to. This probably has something to do with who (or what) Clara actually is.
The Doctor asks Emma what Clara is thinking Emma’s psychic empath powers would let her see the true Clara Oswald. No such luck for The Doctor though. Emma tells The Doctor that Clara is just a normal girl. Someday we’ll get some answers right?
Clara is also starting to find out more about the Doctor and who HE really is. Emma told Clara that the Doctor has ice in his heart and Clara doesn’t like how The Doctor isn’t phased by how he just goes in and out of time. She seems to think that the Doctor doesn’t actually care about what goes on because he can just get away from it in his magic blue box.
The thing that stood out the most about this episode was the line “every lonely monster needs a companion” The Doctor probably still thinks that he is a monster; being the cause of massive genocide, not being able to save everyone all the time, the people he has lost. All of these things are probably still weighing on him, and probably will forever. The Doctor will always see himself as a monster, but his companions make him feel less terrible (Otherwise he turns into a dark rain cloud of depression).
What did you think of this week’s episode? Let us know in the comments!