capaldisthebest:

twelveclara:

the doctor and clara’s relationship series 8 vs series 9 is so vastly different that just using the excuse “oh, they were adjusting, figuring each other out, who they are, etc” absolutely doesn’t cut it. like, they went from “best friends who sometimes clash” to “i’d sacrifice anything if it meant i could be with you.” literally go watch the seasons back-to-back (which is what i’m currently doing) and you’ll be so thrown off by the wild intensity of their relationship development that you will be stunned. and – for what we can see – no real reason. sure, they’ve gotten a second chance, but that doesn’t explain their sudden desperate desire to stay with the other.

so i have a new theory – there are plenty of things we didn’t see, plenty of things that occurred off-screen, on other adventures, other lazy days. what we did see before this insane attachment in s9 began is the doctor essentially asking clara to elope with him. we all made jokes about it. but what if that was actually the intention of the scene? what if that’s how they both really took it and it wasn’t a joke? i mean, the episode really set it up that way. talking about marriage. how there was one man. and then, that man ends up asking her to leave with him. it was a direct follow-up. and their resulting dynamic shift happened directly after the events of that. 

you can watch s9 with the idea that clara and the doctor were actually in a relationship and it actually makes more sense than the alternative. there are so many lines slipped in that could be seen as jokes (”don’t kiss me, morning breath” / him fanning himself, “oh yeah. not just this”) or confessions of love (”if you love me in any way you’ll come back” “i’ll come back for you i swear” / “i had a duty of care” / “stay with me” ) to the point where as clara’s about to die she says “everything you’re about to say i already know.” we all assumed it was just some heartbreaking sentiment but what if she said it because she literally knew. because they’d spent all series actually together and we just weren’t allowed to watch? 

I agree 100%. I remember seeing a video of an appearance the cast and Steven Moffat made way back at the beginning of series 8 – it may have been from the world tour, but I can’t say for certain. Someone had asked about the romantic aspect and Moffat was answering. Moffat said that Peter had told him not to go there (can’t remember the exact words) and Peter said, “ I never said you couldn’t. I said if you did you would have to be very careful.”

And I think that’s exactly what they’ve been doing all along – being careful to not come right out and say it or show it (there were no “traditional” love scenes) but to hint or suggest it instead. There have been times when Peter – but usually Moffat – will slip up in an interview and it comes out. Most recently, was an interview Moffat gave right before series 9 started. He said it had been a long time since he had seen the Doctor PRETEND that he didn’t fancy Clara. The interviewer asked him more questions about it and his attitude was like well of course the Doctor fancies Clara. It was almost like he was tired of hiding it.

I could probably write a thesis on this, but I’m sure people understand my point. The Doctor and Clara’s story was probably the most beautiful love story ever told on television. 💖