One of the many complaints about Steven Moffat on Doctor Who is the way the characters often escape seemingly dire circumstances with little explanation. The Doctor will find himself in some difficult situation, and then there will be a rushed solution that makes little sense, allowing him to emerge victorious. We saw a prime example of that with the Boneless during Flatline, as the Doctor used his screwdriver to stop them and send the creatures back to the other dimension they came from. How did this work? Who knows. Deus ex machina.
When The Witch’s Familiar began, and we saw Missy sharpening a stick with Clara hanging by her feet from a rock, it seemed as though Moffat’s desire to have his characters once again escape certain death without explanation would occur once more. And then, much to our surprise, there was an explanation as to how Missy escaped. In the nanoseconds before she would be exterminated, Missy was able to recharge her teleportation device using the Daleks rays, making it look like she was killed.
As far fetched as that may seem, it was an escape that had been performed by the Doctor himself. Missy learned from her foe, taking that same plan and using it to her advantage. Okay, fine. We have an explanation, and one that can sort of make sense. Missy’s escape from certain death is understandable. But then, how did Clara escape the Daleks?
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Clara certainly did not have a teleportation device on her. She also, in all likelihood, not be quick enough to duck below those disintegration beams to fire up a teleportation device if she had one. Yet, there she was, hanging by her ankles from a rock while Missy made jokes about killing and eating her if she was unable to locate food. So, how, exactly, did she get there?
Well, this is a matter of conjecture. While Moffat was kind enough to provide an explanation of Missy’s plan to avoid certain death, Clara’s escape is far more ambiguous. Perhaps Missy teleported over to Clara just before she would be exterminated, then quickly left the area with her companion in tow. Missy did need Clara’s assistance to penetrate the Dalek city, explaining her rescue as more than an altruistic move.
And when Missy’s use of Clara was over? Well, she was back to her old tricks, trying to get the Doctor to kill Clara while she was inside the Dalek shell. It was not as though she turned over a new leaf, and had suddenly turned to the side of good. Clara was simply a means to an end.
Perhaps that is the explanation. Missy saved Clara to further her own means, getting inside the Dalek city to help the Doctor. Either that, or we have another case of deus ex machina on Doctor Who. However, considering the quality of the season thus far, let us hope the former explanation is the case.
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