Doctor Who Christmas Special: Last Christmas

SPOILERS!!!!! Read at your own risk.

To be honest, series 8 was kind of a bit disappointing for me. It wasn't that I didn't like series 8, it's just that I expected it to be amazing and it was just good. There were some things that were great about it (the main thing being a female master), but other things just didn't live up to their potential. Because of my slight disappointment about series 8, and because I'm generally not a big fan of Christmas specials, I did not expect much from Last Christmas. I was pleasantly surprised.

Honestly, my favourite episodes are the ones that make you think. After watching some Doctor Who episodes, I just can't stop thinking about them. Sometimes I can't stop thinking about them because the story idea was so weird and complicated that it takes a while to fully understand the plot. Sometimes I can't stop thinking about an episode because of what it says about human nature. Sometimes I can't stop thinking about an episode because it's just FREAKING AWESOME. There have been several of these kinds of episodes in Doctor Who. I'll give a few examples: Dalek, The Impossible Planet/ The Satan Pit, Utopia/ The Sound of Drums/ Last of the Time Lords, Midnight, The End of Time, Amy's Choice, Vincent and the Doctor, The Girl Who Waited, The God Complex, Asylum of the Daleks and Listen. Okay, that was a bit more than a few examples. Anyway, Last Christmas, for me, fits into this category of episodes that I can't stop thinking about after I finish them.

Why was Last Christmas so interesting? First of all, the story idea was one of my favourites in Doctor Who so far. I did notice that the idea itself was quite similar to the episode Amy's Choice (which I also loved), but the messages behind these two episodes are very different. I honestly don't care that the idea of not knowing whether or not you're dreaming was reused. It's a great idea, and the two episodes approached it very differently. Amy's Choice was more about Amy and her deciding whether she loved Rory or the Doctor. Last Christmas was more about dreams and reality. It's true that it was a little bit about Clara and Danny too, but I think that she was less important to the message of the episode than Amy was in Amy's Choice.

Last Christmas was also an interesting episode because it was deliberately designed to confuse the viewer and to put the viewer in the same position as the characters. I really love this.

As for the characters in the episode, Clara and the Doctor were both awesome. It was great to see Danny again, even if it was only Clara subconsciously talking to herself through Danny. (Or maybe it was the Doctor talking to Clara through Danny? See, this is an example of how I can not stop thinking about this episode.)

I am also really happy that Jenna Coleman will be staying for season 9. Clara is my favourite companion and I want her to stay a while longer because she's awesome. I would like there to be a new companion as well, though. Preferably female. More about my new companion preferences in a bit.

A while ago I made a list of 10 things I wanted to happen in series 8. Three of the things on the list came true and three kind of came true. The other four (new time lords, War Doctor, River Song and more gay/lesbian relationships) have sadly not come to pass in series 8 or in the Christmas special, but I'm still holding out hope for series 9. Here is a list of ten things I want in series 9 (including some of the things I put on the series 8 list). I have a feeling that very few of these are going to come true, sadly. But I can always hope.

1. A new companion. I mean, in addition to Clara, not as a replacement for Clara. Also, can she not be straight and white for once?
2. More gay/lesbian relationships. And can the Doctor be obviously bisexual instead of very vaguely bisexual?
3. More Vastra, Jenny and Strax. Or you could just give them their own TV show. That would be nice too.
4. More Missy. I mean, she's not dead obviously. BRING HER BACK.
5. New Time Lord Characters. I'm mean Time Lords that are not The Doctor or The Master.
6. River Song.
7. The War Doctor.
8. Jack Harkness.
9. An actual scary episode.
10. A main character who is disabled.