History Recap / DoctorWhoS35E12HellBent

** A production-related example: the published shooting script for the episode describes the Doctor, after he steals a new TARDIS as acting "like a distinguished Scottish actor too excited for his own good."

Written by Creator/StevenMoffat and picking up where "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS35E11HeavenSent Heaven Sent]]" left off, this is the Series 9 finale of ''Doctor Who'', revealing the fate of Gallifrey post-"[[Recap/DoctorWho50thASTheDayOfTheDoctor The Day of the Doctor]]" and wrapping up both the "Hybrid" StoryArc and the story of the Doctor and Clara Oswald.

Written by Creator/StevenMoffat and picking up where "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS35E11HeavenSent Heaven Sent]]" left off, this is the Series 9 finale of ''Doctor Who'', revealing the fate of Gallifrey post-"[[Recap/DoctorWho50thASTheDayOfTheDoctor The Day of the Doctor]]" and wrapping up (at least for now) both the "Hybrid" StoryArc and the story of the Doctor and Clara Oswald.

[[SubvertedCatchphrase And be a Doctor]]''

** Creator/StevenMoffat confirmed in ''Magazine/DoctorWhoMagazine'' Issue 504 -- months after "Hell Bent" aired -- that the Hybrid indeed was/is the Doctor and Clara together, a detail only broached as theory in the episode itself.

-->'''Sister:''' I hear the Doctor has come home. One does love fireworks.

* DeadpanSnarker: Ashildr/Me appears to have picked up some of these traits, especially in her reaction to the Doctor dismissing his actions regarding Clara as simply helping a friend (denying anything deeper exists).

* OnlyFriend: Clara to the Doctor. Although long established as a true companion, in this episode -- much as her memory had been in the previous one -- Clara is literally the only person we see who is totally on the Doctor's side once he goes rogue (except for objecting to his plans for the mind wipe). Prior to doing so, the General and Ohila are unambiguously his allies, but he alienates them once he rescues Clara. (TheResolutionWillNotBeTelevised: In the ExpandedUniverse stories ''Supremacy of the Cybermen'' [Titan Comics] and ''The Lost Flame'' [BBC Audio], they're respectively still on his side in a crisis -- and never bring the events of this episode up. In the latter, Ohila points out to another character that she's never said she was the Doctor's ''friend'' anyway.)

* TheResolutionWillNotBeTelevised: A downscaled version relating to ''plot points'' rather than an entire series: Viewers wondering if Rassilon ever tries to get back at the Doctor and/or if the Doctor ever speaks to Ohila again can find answers in the ExpandedUniverse stories ''ComicBook/DoctorWhoSupremacyOfTheCybermen'' (a comic book miniseries) and ''The Lost Flame'' (a BBC Audio story), respectively.

** Why doesn't the Doctor just go back to Gallifrey at the end now that he's capable of doing so and is alone in the universe? There's nothing that says he can't mend relationships with the Time Lords now that he's sane again. (As for his relationship with Ohila and Karn, that's TheResolutionWillNotBeTelevised.)

The one where a man risks undoing the fabric of reality in order to save the woman he loves. Or...

** A problem that has plagued [=NewWho=] Doctors is difficulty in dealing with and moving on from loss, especially the often-tragic departures of his companions. This is most likely the result of the horrors of the Time War and the staggering loss of lives therein. Furthermore, the fact that most of his seperations with is companions, those he cares about, end up being tragic and painful just end up burning any potential progress. His post-Rose brooding cost him his relationship with Martha; he never recovered from what happened with Donna (or what he had to do to save her) and tragically spent too much time alone; and, the loss of Amy and Rory (which because they're kinda his in-laws, could be considered ''family'') broke him so bad he gave up on traveling and heroics until he met and lost Victorian Clara. Thus his loss issues became pronounced over Series 9, reflected in his choice to save Ashildr by risky means and his increasingly desperate efforts to keep Clara by his side -- after all, she plunged herself into his timeline and saved each one of incarnation many times form the machinations of the Great Intelligence. Not only does Clara die a horrible death, [[SanitySlippage he is not able to grieve properly and instead goes mad when he is imprisoned in a hellage prison for]] '''[[SanitySlippage billions]]''' [[SanitySlippage of years]]. Ultimately, he must finally accept the inevitability of loss, and at the end of this story is able to make a fresh start.
** Clara undergoes profound character development; not just due to her physical changes, not the fact she is now a solo adventurer, but she has clearly seen the madness that can come from a simple mistake, and allowing oneself to connect too deeply to something. She leaves the Doctor a wiser person for it.

And Clara [[CameBackWrong comes back with her life stuck on pause]]. We see a gender-swapping regeneration unfold for the first time. The Doctor travels to [[AfterTheEnd the very absolute final end of time]] for the first time, and hashes it out with Me. And then [[LaserGuidedAmnesia has his memories of Clara wiped clean]] as a result of going too far... [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E16TheWatersOfMars again.]] And she travels off with Me, both freakish functional immortals, while the Doctor is left with way more questions than answers.

** While the General and the Doctor are discussing what they know about the Hybrid, the Doctor's final question is "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS33E01AsylumOfTheDaleks what colour is it?]]"

** Many of the significant characters pick the ball up at some point. It would be an out-and-out [[invoked]]IdiotPlot if the Doctor's TragicDream of saving Clara from death -- when he knows all too well that paradox-causing rescue missions only end in tears or worse -- wasn't the result of being DrivenToMadness by anguish, rage, and ColdBloodedTorture, which means he isn't thinking straight and exempt from this trope.

** In the last season finale, it was Clara's boyfriend who was revived as a semi-dead Cyberman. Now Clara's been revived as a one-postponed-heartbeat-from-dead immortal. In both cases, Clara is separated from men she loved for good, barring developments in later seasons that might cross her paths with the Doctor's again, and even then it just wouldn't be the same relationship.

* ArmedWithCanon: The ending of the episode is widely interpreted by fans as Moffat strongly criticising Davies's writing decisions with regard to the fate of Donna in "The Stolen Earth"[=/=]"Journeys' End".

* ArmorPiercingQuestion: Clara has one for the Doctor in response to his attempts to justify his actions.

* TheAssimilator: Those caught in the Matrix while trying to steal its secrets become part of its defenses.

** Ashildr/Me undergoes a fundamental change as she is also given a reprieve from death, and gets to fulfill her wish of travelling with a Doctor-like companion.

* UnexpectedCharacter: Averted for anyone who watched the trailers for the episode or saw pre-publicity such as ''Doctor Who Magazine'' cover from several weeks earlier, as the BBC appeared to make little effort to keep Clara's appearance in the finale a secret. Even if there was some question as to which version of Clara was depicted in the waitress publicity shots, the trailer shown at the end of "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS35E11HeavenSent Heaven Sent"]]" still showed Clara in her "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS35E10FaceTheRaven Face the Raven]]" outfit holding the Doctor's hand, removing ambiguity as to who this was.

* ActorAllusion: Ashildr says to the Doctor that "Summer doesn't last forever". Considering what Creator/MaisieWilliams' StarMakingRole is, this is another way of saying [[Series/GameOfThrones "Winter is coming"]]. [[note]]Confirmed accidental by WordOfGod...possibly.[[/note]]

* AnchoredShip: Fandom is divided as to the level of feeling between the Doctor and Clara over the preceding seasons (despite WordOfGod and ''episodes themselves'' indicating it). However, in this final episode the Doctor is willing to undo time itself in order to save the woman he loves — whether romantically or platonically, the Doctor cares ''immensely'' for Clara. Ultimately, however, the scenario forces the ship to be anchored due to the necessity of the Doctor erasing most of his memories of Clara, with the script making it clear that the memories erased are those related to his feelings for her: her appearance, her personality ''and'', despite his (apparent) ability to remember fine details about what happened on Gallifrey, the one thing he cannot remember is what Clara said to him in the Cloisters. As well, AllThereInTheManual material (see above) confirms they were the Hybrid.

* DissonantSerenity: Me at the death of the Universe, facing the Doctor with nowhere to run. According to WordOfGod, this is because Me has been around for so long, she's long since surpassed the Doctor in knowledge and wisdom.

* FallenHero: Reconstructed. The Doctor comes as close as he ever has to the MoralEventHorizon as a direct result of being completely broken by the previous two episodes, but in the end Clara objecting to the mind wipe -- which would probably leave no one capable of bringing him back to goodness -- triggers a HeelRealization, repentance, and atonement.

* FantasticCasteSystem: According to Rassilon, the Gallifreyans who live in the Dry Lands "don't matter". Naturally these are the people the Doctor identities with most -- instead of the Time Lords who live in the Citadel. (A DeletedScene suggests that the Doctor is actually an aristocrat, given that his punishment for the High Council is making them ''work'' in the sewers; this in turn suggests he can't fully escape his caste.)

** Many of the significant characters pick the ball up at some point. It would be an out-and-out IdiotPlot if the Doctor's TragicDream of saving Clara from death -- when he knows all too well that paradox-causing rescue missions only end in tears or worse -- wasn't the result of being DrivenToMadness by anguish, rage, and ColdBloodedTorture, which means he isn't thinking straight and exempt from this trope.

* LoveConfession. Although the nature of the Doctor's love for Clara is a matter of debate, and according to WordOfSaintPaul [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7i62ERas2s it was a romantic and protective love]], there is no ambiguity that the one-two punch of "I had to find a way to save you" and "I had a duty of care" functions as this.

** In the first half of the episode, several scenes invoke classic Western tropes, with a quiet, {{tranquil fury}} filled Twelve showing [[Film/DollarsTrilogy a rather Clint Eastwood-esque visage]]. This is brought to its logical conclusion when we [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic even hear]] an EnnioMorriconePastiche [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05JO0FgzC9U arrangement]] of "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyIP5nrJ8gY The Doctor's Theme]]"... [[https://youtu.be/Ku26WoGCfCI?t=264 twice]], in fact.

* SmartPeoplePlayChess: There's another seat and a chess set waiting for the Doctor, when he encounters Me. According to WordOfGod Me's intelligence and ability have long since surpassed the Doctor's, so this trope applies to her as well.

* AndIMustScream: The Cloister, which holds the Matrix where Time Lords are uploaded upon death, does this to anyone it catches. Deceased Time Lords are used to animate the guards, their faces stuck in a perpetual scream. Invaders are captured by living fiber-optic cable and turned into defenses. A Dalek caught as such begged Clara and the Doctor to exterminate him.

** While we already knew that the Doctor meeting Clara and their staying together post-regeneration were Missy's doing, here Ashildr speculates she made them in hopes that the Doctor and Clara in tandem would become the Hybrid, bringer of chaos and destruction (two of Missy's favorite things) as their relationship pushed each to increasingly harmful extremes. Missy claimed other motivations -- because he'd be miserable with a ControlFreak (in which case it backfired as, regardless of where one stands on the question of romance between the two, the Doctor ''adored'' Clara) ''and'' to show him that everyone could be a hybrid of friend and foe -- but who knows for sure?

** The Doctor tossed young Davros his sonic screwdriver in the opening sequence of "The Magician's Apprentice" and went without one for Series 9 in favor of his newly-invented sonic sunglasses. When he returns to the TARDIS in the closing sequence of this episode, the console reveals and tosses him a new sonic screwdriver -- the first one unique to the Twelfth Doctor, as he used Eleven's in Series 8.

** Zig-zagged for Ashildr: She finally gets to fulfill her dream of traveling through time and space after billions, even trillions of years of unwanted immortality, watching the universe go by and ending up the last being in existence. Zig-zagged because this wouldn't have happened had she not ''also'' betrayed the man who believed in her the most, which helped set the stage for him being DrivenToMadness and eventually escaping with his dead sweetheart to the end of existence, and she never apologizes to him or atones for what she's done. Thus, she's also a KarmaHoudini with regards to her relationship with the Doctor.

* {{Revenge}}: The Doctor wants the Time Lords to pay for what they did to him and Clara. Her hopes of being his MoralityChainBeyondTheGrave don't pan out in this respect, though no one is killed or even hurt when he overthrows Rassilon. By her own words after changing, the Doctor even appeared to do a General a favor by triggering his/her regeneration.

* ThereAreNoTherapists: Poor Doctor! At no point in this story does anyone even '''consider''' that he, coming off of the loss of a beloved companion and horrific torture at the hands of people he saved (which became a SelfInflictedHell to boot), might have been severely psychologically damaged by those events and thus prone to irrational behavior -- so no one considers sending him to a therapist or mental health ward, if such things even exist on Gallifrey to begin with. If he hadn't been mind wiped and thus lost most of the anguish that drove him mad, he'd have been left in even worse shape than before upon giving up Clara. Even then, she leaves him to the care of a random bystander in the Nevada desert after he's wiped and then completely alone at the end of the episode, so apparently the former trope applies on Earth even though organizations like UNIT realistically would have non-Muggle therapists on staff whom she could have (anonymously, given her OnlyMostlyDead status) contacted!

* TomatoSurprise: Clara's behavior in the FramingDevice and the events of the {{Flashback}}s all point to her fate being a mind wipe that leaves her with no memories of her time with the Doctor, whereupon she ends up with a new life as a diner waitress back on Earth. In truth, the Doctor loses his memories of her and she drops him off on Earth via TARDIS 2.0 to recover on his own. She retrieves his TARDIS, disguises herself as a diner waitress to match TARDIS 2.0's outer appearance upon returning to Nevada, and is now playing dumb to see if he retains any memories of her. He has memories of their ''experiences'', which is why he can recount recent events to her upon being prompted to do so, but he cannot actually remember or recognize ''her''.

** The Doctor gets a lot of flak over his out-of-character behavior. The General claims his exiling Rassilon and the High Council is DisproportionateRetribution, Ohila declares "You've broken every vow you've ever lived by" when he saves Clara from death, Ashildr accuses him of being selfish and spoiling Clara's noble sacrifice, and Clara herself objects to him rescuing her, shooting the General, and trying to mind wipe her. While the Doctor is usually amenable to such speeches, they don't work here -- aside from Clara objecting to the mind wipe -- because he's too mentally broken to care after the events of the previous two episodes, and no one but Clara and to a much lesser extent Ashildr realize that.