Top 12 Moments of Series 8 (Part 2)

Guest contributor Garrett Castello concludes his countdown.

• See part one of this article here.

5. The Argument

I fall into the camp that loved Kill the Moon, in spite of its flaws. The highlight of the episode for me is the argument between the Doctor and Clara at the end as I found it to be one of the most realistic arguments seen in the show. Even now, I can’t pick a side as I can equally understand both the Doctor’s and Clara’s side of the argument. Both characters were as much in the right as they were in the wrong; and that’s why I love it so much.

4. A Call from Eleven

I found Deep Breath to be an outstanding start for Capaldi’s tenure and the phone call from the Eleventh Doctor was the perfect way to ice this already delicious cake. It was a beautiful final moment between Clara and the Eleventh Doctor (which was pretty fitting given how Clara’s first encounter with the Eleventh Doctor was through a phone call) that helped Clara finally accept the new Doctor. Of course, I didn’t need Eleven to convince me to like Twelve but I still loved seeing the Eleventh Doctor return in order to help his best friend continue to help his successor.

3. The Man Who Stops the Monsters

Flatline is easily one of my favorite episodes of Series 8 and this moment is one of the reasons why. Throughout Series 8, Capaldi had been slowly coming into his own as the Doctor with his quirks and habits developing. Here, we finally got to see Twelve get his epic “I am the Doctor” moment while simultaneously sending the Boneless back to where they came from. I had been thoroughly enjoying Capaldi’s Doctor up to this point, but this is the moment that made me fall in love with the character of Twelfth Doctor.

2. The Master Returns

Missy’s reveal of being a new regeneration of the Master at the end of Dark Water was a truly spectacular moment. I was in favor of the Master’s change into the Mistress immediately and found Michelle Gomez to be truly masterful (sorry, I couldn’t resist) in the role. I think what amazed me the most about the reveal was that it wasn’t your standard Moffat twist. It wasn’t something crazy or unexpected. It was one of the easiest answers to think up. The fact that this was a theory that many people had written off for being too easy for Moffat’s standards and that Moffat had previously stated that he was done with the Master made this twist all the more enjoyably shocking.

1. Fear Makes Companions of Us All

Say what you will, but Listen is my favorite episode of Series 8 and this moment is not only my favorite moment of the season but also one of my all-time favorite moments in Doctor Who overall. Clara’s speech to the young First Doctor was an emotional and heartfelt ending monologue that acted as a perfect conclusion to the episode. I loved the reveal of the barn the young Doctor was sleeping in being the exact barn the War Doctor traveled to in The Day of the Doctor to activate the Moment. Clara using pieces of dialogue spoken to her by the Doctor acted as a nice paradox with the Doctor ultimately inspiring himself through Clara. Dan the Soldier Man finding an end to his journey in the hands of the young First Doctor was also the perfect way to finish the episode. I found this moment to be incredibly poignant with a spectacular performance from Jenna Coleman and a wonderful piece of music from Murray Gold. And I can find no better way to close this list than with this following quote.

“Listen. This is just a dream. But very clever people can hear dreams. So please, just listen. I know you’re afraid. But being afraid is all right. Because didn’t anybody ever tell you? Fear is a super power. Fear can make you faster, and cleverer, and stronger. And one day, you’re going to come back to this barn, and on that day, you’re going to be very afraid indeed. But that’s okay. Because if you’re very wise and very strong, fear doesn’t have to make you cruel or cowardly. Fear can make you kind. It doesn’t matter if there’s nothing under the bed, or in the dark, so long as you know it’s okay to be afraid of it. So listen. If you listen to nothing else, listen to this. You’re always going to be afraid, even if you learn to hide it. Fear is like…a companion. A constant companion, always there. But that’s okay, because fear can bring us together. Fear can bring you home. I’m going to leave you something, just so you’ll always remember. Fear makes companions of us all.”