Series 7 Mysteries: The Bells Of Saint John

Guest contributor Shay Hatchard ponders over the latest mysteries.

“Run you clever boy… and remember.”

The return of Doctor Who has left many fans speculating, desperate to know the truth about Clara and uncover the mystery behind ‘the impossible girl’. Each week, I’ll be taking an in-depth look at the episode, as we examine the evidence we’ve been given to try and piece the clues together.

Who’s That Girl?

As predicted, Moffat being his usual self, gave us next to no clues on the Clara/Oswin mystery. This, being the first of the eight episodes, is to be expected, as the mystery gradually unravels over the next couple of months. We were teased many references and similarities between the three Claras we’ve seen, but nothing firm was put in place.

The Great Intelligence

Confusion and speculation was ensured as we discovered at the end of that Miss Kizlet had been in fact working with Dr Simeon – also known as the Great Intelligence. Richard E Grant, who also starred as Dr Simeon in 2012’s ‘The Snowmen,’ was previously revealed to be starring in ‘The Bells Of Saint John’, although the official site later took this down. Does the Great Intelligence have a link with Clara Oswald? Only time will tell.

“The Woman In The Shop”

Although this may not have been a big plot point, many Whovians picked up on the fact that whoever this ‘mystery woman’ was, she had a direct line to the TARDIS. This likely points to this character being a previous companion – some fan theories are banking on Rose, as she was announced as joining the 50th Anniversary line up. Other ideas I’ve heard is that this woman could be River Song… I really don’t see where that could go though. Or maybe it’s just another Moffat plot hole, something to fill the link between Eleven and Clara. I highly doubt a coincidence though.

The Ponds & the leaf

Burrowed inside the episode was also a little treat for Pond fans – the book ‘Summer Falls’ which was written by Amy. I don’t think fans need to look too much into this though. I think it just kind of wrapped up the Ponds in a nice little way.

There was however, several potential links with River woven into the episode. Not only may she be the women in the shop, there was also a little idea to link with Clara’s last line:

CLARA: That wasn’t a leaf, that was page one.

Now, perhaps, this could be taken as a little hint. Referencing ‘page one’ of River Song’s story in the library, and the “Forest of the Dead”, as it being a dead leaf. More speculation ensues as the synopsis for “The Rings Of Akhaten” teases the Doctor taking Clara back to her past… and in the movie-style poster, she holds the same leaf that was in “101 Places To See”. Take what you like from that.

101 Places To See & the missing ages

Fans also picked up on two very important ages missing from her book – age 16 and 23. This has got to be the year she was in the Asylum, and the year she was the Governess in “The Snowmen”. Surely, this does nothing but prove that she is in fact the same women… but she has seemingly becomes trapped in this different clouds in time, in separate parts of her life. And she seems to both times, have no recollection of her memory of the Doctor.

There’s also that reoccurring line – Run you clever boy…and remember. We’ve heard it three times now. No coincidence there. Just what is the connection? I’m hoping we discover in the next seven episodes.

And that is all we have from the series opener “The Bells Of St John.” Not the most informative episode, but few red herrings and clues were dotted across the episode. If you noticed anything more to link with the mystery of Clara Oswin, let us know in the comments!