BWW Recap: Make Sure to 'Listen' in This Week's DOCTOR WHO

This week's episode of DOCTOR WHO, "Listen," is my favorite episode from this season so far. There are so many surprising moments, and the storyline was interesting and relatable. So, if you want to know what's under the bed, keep reading, but if you're not looking for SPOILERS, then come back later!

The episode begins with The Doctor questioning why we talk to ourselves when we know we are alone, unless we aren't. He goes into talking about evolution, and how there is perfect hunting and defense, and then asks why isn't there perfect hiding? He goes on to say that no one would know if there was a creature that perfected it. He's trying to lure out a creature that hides, and tries to talk to it and asks, "What would you do?" He gets no response, but when he looks down, his chalk has moved and LISTEN is written on his blackboard.

Meanwhile, an upset Clara returns home and recalls the events from earlier in the evening when she met Danny Pink for dinner. The flashbacks show a lot of uncomfortable conversion, which culminates in Clara making a joke about Danny shooting someone, which makes go on about how he saved more people without guns, than he did kill people with guns. Clara and Danny apologize for what happened, but then Danny says to Clara that, "People like you" don't understand, which makes her angry that he assumes he knows who she is, and she leaves.

Back at Clara's place, she goes in to her bedroom to find The Doctor is in Clara's bedroom with the TARDIS, because just in case her date went well he needed somewhere to hide (that's our clueless Doctor for you). He tells Clara he needs her for "a thing." They go into the TARDIS, and he says to Clara, "What if no one is ever really alone?" He also mentions that every human being has a companion/a shadow. This leads Clara to ask him "how long have you been travelling alone?" to which he replies, "Perhaps I never have." The Doctor then tells Clara his theory: "I think every body at some point in their lives has the exact same nightmare."

He asks Clara why everybody dreams about something under the bed, and before he can ask her if she has had that dream, Clara asks him he if has. The doctor doesn't answer, but makes Clara tell him, and she says she probably has had it when she was younger. The Doctor then puts Clara into mental contact with the TARDIS, so that it can extrapolate her entire timeline and find the moment she had that dream to see what's under her bed.

The TARDIS takes them to a children's home in Gloucester in the 1990s, but Clara says she has never been in a children's home. Despite this, The Doctor tells her to wait in the TARDIS, because if she met her younger self it could be "potentially catastrophic." As Clara is walking back, she sees a young boy in the window upstairs looking down at her. She asks him his name, and he says, Rupert Pink, but that he thinks Rupert is a stupid name and he wants to change it. So, instead of going back to a young Clara, they went back to Danny Pink's younger self.

The Doctor, sonic screwdriver in hand starts investigating the children's home, while Clara sneaks past him to go talk to Rupert. When Clara finds Rupert, he tells her that he thinks something is underneath is bed. To prove he is safe, Clara goes and lies down under his bed and tells him to join her. When they are both under the bed, the bed gets lower, like there is someone sitting on top of the bed. When Clara asks if anyone else is in the room, Rupert says nobody. Clara gets up from under the bed and she sees a figure that is sitting up under the bed covers. The figure stands up and then the lights flip on, and The Doctor is sitting in the corner of the room. The Doctor asks Rupert if he's scared of the thing on the bed, and proceeds to tell Rupert that scared is a superpower. He then tells Rupert and Clara to turn their backs on the figure, and he does as well. The Doctor tries telling the creature to go in peace, but instead it comes closer and takes the blanket off. The doctor tells them all to close their eyes, because if a creature is meant to be seen who knows what happens if you see it. The figure ends up leaving the room. Rupert is still scared, so Clara uses his plastic army men toys to protect under his bed. He tells Clara that he named one, "Dan the Soldier Man," which future cements that this is a young Danny Pink that they have met.

After the Doctor tells Rupert a story (if "Once upon a time, the end" counts as a story) and puts him to sleep, they leave and go back to the TARDIS. Clara asks The Doctor for a favor, and then they are back to the moment where Clara walked out on Danny at the restaurant.

She sees her self from earlier in the evening walking away, and then goes back in to Danny.

They re-introduce themselves, but when they get to talking, Clara accidentally mentions "Rupert Pink," which throws off Danny because he hasn't used that name in years. Danny starts to get frustrated, and tells Clara to be honest with him. Clara, unable to tell him she time travels with The Doctor, doesn't know what to say, and Danny walks out of the restaurant. Meanwhile, a figure in a space suit is gesturing to Clara to come to the TARDIS. After Danny leaves, she follows it, and starts yelling at whom she assumes is The Doctor in the suit, but the figure takes the helmet and the man inside looks like an older Danny!

The Doctor comes in about to explain to Clara that the man is "Colonel Orson Pink" from about 100 years in Clara's future, and he asks her if Orson is a distant relative or something? (So wait, Clara marries Danny?! At least that's what I got from this scene). The Doctor found Orson on "the end of the road. The last planet." He says that they are at the silence at the end of time. Orson asks The Doctor to get him home, and he says he will, but the TARDIS needs to recharge overnight, which makes Orson uncomfortable. The Doctor asks him if there is something wrong with staying the night and Orson says no. The Doctor then says, "There are only three people left in the universe and you're lying to the other two." The Doctor then goes on to ask that if there is nothing beyond the door but nothingness, why is it locked? This makes Orson plead not to have to spend another night there.

The Doctor has Orson stay the night in the TARDIS, so that he and Clara can wait and see what happens. Clara takes Orson and his bags into the TARDIS, and something falls out of one of his bags. Clara picks it up and sees the toy soldier she gave young Rupert. Orson tells her it's a silly toy, but a family heirloom that is supposed to bring good luck. Clara tells Orson to stay away from time travel when he gets home, but he tells her it runs in the family. (Does this mean Danny will be joining Clara and The Doctor soon? I hope!) Orson then gives Clara the soldier, and she is hesitant and says, "It's a family heirloom?" to which he responds "Yeah." (I am about 99% convinced at this point that Clara and Danny get married.)

Back outside of the TARDIS, the Doctor and Clara wait. The Doctor says to her, "Suppose there are creatures that only live to hide? What would those creatures do when everyone was gone and there is only one man left in the universe?" They then hear knocking on the door. The doctor unlocks the door and someone from the outside is opening the door. He yells at Clara and tells her to get in the TARDIS, but Clara doesn't want to leave him to get hurt, and he says, "Do as your told!" and makes her go in.

Inside the TARDIS, Clara is trying to see what is happening, but the TARDIS' camera is glitching. She and Orson here an alarm, that Orson tells her means the air shell is breeched. Orson goes outside of the TARDIS to save The Doctor. Orson brings him into the TARDIS, and The Doctor is out cold. The TARDIS starts moving from whatever is outside, so Clara puts herself back in the telepathic circuit, and gets the TARDIS to travel.

When she exits the TARDIS, she finds herself inside of a barn, where a boy is crying under the covers of a bed. She calls to the boy, calling him Rupert and then Orson, but no response. Two people come in, so Clara hides under the bed. The couple, a man and a woman, talks to the boy and tell him he can come into the house. The man keeps saying that he should stop crying because you can't cry in the army. The woman replies that the boy doesn't want to go to the army, and the man says, "Well he's not going to the academy, is he, that boy, he'll never make a Time Lord." (MY EYES DID EXACTLY WHAT CLARA'S DID AT THAT MOMENT. We just got a glimpse of The Doctor as a child!!)

Back inside the TARDIS, The Doctor wakes up and calls out to Clara, which causes the crying boy to stand up and call out if someone is there. This makes Clara grab at his leg and tell him it's a dream and to go back to sleep.

Clara goes back into the TARDIS, and tells The Doctor and Orson, "What if there was nothing? What if there was never anything? Nothing under the bed. Nothing out the door. What if the big bad Time Lord doesn't want to admit he's just afraid of the dark." This makes The Doctor ask where they are, and Clara tells him to never look where they are and to not ask questions. The Doctor says he doesn't take orders, and Clara tells him to "do as you're told."

They return Orson home, and then Clara hugs The Doctor (which he says he's against) and then she goes and visits Danny. They both apologize and they end up kissing. (Start of a long relationship I presume?)

Then, it flashes back to Clara sitting at the boy's bedside, telling him to listen. She tells him she knows he's afraid, but that being afraid is all right, because fear is a superpower. She tells him that one day he's going to come back to this barn (the barn where the War Doctor brings The Moment!) and that day he's going to be afraid, but that's ok because if he's wise and strong, fear can make him kind. She tells him that it's ok if there is nothing under the bed or in the dark, as long as he knows it's ok that he's afraid of it. She tells him he's always going to be afraid, but that fear is like a companion, but that's ok because fear can bring us together. She leaves him with the toy soldier and says to him, "fear can make companions of us all."

Wow, I loved this episode! It was a storyline about something that we can all relate to. Also, humanizing The Doctor by making the entire journey about him trying to rationalize why he was scared of the dark as a child was a really nice concept. It adds another layer to our beloved Doctor, and also begs the question of why did that man not think he'd be a Time Lord? I hope we get more of The Doctor's back-story this season, because it always proves to be very interesting!

We also got a lot of information about Clara and Danny. This episode pretty much tells us that they are going end up together and that Danny is going to join Clara and The Doctor at some point-at least that is what I think. I like Danny and Clara's relationship a lot so far, because they both care about each other, but they are both so awkward, which makes it fun to watch them interact. It's safe to assume we will be seeing more Clara and Danny really soon.

I hope you all enjoyed "Listen" as much as I did! Feel free to leave your comments below and tell me what you thought of this week's episode and make sure to come back next week for another recap of DOCTOR WHO!

Photo Credit: DOCTOR WHO's Facebook Page

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