Stray thoughts:

Capaldi and Coleman are just superb.

In the past week before Hell Bent, I rewatched Heaven Sent, Day of the Doctor and the Deadly Assassin just for good measure.

The Doctor is improving his skills. It took six words to bring down the government of Harriet Jones; here, he overthrows Rassilon himself with only four. (I credit the eyebrows.)

I am adopting the interpretation that the memory wipe didn't work on either of them. That the Doctor realised this was the only way to break the cycle, and so he faked it. When he sees Clara's picture on the Tardis after talking to her, there are emotions going on, but (to me at least) surprise and shock weren't among them. What I like about this reading is that it echoes their farewell in Death in Heaven - they have to lie to each other to be able to say goodbye.

By the same token, I see in Clara's decision to 'take the long way round' to Gallifrey some echoes of her decision at the end of "Mummy on the Orient Express". In both cases she'd resolved to do the responsible thing, and that - one way or another - her adventures were over. And then she has a sudden, and somewhat reckless, change of heart, because she's just not ready to give it all up quite yet. (Though this one doesn't feel as unhealthy as last season's.)

I kind of love the realisation of the Matrix. "The Time Lords have got a big computer made of ghosts in a crypt guarded by more ghosts." Gallifrey benefits greatly from a hefty dose of Gormenghast, I think. Another reason I'm more comfortable with the retcon - this new vision of Gallifrey looks like there are stories worth telling there.

I feel there's a lot to be said about Gallifreyan technology, and its relation between the mechanical and the organic. (Also why the Sixth Doctor's arc failed, and the Twelfth's succeeded.)

I was with Cisco on the bomb thing. Even after Jay and Harry "explained" it, the one bomb going through the portal pulling the others didn't make much sense.

I was with Cisco on the bomb thing. Even after Jay and Harry "explained" it, the one bomb going through the portal pulling the others didn't make much sense.

On the scale of That's Not How [Thing] Works!, the bomb plan is just below that time Captain Cold FROZE LIGHT with his cold gun.

Unrelated to implausibility, I *loved* Joe talking shit about Green Arrow (nobody wanting an action figure of him).

I feel like the show dropped the thread of Patty shooting Wells. Surely Joe would need to explain his existence SOMEHOW.

"The only time I’ve been a man, that last body. Dear lord, how do you cope with all that ego?"

And honestly, Moffat, you don't think Missy's got an ego? Or Clara, for that matter? Do you watch your own show even?

Thanks, Arrow. Millions of people just lost the LDB game.

And the rest? I just don't think the show would kill off Felicity. I want to be more stressed about it, but I don't think the show would do it.

yeah, no. there is no danger of her being dead.

Yeah, I don't buy it either. I mean, they are treading all the beats of fridging and I'd ordinarily be pissed, but c'mon. The exec producers are not dumb and Felicity is waaaaay too popular to kill off. They're just being a bunch of trolls. Also, why set up all the babymama conflict if Felicity wasn't gonna be there to give hell to Oliver later?

Right until the Big Dumb Idiot proposed under the light-festooned Gazebo (talk about bringing out ALL the cliches), I was convinced Quentin was gonna buy it.

Although... the joke idea I floated upthread about killing off *this* Felicity and bringing over Earth 2 Felicity? It doesn't sound that crazy now.

My theory is still that William is in the grave. Then it would make sense that Barry would be the only one there, since he's the only one who knows.

Yeah, I think they're trying too hard to make us think she's the one in the grave for it to actually be her, but maybe they really are that stupid.