The Woman Who Lived (TV story)

 was the sixth episode of the ninth series of Doctor Who produced by BBC Wales. It featured the return of Ashildr, now going by the name "Me", after her introduction in the previous episode, The Girl Who Died. The episode explored the darker aspects of immortality -- the relativity of time and the short period of human lives being a focus. Despite being a continuation of the story started in The Girl Who Died, the stories were not a two-parter, having different writers, settings and tone.

Much like the Fourth Doctor adventure, The Deadly Assassin, the Twelfth Doctor is without a true companion for this story; however, unlike that story, the Doctor was simply on his own due to this companion being on a break from travelling, rather than being left behind in the preceding story.

This story, like The Unquiet Dead, had aliens with hostile intentions lie to the Doctor and his allies about seeking peaceful refuge.

This episode was also the first since The Poison Sky in 2008 to be written by a woman.

Synopsis
A deadly Highwayman called 'The Knightmare' roams in the dark streets in England, 1651.

He comes face to face with the Doctor when he finds an unearthly element that the Time Lord wants too.

Who's the Knightmare's sidekick? And can the Doctor protect the Earth from an enemy that has secret intentions?

Plot
The Knightmare stopped a carriage, and held the owners at gunpoint, asking for an amulet. Soon after, The Doctor came, and his devices showed him the chest on the back of the carriage contained the amulet. However, the carriage quickly went in escape. The Doctor initially didn't recognise The Knightmare, but did so after she removed her mask and reverted to her original voice.

The two went back to her mansion, where Ashildr repeatedly asked to be The Doctor's companion, but he refused repeatedly. She also stated how her name was now 'Me', and that her humanity had been "run dry". They decided that they were looking for the same prize, and they stole it from Fanshawe house.

After his amulet had been retrieved from the Fanshawe house, Leandro revealed himself to the Doctor, who discovered that in order to reach another world through the doorway the amulet would conjure, a death was required.

At Tyburn, a man named Sam Swift was to be executed. Both Ashildr and Leandro were in attendance. The Doctor used his psychic Paper to pardon him, but Ashildr used Leandro's amulet to kill Sam Swift anyways and open a portal; this revealed an army of Leonians was alive and ready to invade Earth from Delta Leonis. His lie discovered, Leandro admitted that he had tricked Ashildr, but when she used a Mire medical kit she had in her possession to reverse the death of Sam Swift, the portal she had opened was closed. For failing in his mission to keep the portal open so his people could invade, Leandro was killed.

Cast

 * The Doctor - Peter Capaldi
 * Clara - Jenna Coleman
 * Me - Maisie Williams
 * Sam Swift - Rufus Hound
 * Coachman - Gareth Berliner
 * Lucie Fanshawe - Elisabeth Hopper
 * Mr Fanshawe - John Voce
 * Clayton - Struan Rodger
 * Pikeman Lloyd Llewelyn - Gruffudd Glyn
 * Pikeman William Stout - Reuben Johnson
 * Leandro - Ariyon Bakare
 * Crowd 1 - Daniel Fearn
 * Crowd 2 - Karen Seacombe
 * Hangman - John Hales
 * Voice of the Knightmare - Will Brown

Story notes

 * This marks the first full length Twelfth Doctor story to feature Clara Oswald in a lesser role, only appearing at the end.

Ratings

 * BBC One: 4.34 million

Filming locations
to be added

Production errors
to be added

Continuity

 * The Doctor mentions how the Terileptils started the Great Fire of London. (TV: The Visitation)
 * The Doctor also refers to Jack Harkness and his immortality. (TV: Everything Changes, et al)
 * Clara wears her silver bird necklace. (TV: The Bells of Saint John).
 * Clara is not with the Doctor because she is taking her Year Seven students to taekwondo. Clara previously told the Doctor she had been taking taekwondo lessons. (TV: Robot of Sherwood)
 * The Doctor helps Clara's students meet Winston Churchill off-screen. The Eleventh Doctor has previously met Churchill. (TV: Victory of the Daleks)
 * The Doctor says he is against bantering. He also dislikes puns. (TV: Robot of Sherwood)
 * The Doctor plays his guitar. (TV: Before the Flood, The Magician's Apprentice)
 * The Doctor wears his sonic sunglasses again after they were broken in the previous episode.
 * Me asks the Doctor how many companions has he lost. (TV: Earthshock, AUDIO: Absolution, To the Death, et al.)
 * Me actually asks how many Claras has he lost. Which could be taken in multiple ways. (TV: Asylum of the Daleks, The Snowmen, The Name of the Doctor)
 * The Void is opened. (TV: Doomsday)
 * Me mentions being present at the Battle of Agincourt. The Fourth Doctor previously mentioned to his companion Leela she would have loved Agincourt. (TV: The Talons of Weng-Chiang)
 * The Doctor demonstrates he is a skilled horse rider. (TV: The Masque of Mandragora et al.)
 * Clara mentions to the Doctor that she "isn't going anywhere". Previous companion Rose Tyler had also said this to the Doctor. (TV: Army of Ghosts).

DVD releases
to be added

Blu-ray releases
to be added