The Girl Who Died (TV story)

 was the fifth episode of the ninth series of Doctor Who produced by BBC Wales.

The story is notable because it reveals the reason as to why the Twelfth Doctor regenerated with the same appearance as Lobus Caecilius: to remind himself to, no matter how impossible it seemed, always save someone, as he had saved Caecilius in his tenth incarnation.

It also revisited the idea of something alien taking over a historic era by impersonating an important figure. The concept was last seen in Robot of Sherwood.

Synopsis
The Doctor and Clara are forced to help protect a Viking village from the Mire, one of the deadliest warrior races in the galaxy. Are they fated to suffer death due to being outnumbered? So what is it about a simple Viking girl that interests the Time Lord?

Plot
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Cast

 * The Doctor - Peter Capaldi
 * Clara - Jenna Coleman
 * Ashildr - Maisie Williams
 * Odin - David Schofield
 * Nollarr - Simon Lipkin
 * Chuckles - Ian Conningham
 * Lofty - Tom Stourton
 * Limpy - Alastair Parker
 * Hasten - Murray McArthur
 * Heidi - Barnaby Kay

The Doctor

 * The Doctors reads his 2000 year old diary to remind himself of the Mire, a reference to his declared age of 2000. (TV: Deep Breath)
 * The Doctor references Clarke's Law, which states that "any sufficiently advanced form of technology is indistinguishable from magic."

Popular culture

 * The Doctor gives a bearded Viking the nickname of "ZZ Top".

Story notes

 * This story features the use of footage from The Fires of Pompeii and Deep Breath when the Twelfth Doctor finally realizes where he got his face.
 * This is the 100th story of the BBC Wales era of Doctor Who.

Ratings
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Filming locations
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Continuity

 * A Viking snaps the Doctor's sonic sunglasses in half, almost destroying them. (TV: The Magician's Apprentice et al)
 * The Doctor uses his third incarnation's catchphrase, "Reverse the polarity of the neutron flow".
 * The Twelfth Doctor is able to speak Baby, much like his predecessor. (TV: A Good Man Goes to War, Closing Time)
 * The Sixth Doctor had previously wanted to save someone because he grew to like her, though on that occasion Evelyn Smythe stopped him from changing history to do it. (AUDIO: Arrangements for War)
 * The Seventh Doctor also referred to Clarke's Law. (TV: Battlefield)
 * The Twelfth Doctor had previously wondered where he had gotten his face, and had theorized he was trying to tell himself something. He finally realizes his face matches that of Lobus Caecilius and that the message he was telling himself was to save a person. (TV: The Fires of Pompeii, Deep Breath)
 * Upon thinking about how Ashildr's situation will play out now that she is functionally immortal, the Doctor says, "Time will tell. It always does." His seventh incarnation said this to Ace when she hesitantly asked if they "did good" after the Shoreditch Incident, aware that the victory over the Daleks came at the expense of many lives. (TV: Remembrance of the Daleks)
 * The Third Doctor had previously met the real Odin. (PROSE: The Spear of Destiny)
 * The Eighth Doctor had previously given someone immortality while saving their life. (COMIC: The Road to Hell)
 * The Seventh Doctor previously talked about ripples in time and their effect on the universe (TV: Remembrance of the Daleks)

DVD releases
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Blu-ray releases
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