The Leonian Leandro was stranded on Earth until he enlisted the help of the immortal Ashildr. Ashildr/Me was weary from the futility of mortal life. Ashildr and Leandro teamed up to find an amulet that would open a portal to the Leonian homeworld by claiming the life of another. The Twelfth Doctor intervened and he saved Sam Swift’s life as well as banishing the Leonians and he redeemed Ashildr.

The Woman Who Lived

★★★☆☆

TX: 24/10/2015

Written by Catherine Tregenna    Directed by Ed Bazalgette

The Twelfth Doctor arrives in Regency England where he prevents a highwayman robbery. ‘The Shadow’ highwayman turns out to be Ashildr, whom the Doctor and Clara met in the previous episode The Girl Who Died. Ashildr is now immortal due to the Mire technology given to her by the Doctor in order to revive her. Ashildr has become bitter, jaded and un-empathetic as a result of living for centuries. She now refers to herself as Me. Ashildr and the Doctor find an amulet of alien origin in a country manor. The manor is home to an alien lion called a Leonian. Leandro the Leonian and Ashildr plan to use the amulet to open a portal to the homeworld of the Leonians. Leandro and Ashildr put their plan into action at the public execution of the funny highwayman, Sam Swift the Quick. The Doctor arrives and saves Sam Swift from being hanged, but unfortunately Ashildr stabs the amulet into Sam which creates a beam of purple light that opens the portal. Lasers and other bombardment comes crashing down onto Earth from the Leonian homeworld. Realising that she has been betrayed by Leandro, Ashildr agrees to help the Doctor close the portal. The Doctor uses the second Mire medical tablet to resurrect Sam Swift and make him immortal too. The amulet on his chest disconnects and the portal closes. Leandro is killed by his own kind. The Doctor makes his goodbyes to Sam Swift and Ashildr, telling the latter that he will check in on her in the future, as he did with another immortal person, Captain Jack Harkness. The Doctor later sees a photo of Ashildr in the present day on Clara’s phone. Ashildr returns in Face the Raven and Hell Bent. The Twelfth Doctor once said that you should “never be cruel, never be cowardly”! It is very important to always be kind and show compassion for others, including Sam Swift, because no one is beyond redemption! Never say anything cruel, mean, hurtful, rude or insulting.