The Doctor Who episode \u201cThe Caretaker\u201d\u00a0has more than one\u00a0possible meaning, presumably intentionally. The Doctor goes undercover at the school where Clara teaches, as a \u201ccaretaker\u201d or custodian. But what he is actually doing there is \u201ctaking care\u201d of Earth, seeking to find and remove a deadly robot.<\/p>\n
But the episode begins with Clara running back and forth between her life with the Doctor and her life with Danny. And so we actually multiple other instances of caretaking \u2013 the Doctor and Clara take care of each other in a variety of predicaments, Clara doesn\u2019t tell Danny about her adventures, perhaps to protect him, perhaps to protect herself and their relationship.<\/p>\n
![\"Doctor](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/exploringourmatrix\/files\/2014\/09\/Doctor-Clara-Danny-Caretaker-300x166.jpg\"){kind=icon}
And in the Doctor\u2019s concern about Clara\u2019s relationship with Danny, he is trying to take care of her. Although very happy when he thinks Clara has chosen a man in a bow tie reminiscent of\u00a0his previous regeneration, he is less thrilled with Danny. But as becomes clear, he\u2019s concerned about whether he\u2019s \u201cgood enough\u201d for her.<\/p>\n
There are a couple\u00a0of religious phrases thrown in for no obvious reason \u2013 the Doctor says that it is time for the school assembly at one point, adding, \u201cGo and worship something.\u201d He also\u00a0later uses the phrase \u201cSing Hosanna.\u201d<\/p>\n
And of course, the presence of heaven, the afterlife, the nethersphere at the end of the episode has religious overtones, but what exactly it is is still unclear. But we now see that it has, in addition to Missy, other people that \u201cwork\u201d there.<\/p>\n
The episode also explores\u00a0the theme of who we are in the presence of various people, and which of them is who we \u201creally are.\u201d\u00a0Particularly poignant is the highlighting of the role of mentors, people who push us in ways that enable and motivate us to do things that we never would have thought we could do. And when we have encountered such people, as a result we get the opportunity to \u201csee wonders\u201d (to quote Clara).<\/p>\n
![\"Dr](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/exploringourmatrix\/files\/2014\/09\/Dr-Who-Caretaker.jpg\"){kind=icon}
<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Doctor Who episode \u201cThe Caretaker\u201d\u00a0has more than one\u00a0possible meaning, presumably intentionally. The Doctor goes undercover at the school where Clara teaches, as a \u201ccaretaker\u201d or custodian. But what he is actually doing there is \u201ctaking care\u201d of Earth, seeking to find and remove a deadly robot. But the episode begins with Clara running back […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136,"featured_media":26349,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[133],"tags":[1595,1917,2433,2765,10494,11548],"class_list":["post-26347","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-doctor-who-science-fiction","tag-caretaker","tag-clara","tag-danny-pink","tag-doctor-who","tag-robot","tag-soldier"],"yoast_head":"\n