Ah, c’mon! I had to get a pun in this review! The Woman Who Lived is the companion piece to the last week’s The Girl Who Lived but it’s definitely the stronger of the pair, with fantastic writing, humour and set pieces.

Catherine Tregenna is no stranger to Who lore, having penned some of the more outstanding episodes of Torchwood but, oddly, is only the second woman to write for Doctor Who proper since the revival (the other being Helen Raynor, who penned The Sontaran Strategem and Poison Sky).

Maisie Williams is on strong form this episode, delivering a really compelling performance. Her life after the Doctor is similar to that of many former companions but longer and more fraught with tragedy. Despite spending centuries waiting for the Doctor, it’s good to see that she wasn’t idle, gaining new abilities and experiencing new things. Like child death… Woof. Tough break, kid. Still, you make a hell of a highwayman.

Her question about loss is perfect for this scenario, one immortal to another. But while Ashildr (I’m not calling her Me, it’s good for a character but writing it as a reviewer reflects more about my working class upbringing than I care for) has become uncaring for human beings, the Doctor never has. He’s lost many Claras (literally in some cases) and they were all worth his time, for however long that was. Including…

SQUEE! Of course I marked out for Captain Jack! John Barrowman is a joy and I would love for him to return one day, perhaps even with Ashildr in tow?

In terms of other guests stars, we have Ariyon Bakare as Leandro, in some awesome looking lion make-up. Hope they use this again because it looks great. We also have an unrecognisable Rufus Hound as Sam Swift! I was racking my brain trying to figure out who the actor was and it was good old Rufus. He did a fantastic job playing a punny highwayman.

The Woman Who Lived is a fantastic episode. Humour, compelling characters and just a solid story all around. I hope the series can keep this momentum going as we return to contemporary Earth and to UNIT with The Zygon Invasion.

Jamie Mathieson might just be my new favourite Who writer. Between Mummy on the Orient Express, Flatline and now The Girl Who Died, he’s batting a thousand with entertaining episodes. Sure, the villains are a bit one note (See: Judoon-ish) but the character interaction is just delicious.

The Clara Backdown 2015 is halted for the week because Clara is not offensive this week. Hell, the Doctor’s line of “Oh, Clara… What have I made of you?” is exactly what I wanted for the beginning of her downfall and, though I am loathe to admit it, she looks cute as hell in the Satan’s Space Suit.

The Vikings are really anachronistic but that’s something for a history nerd to bitch about, I did like the “I think he was being sarcastic” line though.

Ashildr, played by Game of Thrones’ Maisie Williams, is yet another should-be companion and her ultimate fate is pretty interesting. She essentially gets Jack Harkness’d but unlike Ten, Twelve shows a degree of compassion by offering her a way to immortalise another person, someone she couldn’t live without. That’s got to be a thread we’ll pick up in the future but for now, we see the immediate burden that’s now been placed on her shoulders.

The nature of immortality is more tragic the more you really think about it. It’s not a gift, it’s a curse and as the Doctor all but says; dying is a privilege, one that immortals can never really earn.

That said, dying isn’t as good as living and in a wonderful epiphany, we finally see the resolution to the whole face plot. The Doctor flashes back to his time as Ten and Donna’s pleading to save someone in the Fires of Pompeii, one of the people being Caecilius (a part played by Peter Capaldi) and what that face means. Saving lives is what the Doctor does, even if it’s just one. Plus I love it for basically having Ten show up and give Twelve a mental kick in the ass and have a subtle dig because Donna is the superior companion.

While not considered a two-parter by the wiki (god knows why, they’re definitely connected) Ashildr’s story continues next week as we stand and deliver for The Woman Who Lived.