How the 50th May Go...
A/N: After careful sorting of various photos of the actual 50th Anniversary episode, as well as multiple interviews with the cast in which they gave little snippets of spoilers, and much reflection on what has already occurred in the last half of Series 7, the following is the most accurate depiction of a plot that I've been able to come up with...it's unfinished, a bit vague on details, & far from perfect, I know, and it's obvious that Steven has done quite a good job of keeping things hidden from us fans, but I feel as though this theory is quite rational & realistic, considering what little bits we were given to work with.
So, that said, Allon-sy! Enjoy!
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The 11th Doctor & Clara escape from the time stream. How? Not sure. Probably quite dangerously and with the help of Vastra, Jenny, & Strax. Point is, they are both exhausted, mentally, emotionally, & physically, but they are very much alive. They reach their TARDIS safely and fly away from Tranzalore. They then drop off the gang in their respective time zones to recover.
However; unbeknownst to anyone, there is a stowaway on-board...This stowaway is 8.5, but perhaps not in full physical form...more like a presence or a ghost, than a real flesh & blood person. He goes unnoticed, at least, at first. Perhaps Clara or the Doctor feel just a hint of this, but choose to ignore it for the time being.
Meanwhile, the Doctor & Clara have found a new closeness, (not necessarily romantic), but certainly a new respect for each other. Lots of hugging, fond pats on the head, & talking...or perhaps...a lack thereof. I depict a very quiet, emotional scene in which the Doctor thanks her properly for all she's done, while Clara comes to terms with who & what she is...but in the middle of this, comes a distracting telephone call from Earth.
It's going to either be the daughter of Leftbridge-Stewart, in charge of UNIT and/or someone from Torchwood or...it will be a representative of Her Majesty, the modern Queen of England begging the Doctor for help on a very serious alien threat. More specifically, he's being called to investigate artifacts & paintings in The Royal Art Gallery inside The Tower of London.
The Doctor is, of course, extremely hesitant to respond to this call, having just been through a helluva lot. Plus, he finds the whole scenario suspicious, and it feels like a trap, somehow.
They of course, decide to go after all, because, this is what they do best. It's the excitement of another adventure & they can't resist. But when the Doctor gets there, he finds Torchwood, UNIT, and many Royal Guards, and helicopters waiting for him & the TARDIS.
(This is where things get hazy, folks. Not sure where or at which point the Doctor & the TARDIS get airlifted, with Clara trapped inside and the Doctor hanging on underneath the TARDIS for dear life. But I'm guessing it's either when they first arrive, or fairly soon after they meet up with UNIT for explanations and instructions and are then taken to a new location via helicopter ride...either by force or by choice remains unknown. But my theory is that they stick around the Tower to investigate.)
11 & Clara are surrounded, but are finally given the reason for being contacted. There have been strange goings-on in the Tower of London, specifically, involving the paintings & tapestries contained therein. UNIT reps claim that "the paintings have been coming to life." And that also, strange paintings have shown up mysteriously that weren't there previously. "Like they appeared out of thin air." And the biggest catch: some of these mysterious paintings depict scenes and landscapes of several different versions of *him* and some of his companions, and if that wasn't bad enough...some of them are of his worst enemies...
Intrigued and worried, the Doctor & Clara, along with members of UNIT go to investigate these strange happenings and eventually find some of the paintings in question. And much like the paintings in Harry Potter, they find that the subjects and people in the paintings are alive, can speak, and move from one painting to another freely. Needless to say, The Doctor, Clara, & everyone else is pretty shocked by what they see and for the moment, cannot explain what is going on or why.
And this is when the trouble really starts...soon they come upon some of the more mysterious paintings...and to 11's great surprise, it has both his 10th version & Rose wandering around in it! When the pair sees him & Clara, it's a Doctor stare-down stand-off. What's more is that the 10th Doctor has his TARDIS parked inside the painting and in an even stranger twist, is able to physically reach out and touch the outstretched hands of 11...thus pulling him into the painting! Clara quickly follows him in as well, leaving the UNIT soldiers on their own to guard the perimeter and keep a look-out.
What follows is quite possibly one of the strangest, funniest scenes in the entire episode as realizations and introductions are made as well as some possible romantic hugs/kisses? (Possible outcome of Rose meeting 11...or even Clara meeting 10.) There's quite a bit of bickering, talking, & teasing here as the four get used to being around each other. I'm seeing a lot of inside jokes about sonic screwdrivers, clothing, & food preferences, as well as some insults/digs at present companions, mostly at each other. But ultimately, they form a working, cohesive & cooperative investigative team out of necessity & get cracking on what is going on and who could be behind it all.
They then proceed to jump through several scenes & landscapes of the paintings and murals inside the castle, until they stumble upon one in particular.
It's a medieval scene of a royal tournament with knights, in which many peasants and royals are attending, but there's one big problem, there's an army of Zygons, an old enemy of the Doctor's, attempting to attack everyone! Clearly, this was never meant to happen here, and the Doctors do what they can to stop the attack, but then, to make matters worse, someone from the Doctors' shared past shows his ugly, old face once again...it's 8.5! Looking very much alive...is he properly real? Or is he merely an artist's rendering, just like 10 & Rose? These questions plague 11 & Clara both as yet again, they must acknowledge the elephant in the room...but whose side will this weary, unforgiven, battle-scarred regeneration take?
Luckily for them, this forgotten Doctor wants desperately to be forgiven and pardoned at last and wants to help the other 2 doctors in their search for answers. So after another round of awkward introductions, he joins Team TARDIS.
He helps them fight off & defeat the Zygons, but then when they jump into another landscape, suddenly they hear the unmistakable and frightening voices of Daleks...and what's more is: they are angry and they are everywhere. The gang seems to have stumbled now into a painted version of a memory of the Doctor's...problem is...it's the worst one. They have found themselves in the middle of the Time War itself...
Basically, welcome to the Doctor's living nightmare. Explosions and Daleks and other countless horrors reign supreme in this world and it's obviously going to be a struggle for all of them to even survive.
The Doctors are well and truly scared out of their wits at having to witness this again. But it's also a point in which Clara and Rose can shine and truly show their bravery. After all, Clara was once a Dalek herself and she remembers her hacking skills to use their information against them, while Rose certainly knows her way around Daleks by now and she knows a thing or two about weaponry. In other words, she blasts the crap out of them.
At this point, they are both trying to save their own Doctors...while 8.5 comes to a sad realization...he does not have the benefit of having a companion that loves him...he's the odd man out, the black sheep, and highly praises Rose & Clara for their bravery, but sees that he might have to make the ultimate sacrifice in order to get his older regenerations out of here alive...for they are his future, & cannot be allowed to die, for if they do, his time stream, and his very life will be ripped apart yet again. (For the sake of this story, let's just say he dies once more, in this painting, giving his life for the others, so that they can escape, but before he dies, 11 &/or 10 find it within them to forgive him, and in doing so, forgive themselves.)
The four barely escape with their lives...but point is, they do escape. They find 10's TARDIS and travel into many other paintings, each time finding some other villain, monster or old enemy and work together to vanquish them. Soon they realize & remember though, that these attacks are merely part of some bigger scheme of a yet unknown super villain who has yet to show him or herself. This greatly troubles 11 and keeps commenting on it to the others.
They take a short meeting in the TARDIS, and while 11 thinks perhaps the Great Intelligence is at it again, or that 10 suspects The Master, all can agree that they don't know for sure. They've also lost contact with UNIT and Torchwood and basically, the outside world. Is it possible that 11 & Clara are trapped inside the paintings now? Once inside a painting, is there actually a way for them to get out again? Was this the plan all along? To get the Doctor out of the way, fighting old memories and old enemies while the true villain remains free to wreak havoc on modern London...? And also, what happens if 10 & Rose try to get out? They were never real, and therefore, are expendable. Goodbyes may be in order... and it's a known fact that the Doctor hates goodbyes. This will be a very sad and somber scene, with lots of tears.
**This is the real pivoting point. We're nearing the end. We know 11 & Clara survive, because they are in the upcoming Christmas Special. And no doubt, it was due to a brilliant, albeit crazy hair-brained scheme of the Doctors'. But there just isn't any information on the ending. Only Steven Moffat & the cast know what comes next. I've done my best...what do you think?