The season 9 finale understands on a core level that the Doctor is far more important to each of his companions than his companions will ever be to him, purely due to the fact that he’s lived for so much longer. Taking Clara’s memories of the Doctor would be to kill off a major part of her; taking the Doctor’s memories of Clara is a much smaller comparative sacrifice. Clara’s got one of the more interesting departures of all the modern companions, one that feels like a direct response to both Donna, Jamie, and Zoe’s fates. It almost feels like a critique of the way Donna’s storyline went down, as if Moffat’s subtly trying to make the case that the Doctor was wrong to do what he did to her.

Donna’s fate still stings over a decade later, which is why fans of the character should be happy to hear Donna and Ten will be returning for the show’s 60th anniversary special, airing next year. Not only that, but Russell T. Davies is returning as showrunner as well. We have no idea what this means for Donna’s fate, exactly; unfortunately, the most likely explanation is the special will take place for Donna sometime before her memories were removed. But hey, nothing’s certain. If the last anniversary special could retcon the whole time war, maybe this one will give Donna the opportunity to regain her memory. We can only hope.