There is a sudden, subtle melancholy to a Gally Sunday. Everyone can see the light at the end of the tunnel, and it’s the train barreling down on us.

Most folks seem to start slowly on this last day of the con. That worked to the advantage of the poor organizers, who have had to switch schedules around due to Alex Kingston’s absence. So instead of the Program A lineup beginning with Barrowman at 10am and Kingston going on at noon, with a live commentary in between, they screened Last Christmas at 10am and had Barrowman start at noon.

My day on the con floor started at 11am with that live commentary, which was writer Jamie Mathieson talking about his episode Mummy on the Orient Express. Episodes I really like are harder commentaries to sit through for me, because I kind of just want to watch what’s happening on screen, but it was interesting to hear his comments about how the story evolved from early drafts through the finished product. My favorite story, which I actually first heard in a panel earlier in the weekend (though I doubt I’ll ever tire of it), was that the cigarette case full of jelly babies was nowhere in the script—that was all Capaldi.

Although attendees were supposed to choose either the Saturday or Sunday “interview” panel for Barrowman, I doubt I was the only person who attended both (yes, yes—I’m very naughty). The problem is that there is no way in hell they would be the same, simply because John does the entire thing by taking questions from the audience and letting those take him where they will.

I assuaged my guilt at double booking by leaving partway through, because my panel was up next, and there were a couple of last autographs I wanted to get. Unfortunately, it turned out I was reading the schedule wrong and the folks I was looking for started in middle of my panel instead of ending then. I was bummed to have missed more of the whirlwind that is Barrowman, but at least I had plenty of time to get ready for my panel.

The panel was called “Twelfth Nights,” and was about Capaldi’s first series as the Doctor. Though the rest of us didn’t know it at the time, two of the six panelists were ill, and we ended up carrying on without them. That wasn’t a problem, as I think we still had an interesting, rich panel with good questions and comments from the audience.

The one comment that stood out and really seemed to resonate with everyone was offered by a woman (I wish I knew her, so I could give her credit) who mentioned that in the medical field, there’s something called “compassion fatigue.” She posited that the Doctor, after everything he’s been through before his most recent regeneration, could easily be suffering the condition. Combined with moments like Clara calling himself her carer, and him clarifying that “she cares so I don’t have to,” it makes perfect sense.

And it fits in with my own head canon that he’s kind of like a sea urchin: spiky and unpleasant on the outside, but soft and vulnerable inside. I read him as needing to keep a certain amount of distance while he rebuilds some emotional stamina. (Plus, I think his regeneration triggered some sort of factory reset on his “knowledge of humans” setting.)

After the panel, I got to reconnect with someone I’d first met Thursday night at LobbyCon. She had seen by badge and stopped to say hello because she’s read and occasionally commented here on the blog (hi, S! ~waves~). We chatted for a bit and drifted into Program A, where we sat together through the next to panels. It felt much like my first Gally, finding new friends and sharing the con experience.

Although she left eventually to meet up with other friends, I spent the rest of the programming day right there in Program A, as has been my Sunday tradition since I started coming here. The commentary on Dark Water featured director Rachel Talalay. That was fascinating just because it was such a different way of looking at things from the writer’s perspective we had earlier in the day, including some behind-the-scenes trivia.

Next was the panel full of folks from the pre-Hiatus (“Classic”) era, both Companions and otherwise. Mostly what I took away from that one was a confirmation of my previously developed love for both Sophie Aldred and Janet Fielding. I mean everyone’s lovely—I’d be plenty happy to sit down for a drink and a chat with any of them—but those two in particular are my kind of people.

The next panel shifted the other direction, with a slew of folks from the modern show. I hadn’t had the chance to see very many of them earlier in the con, so I quite enjoyed the opportunity. I particularly enjoyed Ellis George (Courtney Woods); she seems full of energy and spark. I hope we see more of her character in the future.

Then it was the beginning of the end. The year-in-review video ran, and then the closing ceremonies. People filed out and gathered in the lobby, a slightly stunned look on our faces. How did we get here? It can’t be over! LobbyCon continued, as did some room parties, please-get-rid-of-all-this-extra-fabric gathering, and general socialization, but there’s always a subdued undercurrent of sadness. Some of us will be back next year, some won’t, but most seemed determined to milk the last moments for all they were worth.

I’ll milk my own experience for a couple more hours. Then all the hoopla will be over for another year. Until next time, Gally!