Capaldi had moments or brilliance, but a whole lot of, well, lets be real, silliness too.. the Sonic Sunglasses??
I know you disagree, but I honestly thing Clara was one of the better companions, the bright eyed optimistic niavete countered balanced well, to the doctor, who had seen it all and knew that the universe was indeed not innately good, but a wretchedly heartless and cruel place.
Clara’s “death” suited the character well, though sad.. with of course the “cheat” that she’s actually stolen away in the moment before to travel the whole of time and the universe with River Song for however long before returning to that moment to actually die.
I agree overall Capaldi’s run was relatively meh, largely due to writing.. However, the episode “Heaven Sent”, I would rate right up among the best episodes since the Reboot.
There was so much tied up in Clara, with the whole existing throughout time, etc etc.. That I probably have forgotten a good bit of it, I probably should rewatch the clara years again to refresh my memory.
Anyway, I didn’t like everything they did with Capaldi, but compared to what happened once they went full on woke, it was miles and miles above where it went.
I loved the Clara character and the actress playing her. The writing let her down. It could have been so much better. After she left, I watched maybe 2 more shows and haven’t been back.