While I do get what you're saying Bingo, at it makes sense to ask those questions, my memory sucks big time lol. I'll try to watch the complete season between Friday and Saturday before watching the finale.

I pretty much avoid all kinds of spoilers so I don't know if Matt, Karen or Rory have contracts for next season or not (DON'T TELL IF YOU (meaning anyone) KNOW, please), but I don't think the Doctor is dying there at all. Just hope for an intelligent, satisfactory explanation and not some lame ass "Deux -ex machina" type explanation like in Lost (and many others) or a freaking angel or whatever like Kara Thrace.

If they do screw it up somehow, at least it isn't the series finale so they have time to correct it, unlike the other two.