 The episode received mostly positive reviews . Dan Martin of The Guardian called it " actually the best Christmas Special since ' The Christmas Invasion ' " and the first to be " actually scary " , with " everything we like " about Doctor Who and Christmas . He praised Coleman 's introduction as Clara and the gang of Vastra , Jenny , and Strax . IGN 's Matt Risley gave " The Snowmen " a score of 9 @.@ 4 out of 10 , describing it as " a rollicking , riveting masterclass in storytelling " which " refreshingly " lacked traditional Christmas references " in favour of some sparkling dialogue , gorgeous set design and fascinating characterisation " . While he felt that Grant and McKellen were underused , he was very positive towards Coleman 's " unpredictable " Clara . Radio Times reviewer Patrick Mulkern was pleased with the return of the Great Intelligence despite an inconsistency in the timeline he found , and praised the " lovely images " and direction of the special , though he felt the variation of the theme music " lacks the menace " of the original . While he was positive towards Clara , he was " unmoved by her death " as it was " plainly silly " that she did not look injured . 
