The
spoiler warning’s in the title (for “World Enough and Time” and “The DoctorFalls,”) so here we go. I’ll try and go
mainly for plot stuff today and focus more specifically on the main characters
in future Sunday Who Reviews. Kneejerk
reaction? It has some of the problems
that a lot of Moffat’s “big” episodes suffer from, but as far as Moffat finales
go, it was actually pretty good – you might have to go as far back as “The Big
Bang” before you get another I could say that about.
I
love-love-loved seeing the old-school
Cybermen look, and just generally, showing their origins was pretty cool and
eerie. But I also really wish they hadn’t spoiled their appearance, along with that
of John Simm’s Master, in the previews.
Even though I think it would’ve been easy to guess Cyberman involvement
early in the episode, I wouldn’t have necessarily guessed the Mondas angle, and
I definitely wouldn’t have expected a Master appearance. Did yourself a disservice there, guys!
Speaking
of the Master, he and Missy interacting with one another was pure gold. I still think the whole Missy redemption
thing is kind of iffy, and I do not
like the looks she and the Doctor give each other at different points in the
story (in my head, I kept going, “If the Doctor and the Master kiss, I’m gonna
lose it,”) the Master and Missy alternately flirting with and trying to kill
each other? Amazing. This is far and
away the most I’ve liked John Simm in the role – I’ve always wanted to love him in it, but the writing
for his RTD-era episodes is so ludicrous and over-the-top that I just can’t
handle him. Here, though, he’s the
perfect blend of evil menace and hilarious arrogance, and it’s too fitting that
the Master’s ideal match is himself. But
seriously, they have to stop killing
the Master/Missy without regenerating them, ‘cause it just makes it cheaper
when he inevitably pops back up again.
You don’t even have to cast the next actor yet – just show the
regeneration energy and cut away. We all
know there’s no losing the Master for good, so why pretend?
Even
though, naturally, we get big moments with deaths and explosions (and a glimpse
of David Bradley as One!!! I’m so
excited, is it Christmas yet?), I appreciate that, for the most part, the
actual stakes in the episode are a lot smaller than usual. It’s not about stopping the Cybermen before
they’re created or anything – it’s not even about trying to thwart their
original scheme from “The Tenth Planet.”
Instead, it’s all about protecting a small group of people on a
different level of the ship. I love that
the Doctor doesn’t need the universe, a planet, or even an entire ship to be in imminent danger in order for him to be prepared
to make his last stand. It’s maybe not quite as exciting as it could be, but I’ll
gladly take it over the usual teeth-gnashing, fabric-of-the-universe-rending,
Biggest Deal to Ever Deal finale.
Other
than to say that I enjoyed Nardole’s exit and thought the show gave him a
rather touching finish, I think that’s it for now. I have a lot more thoughts/feelings/etc. on
both the Doctor and Bill, so I’ll save them for their own posts.
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