What a phenomenal (near) ending! This was a fantastic series and a fantastic episode. It was very dense, but I thought it worked.
The fate of the Masters felt fitting. Plus, we know the Master never really dies even when he does, so that is hardly problematic in this universe. It was tragically beautiful that the Doctor never got to know that in the end, Missy had changed allegiance so thoroughly to him that she was willing to sacrifice her past self, a past self she quite enjoyed being, in order to help him. Missy will be missed. She was absolutely fabulous in the role of the Master. It is also interesting to contemplate whether the Master would have always had a female form, or if he had to become Missy because he met her and the timelines would have gone amiss had he not become her next even though he obviously must have been extremely annoyed with her during that particular regeneration.
I was glad to see Nardole and Bill both lived. They are both such likable characters that their deaths would have marred the whole thing. How Bill survived was utterly surprisingly, but also utterly Moffat. This is a man who can kill you off half a dozen times, especially if you are a certain Mr. Pond, but he just won’t let you stay dead, because “the universe is big, it’s vast and complicated, and ridiculous. And sometimes, very rarely, impossible things just happen and we call them miracles.” I approve though. There are enough edgy, miserable things on television. I’m happy with Moffat’s sci fi resurrections when they are properly sci fi and this one was. It was set up from episode 1, so it made sense within the established rules. More than that, it was emotionally satisfying. Pearl Mackie has been a joy to watch. I wish we were getting more of her really. The fellow at the Guardian who reviews Doctor Who put it well, saying her exit is “probably an accident of scheduling as much as anything else.” With both Capaldi and Moffat going, I can hardly see how she could stay, but I’d be happy to have her back if it made sense.
As for Bill and Nardole during the episode itself, they were fantastic. Pearl Mackie is an excellent actress. She played the whole thing of being a Cyberwoman very well. Nardole was sweet and sassy as ever. I will miss both of them and would love to see either of them back. The three of them were a great team TARDIS.
Some have said that the Cybermen were underplayed, but I didn’t mind that. I think they had enough screen time and it’s not as though they’ve not had plenty of moments in the sun in Doctor Who. I think the right people were focused on for the sake of the story and a proper ending for Moffat’s era as we go into his finale episode at Christmas.
And that brings me to that ending. Chris had absolutely no idea. I had heard a rumor, but Chris got the full impact of the lovely David Bradley playing the First Doctor. Recasting beloved dead actors is often a faux pas, but given how well he was received as William Hartnell in the biopic, Adventures in Space and Time, I am not surprised to see they gave it a go. I am really looking forward to seeing the interaction between the First and Twelfth Doctors at Christmas. If anything, I wouldn’t mind if they recast the Second and Third Doctors. Reece Shearsmith, who played Patrick Troughton in Adventures in Time and Space would be a great Second Doctor and Jon Pertwee’s son, Sean Pertwee, would be a very sensible choice for the Third Doctor.
10/10