C+Q - The Doctor Falls (2017)

For me, The Doctor Falls has the same vibe as Hell Bent: rather than viewing it as a single whole episode, it feels more like a collection of cool moments and set pieces. While I do like Hell Bent, I feel The Doctor Falls is much more successful purely because the cool moments and set pieces cohere together much more fluently. The Master stuff doesn't really have much to do with the Cyberman stuff but seeing Missy kill her previous toxic self was a perfect visual metaphor to bring her current incarnation's arc to a close. Heather appearing to save Bill also didn't have much to do with the Cybermen, but it was a perfect optimistic and necessary happily ever after for Bill after everything she'd been through last episode. Unlike Hell Bent, which clearly threw in some stuff purely for fun, like cameos from Daleks, Cybermen, and Weeping Angels, everything in The Doctor Falls feels necessary and motivated by character and theme. For me, that's what a successful Doctor Who event needs: a strong emotional core driven by character and theme that can be used to justify as much fan service as you can get away with.

Speaking of which: multiple Masters! The Masters killing each other is such a perfect ending for them, and I love how both The Doctor Falls and The Two Masters shows that whenever you get two Masters in a room together, they will eventually try to kill each other. It's a wonderful inversion of multi-Doctor stories where they start off by reacting with hostility to one another and eventually learn to work together. As much as I enjoy the Master #content here, it's unfortunate that we don't get to see Simm!Master regenerate into Missy, and it's unfortunate that we never get to see the Master's TARDIS. As I said, balancing genuine dramatic merit with shameless fanwank is a major goal of these sorts of event episodes, so I understand why those two elements weren't included. Still, when Simm!Master is descending down the lift shaft, they could have had his laughter slowly turn into Gomez' voice, showing the transformation without dedicating a whole scene to it. Just a little more fanwank would have gone a long way for me. Now that Michelle Gomez is unfortunately leaving the role, I hope the Master is rested for a few years, maybe even missing out Thirteen entirely (although I immediately take that back because I want to see the Master meet Whittaker, especially after the whole 'is the future going to be all girl?' comment). A few years off for the character will give their appearances time to breathe, but Chibnall better not invalidate the amazing development the Gomez incarnation has been through.

Speaking of a little more fanwank that would have gone a long way, why does the montage of past companions only go as far back as Rose? Doctor Who has recovered from its first cancelation. We're at the point now where the Movellans can make cameos in series openers. Trying to keep Classic Who and New Who separate in 2017 is completely arbitrary. For an episode that has Mondasian Cybermen and the First Doctor, it feels incredibly jarring to draw the line at 2005 when it comes to companions. Not that I'm saying we should have seen every companion ever because then the sequence would have gone on for way too long, but just a few notable 20th century companions like Susan, Sarah Jane, Ace etc. would've been a nice inclusion.

It's a widely accepted bit of received knowledge that all stories have to include a certain amount of negativity in order for there to be any real stakes. If nobody ever dies, how can we ever be worried that someone will die? I used to agree with that but in recent years I've been finding myself gravitating more towards optimistic stories rather than gritty modern stories where everyone fucks and murders each other (hopefully in that order). As somebody who used to be frustrated by Rory dying and coming back every episode back in the day, I've slowly been converted to the Moffat way of thinking: it's not about making the audience feel bad, it's about making the journey of the character make sense. Bill being able to hold on to her identity as a result of her resistance to the monks not only makes sense but also makes The Lie of the Land one degree less shit by association. As for Heather coming back to save her at the end, that's just lovely. I don't care if it would've been darker and more angsty if she'd ended up as a Cyberman forever, Bill's magic space girlfriend coming back to save her is heart-warming and nice, and stories are allowed to be nice goddamn it. I'm sick of the idea that all shows need to meet a minimum misery quota to be good. I'm sick of the idea that something has to be cynical or pessimistic to have creative or artistic merit. Good on Doctor Who for giving Bill a happily ever after.

Meanwhile: Nardole. All things considered, I'm glad Matt Lucas came back. I'd have liked it if he had a little more to his character than 'comic relief', and the way he became an obstacle to the adventures early on by nagging the Doctor to stay at the university was a pretty unforgivable move for a character in an adventure series that we're supposed to think is one of the goodies. However, in spite of that, and in spite of the sloppy way his inclusion in Series 10 was obviously added in to all the scripts as an after thought, Matt Lucas is so damn likeable that it all doesn't matter. He made me laugh and he made me care. His exit in this episode was gloriously Hartnell; leaving the companion to mop up the debris of the adventure after the TARDIS left. I'm not sure I'd ever call him a favourite, but Nardole was a good companion who entertained me every Saturday and added a spark to the 2017 run. I'll miss him.

World Enough and Time/The Doctor Falls is my favourite Capaldi finale and probably my favourite finale of the Moffat era. The scripts are both wonderful, giving us creeping horror ("Pain. Pain. Pain."), laugh out loud comedy ("Is this the emotion you humans call 'spanking'?"), amazing twists ("Hello Missy. I'm the Master."), and big moments that give new meaning to the show and the characters ("I do what I do because it's right. Because it's decent."). Capaldi gives a performance that cements his place as my favourite Doctor and Gomez gives a performance that cements her place as my favourite Master. Mackie not only sells the hell out of her terrible situation, but she has me wishing she'd return for at least another series. Rachel Talalay is still my favourite TV director, Murray Gold is still my favourite TV composer, Simm is great, Lucas is great, this two parter is just an all-around good time. 10 out of 10. 5 stars out of 5. Would watch again immediately. Thank god Capaldi, Moffat, Mackie, and Talalay are all back this Christmas.