DanaK

Now that we are a few days past the finale, here are my thoughts and rankings (out of 10) for the Series 12 episodes. Just to note, I’m reluctant to give out 10s very often, which is why I give some fractions close to 10 and why there’s only one real 10 Spyfall Part 1 - 9.5 i really enjoyed this, especially the reveal of the Master at the end. Loved the tux costumes, especially Jodie’s. Loved the spy motif and the music. Jodie and Sacha were really great. Just really enjoyable all around Spyfall Part 2 - 9-9.5 Yes, the Kasaavin/Barton stuff kind of fell apart at the end and the resolution was rushed, but I enjoyed so much about this episode, especially the Doctor/Master scenes. Jodie and Sacha have so much chemistry. Also enjoyed Ada and her antics and the companions did well. I’m just not sure whether to give it a 9 or 9.5, though I suppose it could lose a half point for the K/Barton messiness Orphan 55 - 6 There were a lot of catcalls thrown at this episode, and I don’t necessarily disagree with the criticisms, but I still enjoyed it. The Doctor was strong and Jodie gave a great performance. I think a 6 probably manages to capture the essence of the messy/fun dual nature of the episode Nikola Tesla’s Night Of Terror - 8 This was an enjoyable and fun historical. Goran was great as Tesla and Jodie was strong Fugitive of the Judoon - 9.5 This is my personal favorite of the season. There was just so much fun and surprises in this episode, from the Judoon to the RuthDoc reveal to Jack’s cameo. I just can’t decide whether to leave this at 9.5 or give it a 10 Praxeus - 6 Like Orphan, there are a lot of bricks one can throw at this episode, and I would agree with them. But there is a lot to like about the episode. The Doctor was strong, the companions had a lot to do and I think Mandip shone here, and I liked Jake and his husband though Jake stood out more Can You Hear Me? - 8 A really good, well directed episode with a good focus on mental health. Zellin was a strong villain and the topic of mental health was emotional and handled well. The animation sequence was really clever The Haunting of Villa Diodati - 9 This was a really enjoyable episode with outstanding direction, costumes and great lighting, especially given it was mostly by candlelight. Jodie was very strong here as was the guy playing the Lone Cyberman. The rest of the cast was good too. Another one where I’m waffling between a 9 and 9.5 score Ascension of the Cybermen - 9.5 A really fun, tense, exciting beginning to the finale. The Doctor/Lone Cyberman face-off on the ship was great and they separately were great The Timeless Children - 10 This was clearly a divisive episode, but I thought it was a great finale. Sacha was fantastic here and Jodie was a great foil for him. I love their chemistry. The scene where the Doctor threatened to unleash the Death Particle and the Master kept goading her to do it was utterly great. He wanted to die, but only if the Doctor did it, so he could see her destroyed by taking that act. Jodie and Sacha were fantastic here. The whole Timeless Child reveal was game changing and audacious, changing the Doctor’s past history, but without really changing the theme of the show or who the Doctor is now. All those elements together make this the only outright 10 of the season for me All in all, it was a really enjoyable season for me, several steps up from Series 11. It seems like the cast and crew had more confidence and the Doctor showed her darker side and had more heartbreak and pressure that she didn’t have in Series 11. The Doctor was more front and center this season than last and Jodie really shined. Sacha was a wonder as the Master and he and Jodie really played well off each other. The Lone Cyberman was a great villain, probably second behind the Master. Mandip was allowed to do more this season and gave Yaz some solid stuff, including some recklessness. I thought the companions as a whole were used better plot wise, though I do think 3 is too many to get a good handle on them individually

Something else I liked was at the end, where first the Doctor says hello to the Tardis ("Hello mate" just really worked), then she enters and sits down, very weary from all that has happened. Before that, she tells the Master that the Timeless Child info didn't break her, but we can see the weight of what happened is on her shoulders for those many seconds before the Judoon show up. I appreciated that beat instead of her just skipping in and being all jokey or acting all normal

In that scene where the Doctor threatens to detonate the Death Particle, Sacha is so amazing as the Master pretty much pleads with the Doctor to detonate it. Such fire in that scene between Jodie and Sacha. The Master lamented that the Death Particle didn't take him out when he shrunk the Lone Cyberman. He has such a death wish, but doesn't seem able to bring himself to do the deed himself. But he also wanted to break the Doctor with the Timeless Child info. It doesn't help his mood that the Doctor tells him the reveal didn't break her like he wanted (at least that's what she's claiming)

I did too, at least for Series 11 and part of 12. But his increasingly wacky Cockney jokes and sayings were beginning to wear. I like Yaz quite a bit and another year might give her space to shine. Hopefully Chibnall won't crowd the Tardis with a bunch of other companions. I think 1 additional one will be sufficient

28-day: 5.677 million viewers

Ratings update: Overnights: 3.71 million viewers, rank: 8th most-watched program for the night. Appreciation Index: 81 7-Day: 4.99 million viewers, rank: 25th most-watched program for the week

This has reportedly been confirmed by Zoe Ball on BBC Radio Radio Times is reporting that Walsh and Cole will be leaving as regular cast members but they may return sporadically https://www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/2020-03-03/doctor-who-bradley-walsh-tosin-cole-leaving/

Assuming one is ok with the reveal and will not stop watching because of it, the neat thing is it doesn’t really change what the show is. The Doctor now has way more to her backstory than she thought, but it doesn’t change who she is now, a traveler who likes to travel and help those in need. We might get some stories of her trying to unravel that past and meeting more unknown selves, but the majority of the stories will still be her adventures with her companions (unless Chibnall or a future showrunner wants to concentrate on the former) Am I right in assuming the last bomb destroyed the Matrix? If so, that will make it harder for the Doctor to discover her lost past. I also assume the loss of the Matrix will impact any surviving Time Lord who wasn’t on Gallifrey when the Master razed it. It normally should impact the Doctor, but if she naturally regenerates, I guess she doesn’t need Time Lord tech help. On the other hand, we don’t know if her adoptive mother or the other Time Lords messed with her ability. Was she really at the end of her regeneration cycle with 11 or was that a coverup by the Time Lords? The new information has raised a lot of new questions

The Mirror is claiming that Brad and Tosin are leaving and Mandip is staying. They will be last seen in the special, which has already been filmed https://www.mirror.co.uk/tv/tv-news/bradley-walsh-set-sensationally-quit-21618111 If accurate, it’s not really a surprise as Tosin has his new series and Brad is very busy

What is with all the "Rs" in these Dalek titles? And of course Resolution

You know, as a post elsewhere reminded me, now that the far future humans are in present day Sheffield with the companions, we just might get Ravio and Graham as a couple. She was certainly showing some interest on the Cybership

The companions were not through the barrier before the ship landed. Remember Yaz stepping through it while on the planet? I suppose they dressed up like Cybermen so they wouldn't be caught so easily when they were to the planet and probably to more easily help fight the Cybermen on the planet I find it interesting that of the various season spoilers that I saw (at least the ones I shared here for the most part), maybe half were totally untrue, and quite a bit of the true ones were confused. I guess most show spoilers tend to be 50/50, but quite a few of the true spoilers for the season seemed to be really confused. One big one was that the Master would be back and appear in disguise throughout the season and that happened all in Spyfall. Another was that there would be a plastics episode that would include the Sea Devils. There definitely was an episode about plastic, but no Sea Devils. There were spoilers supposedly from an insider that said Ruth was the Doctor and they were the Timeless Child along with some other things about the last two episodes that were mostly accurate, but they didn't seem to get shared very widely

Not sure about Jack, other than it set up a problem for the Doctor to resolve I suppose, to decide what action to take I think the Master said Brenden was just a cover story, or false memories the Doctor was getting covering over the real truth. I'll have to watch that back to be sure, but at the very least, they were false memories the Doctor was having

I think I might be willing to give this episode a 10 out of 10 and I don't tend to give 10s out so easily, though some episodes I've felt were 9.5

The fact that the Master was so pissed that he destroyed Gallifrey because he had a bit of the Doctor in him (the regeneration ability I guess) and that she was a special being that started it all, is really quite something. It just speaks to the person he really is. I guess he's been jealous of the Doctor all along And Ashad, the Lone Cyberman. He gets pretty close to preparing to destroy (or convert?) other races and be king of the galaxy, but then the Master comes along, starts yammering about a team up and greater glory and the poor guy suddenly ends up dead in miniature by the Master. He should have just thrown the Master in a cell and ignored his ravings. The Master always fouls up the plans of other people Both Jodie and Sacha were terrific here. Jodie has been great all season. Brad and Mandip did great stuff trying to figure things out against the Cybermen It's interesting how opinions are so divided on this episode, though it seemed many more liked it than didn't, but most of the ones who didn't like really didn't like it

Given all the past season finales in NewWho that were big events (and especially those that were two parters), I can see why many fans were upset with the Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos last season. I liked it, but this finale is much, much better I'm curious to see where Chibnall takes things with Series 13. I think this has been a terrific season overall, but I do agree with the opinions that 3 is too many companions and doesn't give them enough time for their stories. I know many want just 1, but I think 2 would work just fine

Yeah, there's lots more mystery now The sad thing is that, as far as we know, the Doctor's home (where she grew up at least) is now presumably fully destroyed, including the Matrix, any remaining Tardis except for the 2 the companions and she took, along with all the bodies of the people. That's an awful thing to have to deal with and live with, but I guess there was no choice. Obviously the Doctor couldn't destroy it because she had to escape, but in-story, her pacifist ways prevented her from pressing the bomb trigger, but she allowed the other guy to do it, which seems almost the same thing The moment between Yaz and Graham when they thought it was the end was very emotional and great. Graham said a lot of nice things and then Yaz says he's a pretty nice bloke. I liked that both of them were thinking on their feet and coming up with solutions, as nutty as some were. Ryan had some good things to do fighting the Cybermen with Ko Sharmus. I figured the last humans would just re-populate Gallifrey, which in the light of day was probably too few to do so and of course Gallifrey needed to be destroyed at the end. So it was nice to see them make it to present day with the companions

As announced at the end of the finale, there will be a holiday special titled "Revolution of the Daleks". No specific date given at this time, either whether it's Christmas or New Years Day ETA: The BBC press release https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/doctorwho/entries/e78005d7-9026-4bf3-b22e-8c8134a5918d

Well that was a lot, and a lot to process and I'm going to have to rewatch the things I didn't quite get. But I really enjoyed it and it leaves us with a lot more questions. But it seems the Doctor figured that no matter where she came from or what was done to her (assuming the Master was telling her the whole truth), she's still the person she has been for a few thousand years trying to help others. I'm sure some will feel Chibnall massacred the canon, but eh, the Doctor will still likely go adventuring and helping others, which is the main part of the show, but she's also going to have to figure out and reconcile her past and legacy. There's still a lot of mystery to the Doctor It seemed to have a nice balance between action with the Cybermen and the memory stuff between the Master and the Doctor. And as I've said, I love the chemistry between Jodie and Sacha. The companions managed to figure their way out of their predicament on the ship and reunite with the Doctor, but now they think the Doctor is likely dead. At least Lone Cyberman is dead. He was out of control and getting on my nerves. Of course, now we'll wonder if and how the Master survives Nice seeing RuthDoc, if only in WhitDoc's head. I guess people will be slow-moing through those memories and faces to see what's all there I'm not sure I understand where the 2(?) other Tardises came from. Were they just other Time Lords' machines sitting around on Gallifrey? I guess the Doctor reunited with her Tardis on that planet they originally arrived on? The Doctor is now imprisoned by the Judoon. I guess we'll have to see how she gets out of that, probably in the special in December or January I'll probably have more to say when I can think of things and processed more, but all in all, a really good season finale. I'm sad that the season is over though and we'll likely have to wait until Fall next year, unless things like the coronoavirus interfere with production. I really enjoyed this season and it really upped the stakes over last season

Programming reminder: The finale on Sunday night will be shown on the BBC from 6:50pm to 8pm. The episode page and producers may say it’s 65 minutes but the time slot is 70 minutes long and several articles say it’s 70 minutes. Just be prepared if you are recording and be prepared for the earlier start time. I hope the BBC is properly promoting the earlier start time. On BBC America in the US, the episode starts at the usual time of 8pm ET/7pm CT and goes for 1 hour 33 minutes

Programming reminder: The Series 12 finale “The Timeless Children” on Sunday night will be shown on the BBC from 6:50 pm to 8pm. The episode page and producers may say it’s 65 minutes but the time slot is 70 minutes long and several articles say it’s 70 minutes. Just be prepared if you are recording and be prepared for the earlier start time. I hope the BBC is properly promoting the earlier start time. On BBC America in the US, the episode starts at the usual time of 8pm ET/7pm CT and goes for 1 hour 33 minutes

FYI

Sacha talks to Syfywire about playing the Master and embracing the chaos and finding the “humanity” https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/doctor-who-star-sacha-dhawan-on-embracing-the-chaos-and-finding-the-humanity-of-the-master

He certainly seems to have done it most if not all of this season. If he was doing it some last season, he seems to have turned it up a lot this season. I have to wonder if Bradley Walsh requested it. He seems to have added way more Cockney speech