With the finale of series 10 complete, it is a wonder that I am
able to coherently order my thoughts and feeling about the episodes. I think it
is safe to say that this was the most emotionally draining two-parter of Doctor
Who in a long time. As the title of this post suggests, it took us on a whirlwind
of a roller coaster of emotions. I found myself tearing up countless times throughout
this finale, especially in episode 12 ‘The Doctor Falls’.
Steven Moffat has certainly outdone himself in this finale
and has illustrated that he is a force to be reckoned with when he really puts
his mind to it. I only wish that he was able to produce this standard of
writing for Series’ 5-9. With that said however, as this is his final series as
Show-Runner, it’s only natural that he pulls out all the best tricks up his sleeve
to go out with a bang. You can find out more about my thoughts on Doctor Who
and the first part of series 10 in my earlier blog-post here.
Episode 11 – World Enough and Time
I found that this episode was a brilliant start to the finale
of this series. It had me hooked from the beginning. I loved that it had a very
eerie and almost horror feel to it. The bits where Bill was walking through
ward full of ‘the patients’, the overall burn-victim look of the Mondasian
Cybermen, and when they vocalised the level of pain they must be going through by
pressing a button was utterly unnerving. It was fantastic.
Of course, the highlight of this episode for me was the
return of John Simm’s Master. This actually played a big part in the reason why
I chose to keep up with this series. The announcement of his return was incentive
enough for me to start watching again. I can truthfully say that I instantly recognised
him when we first saw him as Mr Razor. I actually squealed when I first saw him
- the mouth and his laugh were a dead giveaway! However, this could be due the
fact that I was looking out for him in this episode. This leads me on to think
how amazing it would be if we didn’t know he was returning. It would have made
the episode that much more spectacular.
I cannot praise the ending of this episode enough – it was
pure gold. This is especially true towards the end when we find out that Bill was
upgraded and when the Master confronted Missy.
Episode 12 – The Doctor Falls
As I stated earlier, this episode played havoc on my
emotions. It probably had me tearing up more than any other Doctor Who episode
EVER! This says a lot, especially since I’m not really much of a crier. Peter Capaldi’s
performance in this episode was absolutely outstanding. I felt the weight of
everything he was saying. By the end of the episode, I just wanted to give him a
big bear hug and shield from everything bad in the world. I will dearly miss
him as the Doctor; I only wish that we got more good episodes like this with
him.
With regards to Bill, my heart broke when we found out she didn’t
know she was a Cyberman. It broke even more when we saw how she was being
treated differently by the humans. Throughout this episode, we saw Bill’s spark
get dimmer and dimmer as she started to come to terms with the facts of her
situation. Every time she cried, I shed
tears along with her.
As you can imagine, I was thrilled that she got her happy ending;
I didn’t foresee the return of Heather at all. While some have criticised this
for being ‘typical Moffat’ and also being too similar to Clara’s fate, I think
it is important to convey a message of hope to viewers. With all the trials and
tribulations she has gone through, and with constant pessimistic narrative of most
shows, Doctor Who is a breath of hopeful fresh air. It goes to show that stories don't have to be sad or depressing to have value. Fundamentally, Doctor Who teaches
us about kindness, love, and doing what’s right.
I do hope we see Bill again, the nature of her ending definitely
allows for the possibility of her return. I’m also excited to see how the
Christmas Special turns out with the return of the First Doctor.
I hope you enjoyed this rather lengthy post; it’s often the
way with me isn’t it? Let me know what your thoughts on the finale were! I would
love to know.
All the best
Mae
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