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locker_monsterI apolgize now if this post is a rambling mess. It was trying to write thoughts down, and then I stopped to re-watch the episode, so I'm all over the place.
So one last fake-out with Clara. She's actually the Doctor! And Jenna Coleman's name is before Peter Capaldi's! And there are her eyes and eyebrows in the opening credits! No, wait, it's just Clara being clever. It was clever of her to confuse the Cybermen like that, but were we actually supposed to believe that the Doctor had regenerated into a young woman, then turned human, and then set up an elaborate back story to support this new human identity? I mean, sure, that would have been an interesting revelation, that Clara is actually a future incarnation of the Doctor, but I'm glad it was just a ploy. But it kind of jives with Clara's arc this season. She has proven she can be a good Doctor stand-in. But how can she know all of that stuff about his background? I don't see the Doctor telling her every little detail about his past. I mean, she knows about Jenny from "The Doctor's Daughter". When did she find out about that? And saying, "I'm his best friend in the universe" doesn't explain it away.
Anyway. So, Cybermen invading Earth. Another finale, another invasion. At least the resolution was fairly straightforward. The Cyber clouds were evaporated by lots of exploding Cybermen. I can buy that. Clouds can evaporate. There was no burning off of the poison in the atmosphere or excess oxygen to create an atmospheric air bag or whatever the hell happened in "In the Forest of the Night". The fact that Danny didn't go full killer Cyberman because of love? Yeah, sure, I'll buy that, too. They used love back in "Closing Time" to defeat the Cybermen.
Also, I thought they might have dead Companions converted into Cybermen popping up. You know, just to make it more heart-wrenching for the Doctor. Missy was storing minds from all over time, so it could have been possible for her to grab, I don't know, Jamie or Amy or Rory. I know we do get the Brig at the end, and that's a very nice moment. Kate's earlier line about all her dad wanted was for the Doctor to salute back was a nice line but I did think at the back of my head, "Why is she bringing it up?" Ah, I see. So it's nice that they keep the spirit of the Brig alive on the show.
For some reason, I feel like not much happened. This was an hour episode. I thought it would be wall to wall action or something. But really, the Doctor is in a plane for a bit, there's some action on the plane, and then the rest of the episode unfolds in a cemetery with lots of standing around. Maybe we needed an hour so it wouldn't be super jam packed? Because there were moments when we had some breathing room. Like, they actually take the time to address that Danny is now a Cyberman and Clara has to contemplate killing him. I think in a regular length episode, that point would have gone by fairly quickly, but they do spend a decent amount of time on the dilemma. And it's a heck of a dilemma. Companions shouldn't have to kill for the Doctor, but Clara shows an incredible amount of courage in basically killing her boyfriend. And of course, it's the Brig as the end who kills Missy. He would totally take that burden on to himself.
But poor Danny. His own personal arc did have a nice resolution, with him rescuing the boy he accidentally killed, but his relationship arc with Clara gets a crappy ending. Killing off the boyfriend should not be the answer, but how could they have Clara still travelling with the Doctor if she was going to keep lying about it with Danny? I still think Danny should have travelled aboard the TARDIS. They could have worked on Danny and the Doctor getting to like each other.
The Doctor doesn't get an easy time, either. First, he's the President of Earth and he doesn't like that at all. I don't know if that was the greatest decision in the world. Yes, he will help to save the human race, but I don't think he should be in charge of it. Then he has Missy going nuts with the whole "I created an army from the dead for you. Happy birthday!" I didn't believe he would actually take Missy's army. That's not his style. He's seen enough conquering armies in his lifetime to know it never ends well. Then there's the whole thing about him killing Missy to save Clara. Now that was believable tense. We've never seen the Doctor considering killing anyone so purposely before. But he would do it to save Clara. The season did a good job building up their friendship and it's truly tested in that moment. But thank goodness he didn't have to pull that trigger. But poor, sad Doctor. He's so hopeful about Gallifrey, first in the hold of the plane and then later at the end of the episode. When he realizes that Missy just sent him on a wild goose chase, that scene is heartbreaking. But why was the whole point of this finale Missy trying to get the Doctor to realize that they're same? I get that it fits the Doctor's arc for the season, but why is Missy suddenly obsessed with showing the Doctor he's just as mad as her.
And then the end! Gah, just tell each other what happened! It's so depressing, seeing the both of them walking off, thinking the other is utterly happy when they're just the opposite. And then that hug. Sigh. At least there's room for Clara to come back. Will she get written out in the Christmas Special? I hope not. I want her to stick around for a few more episodes. I can see Moffat doing that. Lull us into a false sense of security then wham! He pulls the rug out from under us.
As for Missy... I don't know. I think I still would have preferred if they had revealed that she was someone else. Does making the Master a woman add anything? She's still crazy like John Simm's Master; he could have easily pulled off this whole thing. Really, the only difference I noticed is more kissing. Because the Master's a lady now, so he can kiss the Doctor. Ugh, has this been done before? A gender change for a character? I'm sure they've done it in comic books. But we all know that Missy isn't dead. I'm sure she kept a spare scan of her brain in the Nethersphere or something. As we all know, the Master always comes back and the show always brings back the old villains.
Okay, some ranting. I'm sorry, but it has to come out:
Do not get me started on the Doctor falling through the atmosphere and making a dive bomb for the TARDIS as its falling, too. First off, why does he need the bloody key to open the doors? He doesn't have to get the key in the lock to open it. He just has to snap his fingers! Seriously, Moffat, have you completely forgotten about the finger snapping? And when did the TARDIS get sucked out of the airplane? I suppose it could have happened the second the cargo bay doors were blown out and that would account for the fact that the TARDIS is further down than the Doctor. It's still a kind of ridiculous moment, though.
And they killed Osgood! Jeez. Thanks, Moffat, for killing off the cool geeky character this week and the cute Asian guy last week. Poor Osgood. And the Doctor offered to take her in the TARDIS for a trip! Blargh. It was like she was only there to show how banana balls Missy was. Grr... At least they didn't kill Kate. That would have made me super angry. But Osgood! I feel tempted to cosplay her now, just to honour her.
Random: Old school Cyberman head! Yay! For future reference Twelve takes seven sugar cubes in his tea. :-) Did it seem like they suddenly jumped from the steps down near St. Paul's to another location? Because the area looked different once UNIT showed up. It was like they couldn't afford to keep that street closed off in London so they had to do the rest back in Cardiff. Just seemed odd. I wonder how Missy made it off of Gallifrey. And what was the point in Missy choosing Clara for the Doctor? It was just a long game to get them to St. Paul's? Clara says the Doctor has been married four times, all deceased. So there's Marilyn Monroe and River and Elizabeth I. Is the fourth is first wife on Gallifrey? And what is up with Peter Capaldi's hair? It's really short again in the scene in the cafe, but it's long when he's back in the TARDIS. They really film everything out of order. Silly question, but how does Orson Pink exist if Danny is dead? Orson implies his great grandparents were time travellers. Or maybe Danny was not his great grandfather? Or is Clara pregnant? And really? Santa Claus? For reals Santa Claus? Oh, Moffat. But Nick Frost!
Well, at least the wait for the Christmas Special isn't that long. A month and a bit. Plus there's the Children in Need thing later this month. It'll be interesting to see Twelve in a Christmas Special.
So one last fake-out with Clara. She's actually the Doctor! And Jenna Coleman's name is before Peter Capaldi's! And there are her eyes and eyebrows in the opening credits! No, wait, it's just Clara being clever. It was clever of her to confuse the Cybermen like that, but were we actually supposed to believe that the Doctor had regenerated into a young woman, then turned human, and then set up an elaborate back story to support this new human identity? I mean, sure, that would have been an interesting revelation, that Clara is actually a future incarnation of the Doctor, but I'm glad it was just a ploy. But it kind of jives with Clara's arc this season. She has proven she can be a good Doctor stand-in. But how can she know all of that stuff about his background? I don't see the Doctor telling her every little detail about his past. I mean, she knows about Jenny from "The Doctor's Daughter". When did she find out about that? And saying, "I'm his best friend in the universe" doesn't explain it away.
Anyway. So, Cybermen invading Earth. Another finale, another invasion. At least the resolution was fairly straightforward. The Cyber clouds were evaporated by lots of exploding Cybermen. I can buy that. Clouds can evaporate. There was no burning off of the poison in the atmosphere or excess oxygen to create an atmospheric air bag or whatever the hell happened in "In the Forest of the Night". The fact that Danny didn't go full killer Cyberman because of love? Yeah, sure, I'll buy that, too. They used love back in "Closing Time" to defeat the Cybermen.
Also, I thought they might have dead Companions converted into Cybermen popping up. You know, just to make it more heart-wrenching for the Doctor. Missy was storing minds from all over time, so it could have been possible for her to grab, I don't know, Jamie or Amy or Rory. I know we do get the Brig at the end, and that's a very nice moment. Kate's earlier line about all her dad wanted was for the Doctor to salute back was a nice line but I did think at the back of my head, "Why is she bringing it up?" Ah, I see. So it's nice that they keep the spirit of the Brig alive on the show.
For some reason, I feel like not much happened. This was an hour episode. I thought it would be wall to wall action or something. But really, the Doctor is in a plane for a bit, there's some action on the plane, and then the rest of the episode unfolds in a cemetery with lots of standing around. Maybe we needed an hour so it wouldn't be super jam packed? Because there were moments when we had some breathing room. Like, they actually take the time to address that Danny is now a Cyberman and Clara has to contemplate killing him. I think in a regular length episode, that point would have gone by fairly quickly, but they do spend a decent amount of time on the dilemma. And it's a heck of a dilemma. Companions shouldn't have to kill for the Doctor, but Clara shows an incredible amount of courage in basically killing her boyfriend. And of course, it's the Brig as the end who kills Missy. He would totally take that burden on to himself.
But poor Danny. His own personal arc did have a nice resolution, with him rescuing the boy he accidentally killed, but his relationship arc with Clara gets a crappy ending. Killing off the boyfriend should not be the answer, but how could they have Clara still travelling with the Doctor if she was going to keep lying about it with Danny? I still think Danny should have travelled aboard the TARDIS. They could have worked on Danny and the Doctor getting to like each other.
The Doctor doesn't get an easy time, either. First, he's the President of Earth and he doesn't like that at all. I don't know if that was the greatest decision in the world. Yes, he will help to save the human race, but I don't think he should be in charge of it. Then he has Missy going nuts with the whole "I created an army from the dead for you. Happy birthday!" I didn't believe he would actually take Missy's army. That's not his style. He's seen enough conquering armies in his lifetime to know it never ends well. Then there's the whole thing about him killing Missy to save Clara. Now that was believable tense. We've never seen the Doctor considering killing anyone so purposely before. But he would do it to save Clara. The season did a good job building up their friendship and it's truly tested in that moment. But thank goodness he didn't have to pull that trigger. But poor, sad Doctor. He's so hopeful about Gallifrey, first in the hold of the plane and then later at the end of the episode. When he realizes that Missy just sent him on a wild goose chase, that scene is heartbreaking. But why was the whole point of this finale Missy trying to get the Doctor to realize that they're same? I get that it fits the Doctor's arc for the season, but why is Missy suddenly obsessed with showing the Doctor he's just as mad as her.
And then the end! Gah, just tell each other what happened! It's so depressing, seeing the both of them walking off, thinking the other is utterly happy when they're just the opposite. And then that hug. Sigh. At least there's room for Clara to come back. Will she get written out in the Christmas Special? I hope not. I want her to stick around for a few more episodes. I can see Moffat doing that. Lull us into a false sense of security then wham! He pulls the rug out from under us.
As for Missy... I don't know. I think I still would have preferred if they had revealed that she was someone else. Does making the Master a woman add anything? She's still crazy like John Simm's Master; he could have easily pulled off this whole thing. Really, the only difference I noticed is more kissing. Because the Master's a lady now, so he can kiss the Doctor. Ugh, has this been done before? A gender change for a character? I'm sure they've done it in comic books. But we all know that Missy isn't dead. I'm sure she kept a spare scan of her brain in the Nethersphere or something. As we all know, the Master always comes back and the show always brings back the old villains.
Okay, some ranting. I'm sorry, but it has to come out:
Do not get me started on the Doctor falling through the atmosphere and making a dive bomb for the TARDIS as its falling, too. First off, why does he need the bloody key to open the doors? He doesn't have to get the key in the lock to open it. He just has to snap his fingers! Seriously, Moffat, have you completely forgotten about the finger snapping? And when did the TARDIS get sucked out of the airplane? I suppose it could have happened the second the cargo bay doors were blown out and that would account for the fact that the TARDIS is further down than the Doctor. It's still a kind of ridiculous moment, though.
And they killed Osgood! Jeez. Thanks, Moffat, for killing off the cool geeky character this week and the cute Asian guy last week. Poor Osgood. And the Doctor offered to take her in the TARDIS for a trip! Blargh. It was like she was only there to show how banana balls Missy was. Grr... At least they didn't kill Kate. That would have made me super angry. But Osgood! I feel tempted to cosplay her now, just to honour her.
Random: Old school Cyberman head! Yay! For future reference Twelve takes seven sugar cubes in his tea. :-) Did it seem like they suddenly jumped from the steps down near St. Paul's to another location? Because the area looked different once UNIT showed up. It was like they couldn't afford to keep that street closed off in London so they had to do the rest back in Cardiff. Just seemed odd. I wonder how Missy made it off of Gallifrey. And what was the point in Missy choosing Clara for the Doctor? It was just a long game to get them to St. Paul's? Clara says the Doctor has been married four times, all deceased. So there's Marilyn Monroe and River and Elizabeth I. Is the fourth is first wife on Gallifrey? And what is up with Peter Capaldi's hair? It's really short again in the scene in the cafe, but it's long when he's back in the TARDIS. They really film everything out of order. Silly question, but how does Orson Pink exist if Danny is dead? Orson implies his great grandparents were time travellers. Or maybe Danny was not his great grandfather? Or is Clara pregnant? And really? Santa Claus? For reals Santa Claus? Oh, Moffat. But Nick Frost!
Well, at least the wait for the Christmas Special isn't that long. A month and a bit. Plus there's the Children in Need thing later this month. It'll be interesting to see Twelve in a Christmas Special.
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no subject
Date: 2014-11-09 09:07 am (UTC)We didn't get a visit from any of the dead whom Missy had snatched earlier in the season, which was weird -- why show us all that and then forget about them? As for the Brig, I really didn't like having him come back as a Cyberman. It feels disrespectful to Nick Courtney, somehow. (I think I may hold the minority view on this, though.)
Do not get me started on the Doctor falling through the atmosphere and making a dive bomb for the TARDIS
I hated that, too.
And they killed Osgood!
I still can't believe that. And there wasn't any point, not even in an episode that was all about weaponizing the dead. If Osgood had shown up as a Cyberman, I could have accepted that as a logical plot twist. Maybe she was the one who killed Missy in an earlier draft? That would have been a fitting arc for her, and it would have been tons less macabre than inviting us to imagine the Cyber!armor being powered by the body of an actor who is really deceased.
Does making the Master a woman add anything? She's still crazy like John Simm's Master
Yes, I wish we'd had more of a personality change with the new regeneration. I did like that the Master's gender was a complete non-issue with both of them (no "OMG you're a woman now!" conversation), but it was pretty problematic that this meant the Doctor can kiss her now.
And what was the point in Missy choosing Clara for the Doctor?
Yeah, I didn't get that either. Also, remember way back at the beginning of Clara's time, when the TARDIS didn't like her? Aren't we still waiting for an explanation on that, too?
no subject
Date: 2014-11-09 11:36 pm (UTC)I totally forgot about Gretchen and the Half Face Man. I think the story conveniently forgot them because how do you show that the Cyberman standing over there is Gretchen or the Cyberman over here is the Half Face Man? Even when it's Danny, he has to be holding a piece of paper with his name on it just so it's super clear to everyone watching. Or maybe Moffat is just a forgetful man. I'm really starting to wonder if this is the case.
And there wasn't any point, not even in an episode that was all about weaponizing the dead. If Osgood had shown up as a Cyberman, I could have accepted that as a logical plot twist. Maybe she was the one who killed Missy in an earlier draft?
Yeah, Osgood coming back as a Cyberman would have made more sense. It doesn't make her death better, but it would have given her a cool moment. They really need better secure on Boat One. Those guards down in the hold were utterly useless.
I did like that the Master's gender was a complete non-issue with both of them (no "OMG you're a woman now!" conversation)
Yeah, the Doctor isn't surprised that the Master is a woman (he's just surprised he's back) and Missy has no moment where she comments about her new body. It's a common placed thing on Gallifrey and Time Lords don't make a big deal about it. But I want more than "deranged nanny" from Missy.
I think the thing with Missy choosing Clara, it was a long con kind of deal. The Cybermen army, Miss goading the Doctor into killing her, that was the goal. Clara was placed in the TARDIS to get them there. Or something. Makes me wonder if Missy placed Danny at Coal Hill as well.
I think the TARDIS didn't like Clara last season because she was an anomaly? It's not something that was ever explicitly stated or explained.
no subject
Date: 2014-11-15 04:47 am (UTC)I'm with you. They basically reanimated his shambling corpse. Not many people miss the Brig more than I do, but this was the wrong way to pay respects.
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