Doctor Who 8x12 Thoughts

[iaria]

'Death in Heaven'

Honestly - kind of meh. There were parts I liked but overall it didn't work for me.

Liked

• Missy. She's a great Master, I'm completely sold. I just want her wandering around the background every season. She was so much fun. Some favourite quotes:

- "I suppose there is always collateral damage with you and me. It's our Paris."

- "But did I mention bananas?"

- "That man has no finesse. None." LOL.

- "I need you to know that we're not so different. I need my friend back." Wow. Twelve's inner Ten is going 'yes!' right now.

• I loved the Doctor realising the answer to his question on whether or not he's a good man. "I'm not a good man. I'm not a bad man. I'm just an idiot in a box who tries to help now and then" That's pretty exactly right. I also loved him kissing the Master and her reaction.

• Clara's 'I'm the Doctor' bluff at the beginning was great.

• Osgood was wonderful. I loved that she switched to a bowtie (aww, she has a new favourite Doctor). I loved her instantly figuring out that Missy is the Master and not even blinking over it (they keep track of their prime ministers and she wasn't even the worst, heh.) I loved her calm in dealing with Missy until the very end.

• The Doctor/Osgood interactions were great as well. I loved this moment:

Doctor: All of time and space.
Osgood: I'm sorry?
Doctor: Just something for your bucket list.

I loved her smile at that. I loved the suppressed glee and the Doctor being so impressed with her.

• The Doctor/Clara hug goodbye at the end - kind of adorable but really sad. It made me want to give them both a comforting hug.

• I loved the idea of the Brigadier saving Kate and then saving the Doctor in a different way by killing the Master for him. That moment at the end between them, with the Doctor saluting him, was lovely. Also it just makes me really happy for both men that they finally got to say goodbye.

• I liked Danny saving the day.

• The Doctor adding sugar to his tea was amusing.

• The bracelet situation at the end didn't work for me but Danny giving the boy he killed a new chance at life did. It was a fitting conclusion to that part of his story.

• The Doctor and Kate's exchange at the beginning where she reveals he's still on UNIT's payroll. "How much?" / "Shush." Heh.

Disliked

• Missy dying and the Doctor apparently being completely willing to do it. A) I'm loving the Missy regeneration and I want her to stick around longer. I'm sure she has some back-up to save herself. She's the Master after all. But I want more of this Master. B) It just seems so wrong to have the Doctor willing to kill the Master.

• Clara/Danny failed for me. In the previous episode we got Clara willing to do anything to save Danny, including betray her best friend and even die, and now suddenly she just gives in without a fight? He's standing there in front of her and yes, he's in pain and asking for her help, but she doesn't even try to think of a way to save him. She just accepts he can't be pretty much instantly. It makes no sense. I don't understand it at all. Maybe if we hadn't had the previous episode it would have worked but as is, no.

• The dilemma at the end also didn't work. So Danny wants to die/become full cyberman by turning off his emotions and Clara wants to help him do so because he asked her to and the Doctor disagrees because then Danny will become a threat. And then it shifts to the Doctor needing to know Missy's plan but Danny will only be able to tell them if he becomes full cyberman. (Why the Doctor just couldn't ask a different cyberman or why they think Danny post-conversion will be helpful, I don't know.) So even though Danny is already dead, and both he and Clara want his emotions switched off, we get the Doctor being painfully torn and Danny mocking/angrily calling out the Doctor. ... okay then.

I mean it definitely fits with the overarching themes and character/plot points of the season - the Doctor's concern about whether he's a good man, the disagreement/fight between the Doctor/Danny about just who the Doctor is and how he deals with situations - this ties it all together wonderfully. In another situation it would work but in this one it felt off to me. For instance, we've seen multiple times this season the Doctor's ruthlessness in using doomed people in order to further his plans/to save the day. Is this supposed to be character growth?

• The Doctor assuming that Danny lived and that Clara wouldn't want to continue travelling with him and so lying about finding Gallifrey in order to make the break between them easier for her. Clara just accepting this and not telling the Doctor the truth in order to let him leave easier. ...Are you kidding me?

• The bracelet brings dead people back to life, in the own bodies... what? And conveniently it only does it for one person. Also between this and Danny being Danny why no attempt at trying to save the dead in the Nethersphere?

• Osgood's death. I was sure that somehow she would be saved by the end. Or I guess I was just really, really hoping because she was so great.

• The fact that the Doctor didn't even try to save Kate is just - wtf?? He has a bloody time machine. There is no excuse for that.

• Clara's refusal to accept that fully cyberman Danny would harm her, him insistent that he wouldn't hurt her... it just made them both come off as purposefully sticking their heads in the sand. Of course then he did manage to overcome the cyberman programming because of his love for her which was a little irritating.

Other

• I really did think they would somehow save Danny so that surprised me.

• I'm disappointed that in what looks like her last episode Clara and the Doctor spent most of it separated.

• The Doctor has apparently had 4 wives. Susan's grandmother presumably, River and two others.