Doctor Who season 10 finale
Aug. 20th, 2018 11:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
Chaos and I both didn't watch the latest Doctor Who season while it aired and decided to watch it together. We watched most of it several months ago, but then we had to take a break because AV made us promise that he could be there when we watched the final two episodes and scheduling that was difficult. We finally managed last weekend.
Overall the season was okay, I liked this Doctor a lot and I liked Bill fine and Nardole was fun. I really liked "Smile", the episode with the robots that kill you when your smiley button shows that you are sad (also good for an easy Halloween costume.) "Knock Knock" with the house dryad is a great example of the kind of creepy episode Doctor Who does really well. The mid-season three-parter was interesting, though the Monks left several open questions. I really liked the idea of the Doctor trying to reform the Master.
After the season finale AV asked Chaos and me what we thought and we just screamed. (It was good that we watched it so late because as we got to the reveals I remembered that I'd seen spoilers for it before, I'd just completely forgotten them.)
Happy thoughts: I really liked the beginning of "World Enough and Time," so many meta jokes. And the long ship with the time distortion is a very cool plot device.
Aand now the angst. Bill becoming a Cyberman is bad enough. (At first I was mad at the Doctor for not immediately rushing to the elevator and down once he realized how the time distortion worked, he had to know that by taking a few minutes longer to explain, or even that stupid screwdriver toss, it was months if not years longer for Bill. Then I realized that the outcome wouldn't have changed because "Razor" would have brought Bill to the Conversion Theater as soon as the Doctor entered the elevator no matter when. Then I got mad at the Doctor again because so what, he still made Bill wait months or years longer just because he couldn't resist showing off how smart he is.)
The previous Master! (AV said LK was completely unspoiled and yet immediately recognized Razor as the Master. I guess that happens if you're sufficiently familiar with the franchise? I had no clue.) On the one hand I got excited but I'd also become very attached to Missy.
Then, "The Doctor Falls." I didn't quite understand why they couldn't get the kids up further than the 502nd, it only makes sense if you only account for the time until the kids grow up and die and not for their descendants. …which to be fair is probably realistic. Still, living in constant fear that the Cybermen have finally had enough centuries to come after you again, and this time so advanced that you can't stop them, is no fun.
The Master and Missy were so much fun together. First I was amused that the Master remembered Missy as "a very scary woman," then I realized that we only have Missy's word for that, but still. The Doctor appealing to them was great. And then. The scene at the elevator door. Missy deciding to stand with the Doctor after all, but they both stab each other in the back, and she dies.
aösdlkgaäsdlkfjaäösldkhg
AND THE DOCTOR DOESN'T EVEN KNOW THAT SHE WANTED TO STAND WITH HIM. HIS BIGGEST WISH FOR CENTURIES AND HE DOESN'T KNOW IT CAME TRUE. PROOF THE REDEMPTION WORKED BUT IT LOOKS LIKE THE OPPOSITE.
*silent scream* (silent because DD is sleeping)
I would have been fine with Missy dying – I would have disliked it but would have been fine with it – but not like this. Whyyyy (from a showrunner's perspective I can understand but stiiiill.)
That overshadowed pretty much anything else for me. Bill dying and then getting to gallivant around the universe with the apparently now near-omnipotent Pilot!Heather as her girlfriend is… nice for her? Still sucks. If she'd gotten away they could have tried surgery and deprogramming (she's an early model, not yet so sophisticated), they could definitely have given her a nicer cyborg body or at least a disguise. They should have given her a wool sweater to make her look less threatening to the farmers.
And I'm sure I'm missing things but I shouldn't go to bed too late, I'm trying to be better about it. Fix-it fic recs welcome.
Overall the season was okay, I liked this Doctor a lot and I liked Bill fine and Nardole was fun. I really liked "Smile", the episode with the robots that kill you when your smiley button shows that you are sad (also good for an easy Halloween costume.) "Knock Knock" with the house dryad is a great example of the kind of creepy episode Doctor Who does really well. The mid-season three-parter was interesting, though the Monks left several open questions. I really liked the idea of the Doctor trying to reform the Master.
After the season finale AV asked Chaos and me what we thought and we just screamed. (It was good that we watched it so late because as we got to the reveals I remembered that I'd seen spoilers for it before, I'd just completely forgotten them.)
Happy thoughts: I really liked the beginning of "World Enough and Time," so many meta jokes. And the long ship with the time distortion is a very cool plot device.
Aand now the angst. Bill becoming a Cyberman is bad enough. (At first I was mad at the Doctor for not immediately rushing to the elevator and down once he realized how the time distortion worked, he had to know that by taking a few minutes longer to explain, or even that stupid screwdriver toss, it was months if not years longer for Bill. Then I realized that the outcome wouldn't have changed because "Razor" would have brought Bill to the Conversion Theater as soon as the Doctor entered the elevator no matter when. Then I got mad at the Doctor again because so what, he still made Bill wait months or years longer just because he couldn't resist showing off how smart he is.)
The previous Master! (AV said LK was completely unspoiled and yet immediately recognized Razor as the Master. I guess that happens if you're sufficiently familiar with the franchise? I had no clue.) On the one hand I got excited but I'd also become very attached to Missy.
Then, "The Doctor Falls." I didn't quite understand why they couldn't get the kids up further than the 502nd, it only makes sense if you only account for the time until the kids grow up and die and not for their descendants. …which to be fair is probably realistic. Still, living in constant fear that the Cybermen have finally had enough centuries to come after you again, and this time so advanced that you can't stop them, is no fun.
The Master and Missy were so much fun together. First I was amused that the Master remembered Missy as "a very scary woman," then I realized that we only have Missy's word for that, but still. The Doctor appealing to them was great. And then. The scene at the elevator door. Missy deciding to stand with the Doctor after all, but they both stab each other in the back, and she dies.
aösdlkgaäsdlkfjaäösldkhg
AND THE DOCTOR DOESN'T EVEN KNOW THAT SHE WANTED TO STAND WITH HIM. HIS BIGGEST WISH FOR CENTURIES AND HE DOESN'T KNOW IT CAME TRUE. PROOF THE REDEMPTION WORKED BUT IT LOOKS LIKE THE OPPOSITE.
*silent scream* (silent because DD is sleeping)
I would have been fine with Missy dying – I would have disliked it but would have been fine with it – but not like this. Whyyyy (from a showrunner's perspective I can understand but stiiiill.)
That overshadowed pretty much anything else for me. Bill dying and then getting to gallivant around the universe with the apparently now near-omnipotent Pilot!Heather as her girlfriend is… nice for her? Still sucks. If she'd gotten away they could have tried surgery and deprogramming (she's an early model, not yet so sophisticated), they could definitely have given her a nicer cyborg body or at least a disguise. They should have given her a wool sweater to make her look less threatening to the farmers.
And I'm sure I'm missing things but I shouldn't go to bed too late, I'm trying to be better about it. Fix-it fic recs welcome.