Doctor Who 10x08 "The Lie of the Land" Review

SPOILERS

“The Lie of the Land” was an interesting conclusion to this little mid-season trilogy…and there’s only four more episodes left until the Christmas special and the real regeneration!

It’s always interesting when different shows portray a glimpse of the future or alternate universe that is definitely not quite right. I was reminded of many other Doctor Who stories, but this one was its own horror because humanity at large was under the Monks’ influence and only a select few could see through them…only with disastrous consequences if they are caught. Bill uses a mental image of her mother to help separate the false memories from the true ones. All seems saved once Nardole shows up, completely healed from the last episode. Convenient TARDIS gadget is convenient and they find the Doctor.

The whole scene between Bill and the Doctor was really interesting to see play out. The way the trailer showed it, I really believed the Doctor was working for the Monks and Bill would have to figure out how to save humanity. What I didn’t imagine was how much it would escalate, to the point of Bill thinking shooting the Doctor would be the only way to fix everything. However, the whole show there was a big scheme to confirm for the Doctor that Bill was “awake”. The bullets were blanks and he has the ability to put on a little regeneration lightshow on cue. Thanks, trailer. Nice twist. But despite Team TARDIS together again, he still thinks he needs more help, and he turns to the only person who is as smart as he is: Missy.

Missy in her vault with some interesting insights.

Missy has seen the Monks before and knows the only way to stop them is to stop the brainwaves of the person who made the decision in the first place, which is Bill. The Doctor thinks he is mentally strong enough to take on the Monks’ broadcasting technology, but he isn’t. The only one who can fight is Bill. It’s all a game of minds and memories, the true versus the false. It seems like the Monks are winning until they come across Bill’s memory of her mum. It was created by the pictures the Doctor sent her in the first episode, untouched by a world under Monk control, and is the only thing strong enough to stop them. They leave and the world goes back to normal…and of course doesn’t remember a thing.

And wow, that ending with Missy. If she’s not faking, this is going to be a very interesting little arc for her. I can’t wait to see how her character ends up.

9/10