Doctor Who 10x12 "The Doctor Falls" Review

SPOILERS

“The Doctor Falls” was a really good season finale, with the highlights being the literal and figurative dancing of the Master and Missy, Bill’s gradual adjustment, and the Doctor just being the Doctor.

I’ve got two nitpicks with this entire thing. The first is the ambiguity of Missy’s death. Is the Master actually dead? Did Steven Moffat really just kill off everyone’s favorite villain? If so, I’m really annoyed that this is his legacy. Then again, the Master always seems to find a way to come back. Let’s hope this is not a permanent end. The second is Bill’s ending. Moffat likes his full circle stories, and throwing Heather in at the last second to rescue Bill and make her a creature like her is a very Moffat-like thing. But didn’t we see this already? Oh yeah, last season, when Clara was saved from the brink of death and is currently zipping around the universe with Maisie Williams. Seriously? The exact same ending for two companions? I am glad it didn’t end up being the Doctor futilely trying to rescue Bill but triggering his regeneration instead, but still.

The Master and Missy torture the Doctor.

The two Masters were entertaining to watch. It was fun trying to figure out whose side Missy was really on, and witnessing the pure evil that is Simm’s Master. The two of them taking each other out seemed like the only logical way to finish it. I only wish the Doctor could have seen that Missy did want to come back to him.

As usual, Capaldi’s acting was through the roof amazing. “Who I am is where I stand, and where I stand is where I fall.” Even though I knew he wasn’t going to regenerate in this episode, it really seemed like it. I loved the little throwback moments with the flashbacks to other companions and the Doctor saying previous incarnations’ last words. He is seemingly very stubborn, almost in a Tennant-like way, that he doesn’t want to change so he keeps shutting it off and pushing it back. It seems like he will need a nudge in the right direction, and who better than himself to do that?

The Doctor meets...the Doctor.

I knew there was a reason they showed Susan’s picture in the first episode. If this final adventure includes the First Doctor, I really hope it includes at least her, and maybe his other companions as well; the actors from An Adventure in Space and Time were spot-on to the originals. I can’t wait for Christmas.

9.5/10 (for re-using plot)

This will be the last blog post for a while; I’m taking a summer hiatus while the shows I usually review are off-air. I’ll be back here in the fall! Check out my YouTube channel FantasiEntertainment for Game of Thrones reviews once the show airs.