[Thessair]

Ugh. Sort of. I enjoyed the slow build up of the story and I miss that seriously in Doctor Who. Thankfully we were spared a number of Moffat tropes, but I expect we'll get a double-dose of them next week to make up for it. (Along with that really horrible effect of the Doctor falling.)

I was seriously hoping Missy would not be the Master for a couple of reasons. 1) It's such an obvious solution. 2) The 'boyfriend' line and the kissing and flirting. It was bad enough after the series three finale. The fanfic and tumblr crowds are going to lose their minds over it. I just don't feel that development is in keeping with the characters.

Having said all of that, I think Michelle Gomez did beautifully in her role. She's amazing and can really sell even pretty terrible lines. She's got a nice subtly which can co-exist with a bit of chewing the scenery. Capaldi and Coleman were brilliant, as always, and I think the Doctor really showed the depth of character, despite the unpleasant turn Clara took in the beginning.

Sadly, despite the wish-fulfilling pre-credits sequence, I know Moffat will bring Danny back as he sometimes struggles with actually killing anyone. I briefly liked the character moment when Danny refused to convince Clara of who he was, but it doesn't make up for being subjected to him otherwise.

Overall, this was pretty restrained from Moffat so I expect everything to go off the rails next week with probably a big shiny reset button for the bow on top. This definitely wasn't the best or the worst of the series so far, but I think Gomez and the rest of the cast elevated a sort of run-the-mill episode into something more.

Edit: I did greatly enjoy the Cybermen reveal. It was very well handled and suspenseful , despite knowing they were coming. I miss more of the slow burn elements of early Who and even some of the post-2005 two-parters.

Also, watching the live stream for the past couple of series has slowly been turning me into a pudding brain because I'm kind of enjoying the bits of Strictly I see while waiting.

Edit 2: Possibly controversial opinion ahead! Oddly, I don't have an issue with the Master being a woman this time out, but I still find it a little unsettling with the Doctor. I think because the Doctor very clearly gender-identifies as a male and I don't really see that changing, at least for internal story reasons. The Master, on the other hand, has always been a bit of a wild card and I could see him making the choice to be a woman as a further means to his/her goals. Of course, we have no idea how the character is back so perhaps it wasn't so much a decision as necessitated for other reasons. Still, I think it is a development that makes for more sense for the Master as opposed to the Doctor.