[Switchblade]

I thought this was a pretty great episode. The whole Missy reveal was guessed 11 weeks ago, but it was still done very well. She pulls off menacing so much better than John Simm ever did, but I guess that's the benefit of not having to play the Master as a clown and/or hungry nutjob with an electric skeleton. She still clearly has a few screws loose, but I'm not sure how much of that is legitimate and how much is just her fucking with the Doctor for the lulz. And even if she does really think she's the Doctor's girlfriend, it's not like it would be the first time the modern series got weird about their relationship. Seriously, go back and rewatch the series three finale and tell me you don't see subtext there.

As for the gender thing, you can complain all you want, but it was canonized in The Doctor's Wife. And given the state the Master was in the last time we saw him - not to mention his established history of unconventional regenerations - it wouldn't surprise me if something weird like this happened even without the Corsair thing.

I liked the Cybermen reveal, too. It was clearly foreshadowed with all the endoskeleton talk and the eye pattern on the doors, but you could still miss it if you weren't watching closely. Or, you know, if you'd missed all the trailers with Cybermen footage in them. Sigh. Props for the obvious Invasion homage, though.

One more episode to go, but I think it's safe to officially call this as my second favorite season of the modern series, just a smidge behind 5 and a skosh above 4.