The Doctor faces a rebooted Master and the Cybermen in this jam-packed finale that combines the good, the bad and the downright weird. The best aspects are the revelations that both his arch enemy and staunch allies want the Time Lord to do the same thing; nourish his ego and take charge. Steven Moffat cleverly has The Mistress pulling Peter Capaldi's strings over the nature of his relationship with Clara, a source of much griping from fans. This strand also brings the issue of the new Doctor's dual nature to a reasonably satisfying conclusion. The Cybermens' water-based plot is rather unfathomable and veers onto the silly side (presumably the 'dark water' of last week is involved but it's never clarified).
Of the supporting cast, it's essentially Michelle Gomez's show. She makes a terrific Master, creepy and funny by turns. You can speculate why Moffat gave the character a sex change till the cyber cows come home. Either way, Gomez's performance is a pleasure, though she's let down by the script rapidly lurching into cartoon villainy so quickly. Some background as to how the Master ended up in her current form wouldn't have gone amiss. Jemma Redgrave is back heading up UNIT but she doesn't really add anything to the mix. Sanjeev Bhaskar is similarly wasted. Redgrave has apprently been inserted to usher in an odd cameo from her late onscreen father, itself part of Danny Pink's exit storyline, a bizarre tribute to the fallen of World War One.
As with last week there is a cruel streak to the episode that sits uneasily with the show in general. After "Cremationgate" we now see a popular supporting character bumped off in a manner arguably more suited to The Dark Knight than Doctor Who. I'd say overall this two parter has been the weakest story in the run, but there are still encouraging signs of the newfound maturity the series has displayed, seemingly inspired by its leading man. A hilarious end credit sequence suggests his mettle is going to be tested to breaking point by a rotund and rosy-cheeked polar opposite. Christmas couldn't come early enough for this reviewer.
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