Every star in the sky, we were going to see them all. But he was too busy burning them." It's amazing that for an entire season, Steven Moffat has been building up an entire relationship between the Doctor and his very old friend, the Master. With the piano in Knock Knock, the game of hot and cold in The Lie of the Land and playing the music in The Eaters of Light, Missy has slowly accumulated a mountain of empathy in which the Doctor hopes she will become more like him - caring and thoughtful. World Enough and Time is essentially the final test, in which he puts her in a situation he often finds himself to monitor her method and oversee her change. Unfortunately, this is sidelined by what turns out to be one of the most life-changing experiences for Bill.
In general, the episode is steadfast in a dark and intense scenario. After Jorj shoots Bill right through her body, she is taken by a group of masked men to the lower levels of the ship, further away from the black hole. There, she spends most of her life with an odd friend, living out her life while watching the Doctor painfully slowly reach a conclusion on the top floor and finally decide to take the lift down the ship. Meanwhile, she's surrounded by a society of people who are gradually dying in the fumes of the ship's engine. This opens a gateway to one of the darkest moments possibly in Doctor Who history - a masked patient persistently pressing a "Pain" button, followed by another pressing a "Kill. Me" button. From what we know of the Cyberman as avid Who fans, this is a element of the Cybermen that has not been explored so rigorously. Emotions have been discussed before, but never with this much depth - Steven Moffat has reminded us how horrific the conversion process is and how distressing it is for the converted. Michelle Gomez is excellent in this episode, first-off giving us some wonderful antics on the top floor as she attempts to impose herself with the same air as the Doctor. The constant mentioning of "Doctor Who?" and the in-jokes are brilliant, reminding us that this season has been about questioning the show and revisiting its earlier elements. But, as the episode goes on, whilst Missy continues to show her more relaxed and Mary-Poppins-mad-type self, she is slowly discovering a revelation. This revelation comes from the odd man who has only just tricked Bill into the conversion room where she is tragically transformed. This man turns out to be the previous incarnation of the Master - not so much an unpredictable reveal, but a satisfying one, but it raises the question of how Missy can't remember that she's been here before. The Doctor and Nardole take a backseat in this story as the highlight is on Bill and Missy, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they're not important. Nardole may ironically be lumbered with being the comic relief, but his shock at seeing the Cybermen in the final moments and the old Master is defining moment for him as he's effectively been the Doctor's right-hand man in the entire unfolding events. The Doctor, however, has been quietly leading. Obviously, on one hand he's attempting to change Missy' penchant for violence, but at the same time, he wants to keep his friends safe. That's what makes Bill's role so tragic - here's another companion who has believed in the Doctor and seen him as all-knowing and invincible, but has fallen prey to the environment around him. On top of the fact that the opening sequences promises this to be the Twelfth Doctor's end incoming, we can't help feel that Peter Capaldi will be terribly missed. He truly is one of the Doctors, and one who has demonstrated great skill in portraying a darker, more subdued version of that wonderful Time Lord. Even with all the 'wham-bam' elements of this stunning episode, there's still some hidden gems in between. The Doctor's conversation with Bill on the bench above the university is lovely, and gives us a tender moment of nostalgia for the Doctor as he recalls his time with the Master in the Academy. We also get a chance to learn a bit about physics as the Doctor explains how gravity affects different points in space around a black hole. It's a fascinating concept, and as a physicist myself, I can say that it is one of the more beautiful phenomena the Universe has to offer. Doctor Who may have dumbed it down for entertainment purposes, but the idea is still the same - it really is a matter of time, and it will play with you with the utmost disregard. Also another strong element of the episode was the music. Murray Gold took the chance not only to recreate some melodies from the past (including the tune from The Last of the Time Lords), but to create something new and frightening for that scary hospital. My only gripe is that the BBC decided to reveal everything before the episode aired. We knew about the Cybermen returning, we knew about John Simm's master returning and we knew about the Black hole and the ship. The only proper revelation was Bill Potts conversion, which was shocking enough in itself. But I won't dock marks for that, because Steven Moffat has carefully and methodically crafted a tense episode that slowly but surely unfolds before your eyes as an episode with a great stature in Doctor Who history. Thankfully, next week, it doesn't seem like anything has been revealed, and hopefully we'll get to see it with a clean slate and great expectations. I can honestly say, this is Doctor Who at its very best and television at its very best. This is one of the best episodes of 2017 so far. 10/10
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