Spoilers Doctor Who - Series 12, Episode 2: Spyfall (Part 2)

VenusianFryCook · Jan 5, 2020

Dante- · Jan 5, 2020

I haven't followed the show in years at this point. Probably best to just take me off the tag list now since I have no intentions of ever returning to the show.

VenusianFryCook · Jan 5, 2020

Dante86dmc said:
I haven't followed the show in years at this point. Probably best to just take me off the tag list now since I have no intentions of ever returning to the show.

I thought I removed it this morning but I never realized you were in the tag list twice. My bad. [face_blush]

VenusianFryCook · Jan 6, 2020

Just getting the main rant out of the way. I don't like the Doctor having magic mind wipe powers, even in episodes I really like (Listen, for example). It's an incredibly inconsistent cheap out that never gets used when it would be useful. The Doctor can either do it or (s)he can't and it's stupid to use it sparingly when it would have been smart during so many occasions throughout the entire franchise.

The rest of the episode is fine. The bad guy's plan was a little too on-the-nose "phone bad!" for me and I don't get why the metal dancer thing was necessary but it wasn't too bad. Chibnall has done dumber. Speaking of which, The Master blowing up Gallifrey because of whatever Rassilon and co. did to some kid better pan out or Chinballs is going to catch hell for it for a decade.

ZERO_ninja · Jan 7, 2020

Wasn't sure quite what to put down into words so took me a while to make the effort to give my thoughts. On the overall I enjoyed it a lot, phenomenal step up from last year and I hope it's a sign of things to come. However I do have some issues.

Positives, this is unquestionably the most I have ever liked Jodie as the Doctor. I've thought since the moment she was officially cast her approach outside the show to being the Doctor is great, she's so clearly passionate for the role and caring towards the fans plus shows amazing tolerance with some unpleasant parts of the fandom. However, in role she's just been written as such a flat Doctor last series. Now though the Master gives her a a foe to really allow her a more varied response and his actions and revelations push her to more darking brooding and familiar places that had been a missing side to the Doctor. I especially loved the ending making it clear that much of this Doctor's personality is a front and she's not as chipper as she constantly appears, just likes to present herself as such.

Leaving the companions to fend for themselves without the Doctor allowed a chance for them to develop a bit more as their own characters, I still feel like Yaz and Ryan aren't especially strong, but it's certainly an improvement, and a large improvement in Yaz's case who spent last series feeling like she got nothing, somehow even despite episodes being built around her family and history.

The story remained engaging, with just the right balance of mystery and I feel like it was a much better execution version of what Chibnall kept trying to do last year. Once again our central villain (aside from the Master) is a capitalist businessman, but unlike say Arachnids in the UK he works as an actual character and villain and not just a poor parody that undermines the story.

One of the areas I'm more mixed on though is the Master. Last ep I was all in on believing I'd love Sacha Dhawan's Master, with episode 2 though I'm decidedly more mixed. I want to love him and I like him in places but he feels so not in control and kind of petulant. To be clear I have no issue with the Master getting in over his head, but it doesn't feel like the character of the Master I know when he comes across flustered and threatened by the mook of the week arguing with him and the mook of the week is the calm and collected one who feels threatening when they're together. Then scenes where he's threatening a crowd he feels so... he's a guy in control only because he has a weapon but he seems so on edge and almost RTD Simm level all over the place. However I'll give him the benefit of both a rewatch and the rest of the series. The guy's clearly been a bit unravelled by what he's discovered and that definitely feeds into this portrayal, so depending on how satisfying I find that I may be more on board with this take on the character. I do like his dynamic with the Doctor in places though and the little nods to their history throughout the ep.

Another mixed feeling is Gallifrey which feels a bit, "haven't we been here before?". It's a strange move and it comes at a time when we've barely had Gallifrey back. I did become a bit more interested in it when it was put on the Master rather than being a mystery of how Gallifrey was destroyed and I am very curious what the revelations involved are going to be be but yeah it's still a bit... 'really?'

Finally my other shortcoming is one I associate as being very of Chibnall. Ada Lovelace and Noor Inayat Khan are both interesting characters from history to use, and as is a typical issue for Chibnall he seems to believe the fact they're interesting figures from history automatically makes them an interesting part of an episode even if he does absolutely nothing with them.

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On a totally separate note, this is an observation and not a criticism but the days of the show being extremely inclusive of the EU under RTD and especially Moffat seem to be behind us.
Also RIP John Barrowman's dream that Chibnall was gonna resurrect Torchwood.

Spoilers Doctor Who - Series 12, Episode 2: Spyfall (Part 2)

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ZERO_ninja

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