Thad wrote:And we're back.
I was a little surprised they recast the Master so soon. I guess it's a little disappointing that Missy's entire character arc is out the window, but it was bound to happen; no matter how many times Magneto reforms, he always becomes a villain again eventually.
And I think Sacha Dhawan is great in the role; he's got the alternating rage and glee working. And we haven't seen the Master straight up casually murdering dudes since, what, Missy's first arc?
And the tissue compressor is back! I love that shit. I've been hoping we'd see it again since Simm first showed up, and...well, it took another twelve and a half years, but at last the Master's most ridiculous calling card is back.
After a season of setting up new stuff, Chibnall seems comfortable delving back into the lore -- and placing his own stamp on it. We'll see where the latest revelations go. Seems interesting so far, anyway.
Nice to have the main cast back. And the "Doctor teams up with badass women from history" hook is good and I hope to see more of it. And Chibnall's kept up the entirely unsubtle commentary on contemporary politics, which is something we need right now. We need somebody to tell us that fascists never win, even when it seems like they're going to. It's hard for me to believe that message sometimes -- especially right now, and especially coming out of the UK right now -- but we need to hear it.
Just watched Spyfall, I definitely agree with all Thad's points.
This show is like... it whiplashes wildly between truly god-awful and great, within every episode. I don't know if I legit like it, even after having watched a half-dozen seasons. The actor who played The Master was extremely good and I love watching this cast. The storylines in every episode are incredibly dumb, on the other hand, and it's like, christ almighty, what is this? I keep trying to re-contextualize it in my head (oh it's just a light sci-fi adventure, it's british sci-fi, it's meant to be funny) to enjoy it properly, but that context changes season to season.
I think whenever they try to do something dramatic, it's a huge whiff, just because like... how many times has the Earth been in peril of annihilation by aliens? How many times as the Doctor stopped this common alien foe or that foe? How many times has Gallifrey been destroyed or lost now? Hard to get invested.
Anyways, in true Doctor Who fashion, the first two eps were great, then this week's one absolutely sucked ass, so I'm gonna go back to keeping an eye on reviews and just dipping back in whenever I hear one of them is good.