The Doctor Falls

Spoiler Free Review:

The Doctor Falls is easily the best series finale Doctor Who has ever had. Every performance is perfect (Capaldi, Mackie, and Gomez stand out), the writing is complex yet beautiful, and Talalay's direction is award worthy. This episode is the most beautiful episode since Vincent and the Doctor in my opinion and the ending 5 minutes are visually stunning and are accompanied by a wonderful score.

10 out of 10. Doctor Who doesn't get any better than this.

And so we reach the end of another Dr Who series and with it, bar a one-off Christmas Special apparently reuniting this twelfth Doc with his first self, Peter Capaldi's tenure in the role. I've enjoyed this latest series very much, due in no small part to the chemistry between Capaldi and new girl Pearl Mackie as Bill Potts. I'm not keen on Matt Lucas or his character Nardole but it was a delight to see the return of John Simm as the Master and Michelle Gomez as Missy.

Told over two episodes scripted by show-runner Steven Moffat, unsurprisingly this was a deeper, timey-wimey story than usual involving an impossibly large spaceship with a multitude of differing time-zones, the return of my favourite of the Doctor's enemies, the Cybermen and a Doctor striving to avoid his inevitable regeneration.

Bill's assimilation into an early version of a Cybermen was cleverly shown as she portrayed her true self alongside her transformed self whilst her rescue by the Water-Girl from the first episode made for a neat circular finish to what has been an entertaining series, taking in as it has several excellent episodes like that involving the nano-bots, the terror under the Thames, the mystery of the lost Roman 9th Legion and the return of the Ice Warriors.

Not as light or as flashy as some of the earlier episodes, this one took more concentration than usual but repaid its greater demands on the viewer. Cryptic references abounded as to the identity of the next Time Lord, convincing me at least it will be a woman.

Anyway it seems that for the next series there'll definitely be no Capaldi, Gomez, Lucas, Simm or Bailey giving the next production team carte-balance for the next version of our favourite time traveller.

I'll miss Capaldi and would put him in my top three of previous doctors. Grouchy but funny, superior but humane, he's been very good value in the part, plus of course I'll miss his Scottish accent.

The Doctor Falls, the second part of the Series 10 finale, although is weaker than it's first part, is still one of the finest episodes delivered in Doctor Who's current run since 2005.

It changes the tone much to a character piece, for several main figures, compared to last week's horror-infused instalment. The shift to characters, although has brought several of his finales down before, has only strengthened Moffat's last finale. What has been a strong series, though a few pitfalls in places, ends on one of the very best episodes of Series 10.

As mentioned last week, the acting of the previous episode was fantastic. Well, 'The Doctor Falls' sets the bar far higher. Simm, Gomez, Lucas, Mackie and especially Capaldi all give their most exceptional performances in the show to date, in my opinion.

The music by Murray Gold continues to emphasise the various human emotions, their victories and their losses in this episode, with Rachel Talalay's first-class directing only serving as a catalyst to the episode's success.

I was worried the episode could fall flat yet, bar some minor grievances, it lived up to my overly-optimistic expectations. Many series finales have at times been divisive, and I expect 'The Doctor Falls' could fall flat to some people's own hopeful wishes, however I was only full of praise once the credits rolled.

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It was! I loved the dialogues, the allusions, the meanings.. So many double and triple meanings and contexts - it was remarkable! And kind. And beautiful <3 It is completely necessary for DW to exist in this world so that future generations (if they are still watching) could get inspired to do good and to think and to learn and to be compassionate. Just that.

I hate to see him go. Loved the Doctor. I would enjoy if he came back for season 13. We need him back.