Doctor Who: Death in Heaven

I’m…satisfied. Not blown away, not disappointed, not frustrated, not stunned….but satisfied.

The acting in this finale was superb. Michelle Gomez killed it. She IS the Master. Jenna was great, Samuel was brilliant, and Capaldi was….well, Capaldi was The Doctor. Absolute perfection. As finales go, this was okay. Better than some, not as good as others. I thought the storyline itself was a bit clunky, but the heartstring-tugs more than made up for that. I know some of you are going to absolutely HATE that they turned the Brig into a Cyberman, but I thought it was brilliant and wonderful and a really fantastic tribute to the man. Yes, I bawled. That salute? BAWLED.

One thing pissed me off—Osgood. I knew someone had to die, and I understand why it had to be Osgood, but I’m still upset about it. She kind of represented the fangirl/boy in all of us. I really, really liked her. And to kill her right after she’d been asked to travel with the Doctor? Ugh, heartbreaking.

I still don’t know why Missy said she’d, “Chosen well” when talking about Clara, and why the heck did her accent change all of a sudden for no reason at all? She just wanted to sound like the Doctor, I guess? How did Missy even know about Clara? The reasons here seemed very weak. Was it just me?

The Clara-themed opening credit scene (what? You didn’t notice that her eyes had replaced Capaldi’s there?!) was a nice tribute, IF she’s really leaving the show...which I’m not yet convinced of.

I wish we’d seen more of Seb. He was fun. A bit wasted, in my opinion, much like poor Danny. To have such a meager existence through the whole series, just to be sacrificed at the end…it seems like such a waste. I liked Danny’s character a lot, and I wish more had come of him.

The Cybermen popping out of the graves was macabre, wasn’t it? I wonder how the wee Whovians took to that. Dark Water, falling from the sky to resurrect the dead and make them Cybermen…and again, poor Danny. Poor, poor, Danny. If he had to be killed off, it really was in a wonderful way (“I will burn”), for a wonderful reason, and oh my god, what he did at the end? When he sent back to boy instead of coming home himself? I DIED. So, although a wasted character, he did do much good, and he will be remembered. I guess that’s pretty important too, right?

Missy was amazing. Hilarious (“Hey Missy you’re so fine, you’re so fine you blow my mind…” HAHAHAHA.), insane (“This is our secret girl plan.”), scary (“Bananas.”), sad (“I need my friend back.”)…ugh, I just loved her. I LOVED her, just as much as I loved Simm’s Master. Hell, maybe even MORE than I loved Simm’s Master! And I’m REALLY glad she’s not dead!
…oh, you didn’t catch that? Yeah, after Cyber-Brig (BEST MOMENT SO MUCH SOBBING) shoots her, but before she dies, Missy teleports outta there. At least that’s MY theory. ;)

I’m 100% sure she’s not dead, and 99% sure she’s going to regenerate, and that we haven’t seen the last of the Master!

 And speaking of the Brig…Saving the Doctor’s soul, saving his daughter from certain death, there in the darkest hour…Moffat, you softie. Where does Cyber-Brig go? I really hope they let it lie now. I thought Eleven’s phone call was a fine goodbye to him, but this tops that, and now it should be done. But that salute…oh, that salute. That was just really, really well done. Thanks, Moffat, for this little bit of fanwankery.

The scene in the TARDIS, when the Doctor doesn’t find Gallifrey at the coordinates that Missy gave him…that was heartbreaking. Empty space, nothing but stars, and Capaldi nails the Doctor’s pain and anger and sorrow. Damn you, Missy!

In the end, both Clara and the Doctor lie to one another, and part ways. Although I’m certain that we haven’t seen the last of Clara. I’m 1000% certain she’s back in the Christmas special, and I’m 990% certain that she’ll have a small child in tow—the one I *still* think she’s pregnant with at the end of this episode; Danny’s child. The Christmas special will be Clara’s final farewell, and she’ll get a proper send-off, like she deserves. This one was too…small. Companions ALWAYS get a big send off, right?

A few things I noticed:

Clara’s fingers are tapping on the table when the Doctor enters the restaurant at the end. Now, I rewound it and listened a bunch of times, and I SWEAR that she’s drumming the Master’s theme on that damn tabletop!
…but I’m sure I’m overthinking this, and probably a bit crazy myself. ;)

Those coordinates that Missy gave the Doctor—do they mean anything? Is Gallifrey at those coordinates, but in a different dimension? Or did Missy just say the one thing she knew would hurt the Doctor?

Let’s talk a bit about season 9—finding Gallifery? Perhaps we’ll see a new, regenerated Master, ruling Gallifery? Or will it be about the Doctor’s journey to find his home, and the finale will be him finally finding it? Hmm.

And lastly, let’s talk about that mid-credit scene, with the brilliant Nick Frost as old Saint Nick himself!
“It can’t end like that. She’s not all right.”

Does he mean Clara? Or Missy? Or neither? HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO WAIT UNTIL CHRISTMAS TO FIND OUT?!

Before I go, here’s the trailer for the Christmas episode. 

I see Clara (thanks, George, for pointing her out), Dan Starkey, who usually plays Strax, is one of Santa’s elves near the end there, is that possible Madame Vastra exiting the TARDIS, or another alien? Or those Silurians under those sheets, or, again, another alien? I HAVE NO IDEA.

What did you guys think of the finale? Any thoughts on the Christmas special? Post ‘em if you got ‘em!