I will be discussing my thoughts and feelings of the Doctor Who episode "The Doctor Falls" after the cut. I will not worry about spoiling the plot, so read at your own risk.
Doctor Who: "The Doctor Falls" - The Doctor puts Missy and the Master in danger to make them care, and then attempts to rescue settlers on a different level of the ship.
Nice use of the children to add a bit of suspense and create the narrative. Before this season I would have said we would know we are safe because of the children, but since the death of a child in "Thin Ice", I'm a little less certain now.
I was amused by the Master dancing with him/herself. In a scene meant to torment the Doctor, no less.
Bill waited for the Doctor for ten years, according to the Master. And the stupid disguise actually had a reason. Since that was one of the things I hated most about the last episode, I guess that makes the previous episode less annoying. I'm still irritated by it, but at least there was an actual in-story reason for it - he's why the crew never returned to the top of the ship, and he's the reason the cyber conversions started.
Knock yourself out... I love that she did. And then the twin "The Doctor's dead. He told me he'd always hated you." Good on Nardole for being smart enough to just roll his eyes and crack a joke.
The whole thing with Bill and her break with reality was amazingly done. Most of the movement and speech I could see being done as a Cyberman, but it wouldn't have had the impact if we didn't see Bill herself. The farm door, combined with Nardole's incredibly calm reaction to it, was a great moment.
This was a great Nardole episode, with him basically saving the day repeatedly for the people on 507. The woman hitting on him was really funny, too.
The end of the Master/Missy was a strange moment. But remember, Missy doesn't remember her regeneration, and instead of becoming her, the Master could easily be changing into someone else entirely. While this *might* be the end point of the Master's life (which I doubt anyway), it's certainly not the end of potential Masters. That said, the Master shooting himself in the back was definitely the correct way for him/her to end.
The return of Heather! I kind of suspected that Heather was watching and waiting and would someday come back, but I really wasn't expecting her to be the "reset button" of the episode. So, while I'm slightly disappointed that the reset button is there, I'm not nearly as disappointed as I would have been if it had actually been pushed or if it had been done in a different way. Having the two of them take off into a universe of wonders was a great moment, I have to admit.
There was a regeneration memory montage, and I really really thought he was actually going to regenerate BEFORE the end of the episode. Seeing Rose, Martha, Donna, Jack, Vastra, Jenny, Sarah Jane, Amy, Clara, Riversong and then finally Missy... wowsa. But then the regeneration didn't happen. Instead we get an unexpected return of the first Doctor. Now, an aside, I'm going to have to see this "first Doctor" in action before I'm willing to buy him as the Doctor, but he doesn't look much like William Hartnell to me.
TL;DR summary - Despite many nits with the previous episode leading up to this, I think I liked this finale, overall. I would like to see Nardole again (never thought I'd say that) but beyond that, I think much of the season was wrapped up nicely.
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The actor who appears as the First Doctor here also played William Hartnell in An Adventure in Space and Time (and was previously seen in Doctor Who as Solomon in the dinausaurs in space episode). David Bradley also played Mr. Filch in the Harry Potter movies.
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