'Doctor Who' Recap: 'The Doctor Falls'

7/2/2017

Written by John Edward Betancourt

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM...YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK...

We've been through some amazing adventures over the past few years with the Twelfth Doctor. We've visited incredible worlds, traveled to seemingly every corner of time with the man, and in the process we've truly come to love this sometimes furious but always inspiring iteration of the Doctor. But while we have seen him save our world and countless others time and time again with a smile on our faces, when it comes to Twelve, one big question remains unanswered in his mind; whether or not he happens to be a good man.

It's a question he posed to the late Clara Oswald shortly after his regeneration and it truly seems as though it's a question he's continued to ask himself every single day of his existence. Of course, the audience has already made their judgments on what kind of man the Doctor has turned out to be. But in order for this character to truly go on a complete journey, he needs to uncover that answer for himself, and last night on Doctor Who, it would appear the Twelfth Doctor finally figured out the answer to that titular question in the downright incredible and emotional series ten finale, 'The Doctor Falls'.

Unfortunately, in order to come to that realization, the Doctor had to go through complete and utter hell and the show certainly wasted no time thrusting us into a waking nightmare as the Doctor had to square off against not one, but two iterations of the Master, both determined to see their plan to let the Cybermen flourish come to fruition and kill the Doctor as an added bonus. But Twelve was having none of that. He fought back, and hard and even figured out how to get the Cybermen to turn on Missy and the Master, forcing an escape to an upper level and that's honestly...where this episode truly became fascinating.

Because several powerful moments came about here, the first one being the aftermath of Bill's transformation into an abomination and well...it should come as no surprise that Bill struggled mightily with what the Cybermen did to her. She wanted her humanity back, she wanted to be free of this cybernetic prison and as the minutes passed...she also seemed to realize that her new look was likely her fate, her Cyberman programming would eventually take over and it was up to her to live in the moment and enjoy every last second of her humanity before it washed away.

Now, before we get too deep into the other incredible moments from this particular episode...we do need to take a moment and highlight the incredible interaction between Michelle Gomez and John Simm. They were simply incredible as the Doctor's greatest enemy and goodness, who knew these two had this much synergy on screen. They were delightful, they were terrifying and they were downright magical to watch on screen together and I hope these two somehow find a way to work together again, and now that my fanboy moment is over...let's talk about Missy's big moment of the night, because believe it or not, after centuries of strife and evil...the Doctor's oldest friend finally redeemed herself.

Despite initially ignoring the Doctor's plea for help...she chose instead to give the Master the business, likely forcing his regeneration into Missy so she could fight at her friend's side and well...this moment brought tears to my eyes, for so many different reasons. For one, because the Doctor's work with her paid off and she finally did something good in her life, but also because...there's a fair chance Missy is dead, since her former self simply could not stomach the idea of standing with the Doctor and fired a weapon that he claimed would keep her from regeneration. But as Shae was quick to point out, dead doesn't always mean dead for this character, since the Master himself once found a way back from the great beyond...so there is hope that Missy may return and I hope she does, she was an absolute delight on this show. But what matters most...is that Missy's redemption helps to provide us and the Doctor with the final answer on that all important question...is he a good man?

As it turns out, the answer we all knew in our hearts was proven at last to the man himself in that yes...he is a good man, and a damn good one at that. Because to see him so close to regeneration, fighting his wounds and his emotions back to save innocent lives, and pleading to his friends to stand with him simply because saving lives and being kind is the right thing to do...proves without a doubt that the good inside of him is strong and it will forever be there and while it's wonderful to know that at last the Doctor understands this, his realization came at an incredible cost. His best friend is dead and Bill has said her goodbyes, seemingly under the guise that she can no longer handle the danger that comes with him, and also because...Heather, the woman that caught her eye back in the series premiere, 'The Pilot' returned to save Bill and in doing so, gave her an opportunity at a new lease on life, and a love for the ages and to top it all off...Twelve's wounds are too much to bear, and regeneration draws near.

Now I think the question on all of our minds for this episode was whether or not the Doctor would regenerate here since last week's episode implied it, and considering the moments leading up to that all too familiar glow, where he broke our hearts by quoting his predecessors...it seemed like this was it. But Twelve is fighting it every step of the way and it would seem, thanks to the shocking appearance of the First Doctor, that one last adventure awaits Twelve and when all is said and done, wow...what a finale. This was hands down an incredible story, and one of the finest performances Peter Capaldi has ever turned in as the Doctor and it makes the forthcoming special bittersweet, because we are likely in for one hell of an adventure, as Twelve continues to go out with a bang...and also because, our goodbye for this good man is delayed and that will make his departure all the more difficult and all the more powerful when Twelve becomes Thirteen come Christmas...until then...

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