5 of Missy’s best moments on Doctor Who (so far)
Yesterday I went round and round in my head, trying to figure out if I wanted to do a top 5 Missy post before or after the next two episodes. But then I realised, most likely I’ll be able to create even more examples just from these weeks! So it’s more important than ever to appreciate these moments of her time on Doctor Who before we get swept up.
So, we are going to do five of Missy’s best moments on Doctor Who. It’s worth noting, however, that the actress is just as important in posts like these. And I don’t know if Missy would have been as popular if anyone except Michelle Gomez played the role. Gomez has been able to be incredibly laugh-out-loud funny at times, completely evil at others, all while breaking your heart.
With an incredible actress at the helm of a classic character, it had to be a recipe for success. So let’s look where Michelle Gomez and Missy especially shined during her time on Doctor Who.
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Missy’s Introduction
So let’s go back all the way to 2014, three years ago, when Peter Capaldi became the Doctor. Deep Breath was a fantastic introduction episode, and the cameo by Matt Smith broke our hearts. But right when we’re about to turn off the episode, something happened.
A new character was introduced. And it was a bit confusing. This woman came out of nowhere and was calling the Doctor her boyfriend?! (As I diehard River fan, I was very upset.) Who was she? And why was she in the Promised Land.
As I watched her dance around a fountain, swinging an umbrella, I had no idea what to think. But I knew that this was something great in the making. And it was. While Missy might have looked a bit mental to anyone who didn’t know what was going on (which was all of us), it was the perfect way to introduce her.
Watching the scene now, knowing that she’s the Master, there are brilliant little hints that she’s a time lord. (“I do like his accent…maybe I’ll keep it.” suggesting that the regeneration was still new) Before we knew what was happening, we had a potential love interest for the Doctor, with a character who seemed a bit out of it, but we were willing to hold on.
It’s an iconic Missy moment. The introduction into what would be an amazing character and storyline for all of us. And there’s nothing much more Missy than dancing with an umbrella.
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Hey Missy! (The Magician’s Apprentice/The Witch’s Familiar)
Let’s speed forward, past Death in Heaven, all the way to season 9. We learned Missy was the Master and did what Masters do best – spread chaos in the series 8 finale. In the first episodes of season 9, Missy shines with a hilarious delivery of lines. But perhaps the most notable thing that happens in the episode is the way Missy tries to get UNIT’s attention.
And it would be no other way than turning the Hey Mickey! song to Hey Missy. Why is this so important? Because it’s the epitome of who Missy is. Not only was she able to hack into UNIT’s computer system while controlling every airplane on the planet, but she didn’t send a normal message. Instead of a “come here before I kill everyone on the planet”-esque type message, she sent the lyrics to a well-known song, adding her name.
If that’s not the epitome of everything that Missy is, I’m not sure what is.
The two episodes Gomez is in during season 9 also have incredible one-liners in them that you may miss if you blink. (Honestly, those are the best.) My favorite has to be when the Doctor says that Davros is his arch enemy, which Missy seems to take offence.
And then there are other lines that are just funny. When Missy and Clara are in the sewage, Missy gives one of the funniest lines in the series. “I’m destroying a Dalek, I’m a Time Lord, it’s our golf.”
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Missy’s “Execution”
This is going to be a short one, but it’s a goodie. The first time we see Missy in season 10 is at her execution is in Extremis. This is one of the first times that we see a different side of her, while still maintaining her sarcastic demeanor. She starts off the scene by trying to rile up the Doctor by asking about River and Derillum, only to end the scene on a completely different note.
One of the most amazing parts about this scene is how easily Michelle Gomez is able to change the mood of the scene. At one point, she’s trying to get them to delay the execution but is yet a little annoyed that the Doctor is distracted.
But then, once everything is set, the mood changes. You can see that Missy gets scared, something that we’ve never really seen in a Master. She obviously knows that this is her end, and she’s desperately pleading with the Doctor.
"MISSY: I am your friend.DOCTOR: Makes no diffence.MISSY: I know it doesn’t. I know I’m going to die. I have to say it. The truth. Without hope, without witness, without reward. I am your friend."
Everything about this scene is perfect. We finally see a vulnerable side of Missy, who just wants the Doctor to know that she’s his friend. Does the jaded fan in me ask if this is real? Maybe. But let’s just forget all that, and believe that Missy is everything that she showed. His friend. Despite their astonishing differences, they were friends on Gallifrey, and they always will be.
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Hope.
In the last episode of Doctor Who, before everything goes crazy, we see a change in Missy. Since Extremis we had seen a change, we started to see her regret her choices. She began to remember the names of the people she’d killed. She started crying because things were getting to hard. Will this ultimately be her downfall? The difficulty of change? Who knows.
But in Eaters of Light, we truly saw a difference. We saw her almost timid around the Doctor, afraid of what he would say to her. She quickly stepped away when he seemed hesitant, something that she’d never done before.
When the Doctor says the words that killed us all, “That’s the thing about hope. It’s hard to resist.” But I don’t think it killed any of us more than it killed Missy. This is such an astonishing moment for the character. If we didn’t know about the next episodes, it would have been possible that she would change.
We know that Missy is still, unfortunately or fortunately, the Master. She’s going to fall back to her ways. But Michelle Gomez was able to give us all a minute where we could see light on Missy. The ability to see beyond what happens because it has to, and to see what is truly there for her.
Say Something Nice!
This is probably the phrase that everyone equates to Missy. It happens in Dark Water in season 8. Missy gets caught by UNIT, and is with Osgood, when she is able to escape, capturing the woman. This particular scene is filled with iconic Missy moments, from telling Osgood to say something nice before she killed her.
Looking at our list of Missy moments, not only can you see many moments that make her who she is, but also a development. Throughout the three seasons the Master has been on, she’s been able to go from killing people at random to thinking about what she did.
With these next two episodes hanging in the balance, we know that we’re going to see her revert back to being evil. As sad as it is, the Master has been evil or insane his whole life. There’s no way to combat that, no matter how the Doctor tries.
That just might be his, and Missy’s, downfall.