Top 5 Favorite Moments in ‘The Doctor Falls’
In The Doctor Falls, the last episode of season 10 of Doctor Who, there were many great moments. What were our favorites?
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We’ve already done one Top Five regarding The Doctor Falls, however, that was strictly nods to the Classic era. What about the rest of the episode? The extended episode of Doctor Who was a nonstop roller coaster ride, with multiple twists and turns.
From the beginning of the episode with two Masters to the amazing cliffhanger ending, there’s a lot to talk about that made The Doctor Falls such a fantastic episode. In fact, I would regard the episode as one of the best episodes of the season, with fantastic work by the actors that put this episode into the best of Capaldi’s era.
Do you need a refresher? It’s Sunday, it’s understandable that you might. Here is my review of the episode, and James’s five best classic nods in the episode. It’s possible that things might cross, but that’s just because one or two of the classic mentions is what made it so memorable!
BBC
Bill Potts
If you’ve read my reviews of the episodes this season, you know that my feelings towards Bill often change depending on the episode. In the review, I referred to Hazran has a more dimensional character than Bill, if I’m being completely honest. However, that didn’t change the fact that for the character, this was a stunning episode.
Pearl Mackie‘s acting was at the height of every episode she’d done before this. Nothing beat the scenes where we saw her trying to fight off the Cyberware, continuing to be Bill. Hearts broke as we realized there was truly nothing the Doctor could do for Bill. Many of us wanted Bill to stay a Cyberman, or at least, didn’t want a major cop-out like Hell Bent, and to see Bill finally go off with someone to explore space that we know she’d connected with since the beginning, that was an amazing feeling as well.
Something incredibly important happened at the end of the episode, though. Many people were upset throughout the season that Bill never had a relationship of her own like Clara. It turns out, the right woman was waiting for her all along. Heather from The Pilot, the girl she liked since the beginning of the season was always there for her. It’s always incredibly important for representation, and although at times it seemed as though they didn’t go about it right, in the end, it worked out stunningly. A lesbian couple, off to see the universe.
This was the perfect way to say goodbye to Bill. Together with Heather, exploring the universe.
BBC
Nardole: Certified badass
When season 10 began, Nardole was really nothing more than the Doctor’s…servant? We knew he was from River first seen in The Husbands of River Song, but his true purpose was never really understood. Throughout the season, he became more reoccurring. What had started out as a character mostly for comic relief was becoming part of the team.
In this episode, we saw him come full circle. He was having the children work and set up for the inevitable war against the Cybermen, meanwhile taking care of them. He was busy helping the farm while fending off advances from Hazran. We saw someone who was never supposed to be more than a helper to keep the Doctor on Earth become an incredibly important part of helping the town against the Cybermen.
Perhaps the most Nardole thing to have happen is when the Doctor sent him away. It was a brilliant scene for Matt Lucas, full of emotion, yet somehow coming off still comedic. He did a nod back to Extremis when he had the right to kick Bill’s arse and was all ready to take her with him. Seeing the fact that he’d lose his two best friends was horrible, and I’m truly hoping Chibnall decides the Doctor, for whatever reason, needs Nardole as well.
BBC
The scene that almost pushed the show to 11 PM
Putting John Simm and Michelle Gomez proved to be great chemistry-wise, but almost too great! In a scene where Missy is especially handsy, slamming her former self against the wall of the barn. This obvious impressed Simm’s Master in some ways, because it resulted in quick glance down, and an almost sheepish “Is it bad that I–“, surely one that would push the scene to a higher rating than Doctor fans are used to.
I’m not saying that’s a bad thing though. Many fans who want a Missy spin-off have admitted that any show with her would have a Torchwood-esque rating. She’s already pushed the envelope in World Enough and Time, getting to say ‘bitch’…remember, this is supposed to be a kids’ show!
What was great about this scene is that it acknowledged something that most shows don’t ever want to: weird relationships. Now, on Doctor Who, everything is fair game. We’ve seen that with River and her interesting past dating life. But two regenerations dating each other? Normally I would count that as something strictly in the fanfiction world. However, Moffat did it, he actually made two Masters being attracted to each other (or at least one to the other) canon.
Who says Moffat never gave us anything?
BBC
The Goodbyes
The goodbyes in this episode were some of the saddest we’ve seen, and some of the best we’ve seen, all rolled into one. While it put a strain on most of us emotionally, it brought out fantastic acting by everyone involved.
Bill
Bill’s goodbye was probably the best one in terms of happiness. She was able to stop being a Cyberman, thanks to Heather, and is now travelling space with her. Moffat did a great job at being able to give Bill the ending she deserved, while not doing a huge reset like he’s been known to do in the past. Many regarding saving Clara as a “cop-out”, and he must have listened. Instead of bringing an out of the blue way to save her, the season came full circle.
Nardole
I don’t even want to talk about how upsetting Nardole’s ending was. It was great to see him go on to help the people of the farm, but his ending gets more tragic the more you think about it. He’s alone, and most likely, still in danger. The Doctor was never able to fully get rid of the Cyberman, meaning that they’re still going to come and get the people from the farm. This puts Nardole in perilous danger. Why did the Doctor leave Nardole? Or is there something I’m missing? Because it seems like poor Nardole got the short end of the stick.
The Master/Missy
The “death” of the Master and Missy was the most heartbreaking, especially for any Doctor/Missy fans out there. While the death of The Master opened up questions about Missy being in the Nethersphere, and whether or not this was a direct link to the beginning of season 8, Missy’s killed all of our hearts. While we were all expecting Missy to die one way or another in this season, given Michelle Gomez has openly said she wasn’t coming back, we all hoped it would be sacrificing herself for the Doctor.
Instead, Missy died alone, in a forest, with the Doctor having no idea that she was ready to come and help him. People are still reeling from this death a week after the episode aired, understandably. After working so hard to change his friend, the Doctor might never know the change he truly had.
BBC
The First Doctor
After all the heartbreak and sadness of the episode, while our hearts and minds were still reeling, Moffat had one more surprise in for us. The Doctor spent the entire episode fighting regeneration and was getting noticeably weaker throughout the episode.
After collapsing in his TARDIS, he wakes up after hearing every companion from the New Era shout his name. The TARDIS begins to take him somewhere, and he ends up in the South Pole. Coincidentally, this is where the First Doctor regenerated while fighting…you guessed it! Mondasian Cybermen in A Tenth Planet.
Through the shadows of the snowfall, the First Doctor himself comes out, gearing us up right for the Christmas episode.
"Twelve: I. Will. Not. Change!One: I will not change. No, no, no. This whole thing is ridiculousTwelve: Hello? Someone there?One: Who is that?Twelve: I’m the Doctor.One: The Doctor? No, I don’t think so. You might be a doctor, but I am the Doctor. The original, you might say."
Next: 5 Best Nods to Classic Who in The Doctor Falls