Doctor Who: Why Simm’s Master was at his best in the Series Ten finale
By James Aggas
John Simm’s Master has been a hugely popular Doctor Who villain for fans of the New Series. But was his best story also his last?
This will probably be a controversial opinion. After all, John Simm’s Master didn’t actually get up to much in Capaldi’s final Doctor Who episodes, at least when it came to grand evil schemes. Apart from Cybermen and technically him/herself, we didn’t even see him kill anyone directly.
Despite that, I genuinely think that John Simm’s Master was handled best in World Enough and Time and The Doctor Falls. There are a few key reasons for this.
For one, the character was definitely more restrained compared to his two previous appearances. Especially The End of Time. I know many fans of his Master loved how hyper and incredibly insane he was. Indeed, it was a good reflection of David Tennant’s Doctor.
But, in my opinion, there were moments when the madness was taken too far. It was a radically different interpretation of the Master, and when he was acting like the Joker, it was hard to believe that he was the same character at times.
However, his appearance in Series Ten gets the balance between sinister and fun exactly right. The character still retains plenty of humor and is fun to watch. But it’s not quite so exaggerated as it was in Russell T Davies’s era.
A crueler Master
Perhaps the most surprising thing is that, while he’s not seen to kill anyone other than Missy, he’s in some ways crueler than ever. The best example of this is what he did to Bill. He spent ten years with her, building up a friendship over a long period of time as Mr Razor. In some ways, he was the only friend that Bill had during that time. And the Master knew it.
So when he helped to ensure that Bill was given the full Cyberman conversion, while as Mr Razor, he acted all innocent, he knew exactly what he was doing. He believed that he was giving her a fate worse than death.
Worse still, he had two vicious reasons for this. The first was that, of course, it was the cruelest fate he could give to one of the Doctor’s friends. He knew that the Doctor would suffer, and that would normally be a good enough reason for him.
But he also did it to spite his own future self. He wanted to ensure no future incarnations would ever side with the Doctor. So, whatever he was responsible for, so was Missy. He knew there were some things the Doctor could forgive. But if anything was unforgivable in his eyes, it was destroying the lives of his friends.
Old-school look
This last one is vain, but it’s also so true. John Simm just looks so delightfully old-school as the Master in these two episodes, and it’s fantastic. If The End of Time was his worst appearance in terms of looks, then World Enough and Time and The Doctor Falls are undoubtedly the exact opposite of that.
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He makes the beard look good (it helps that he actually grew it and it wasn’t a fake one), and the black costume suits him. It’s clearly completely villainous, but that’s the Master all over. Plus, it has the class that Delgado and Jacobi also have.
The best part? The beard was his idea. This interview from 2017 definitely shows how much Simm really wanted to go for something more Classic inspired this time:
"Yeah, I just grew it, and turned up at the readthrough, and said, ‘You know, I fancy a bit of this,’ and Steven was like, ‘Well, okay. Right, yeah. That’d be good. Yeah, why not?’ Everybody seemed fine with it. I just thought, ‘Give a little nod.’ It was a nod to the Delgado and Ainley Masters."
Sounds like Simm himself is as much of a fan as the rest of us!
With that added attention to detail, a subtler take on his character, and a smoother balance between the best of both Classic and New styles, World Enough and Time and The Doctor Falls gave us John Simm’s Master at his very best.
Next. The Hartnell era’s post-story cliffhangers (and why I love them). dark
Do you agree that the Series Ten finale is the best story for Simm’s Master? Or do you prefer his earlier stories? Let us know in the comments below.