Doctor Who’s “Spyfall – Part Two” was a satisfying conclusion to a two part introduction to the next season of this classic and much loved show. And while not perfect, I’m looking at you new version of the Master who decided to hang out with Nazis of all people, Part Two set up an interesting mystery as to what happened to Gallifrey in the Doctor’s absence. Plus we got to see more of Yaz, Ryan, and Graham acting like the dream team I know they are!
It’s Not Always Up to the Tardis
I find that the best episodes of Doctor Who are the ones where they don’t rely on the Tardis to get them out of the mess they’ve found themselves in. And yes, I know this is a time travel show and the Tardis is a time traveling Police Box. That doesn’t mean that the Doctor and her companions can’t find alternate ways to travel or survive.
Yaz, Ryan, and Graham were proof this episode that you don’t need superpowers or a Tardis to save the day. They used their smarts, their patience, and their love for stealing (yes, I said stealing) spy gadgets from MI-6. Would I have loved for them to have actually read the instructions before tapping out a laser samba in the middle of a street? Yes, I would. But we got each and every one of our fam, making due with what they got.
The Doctor, Ada, and Nor also managed to solve things and save the day without their trusty Tardis. They used the Australian Outback house and that might’ve been a little cheating when I come to think about it, but they spent most of the time trying to solve things out on their own and decades apart from Yaz, Ryan, and Graham aka the ones who could help them in the problem they’ve suddenly found themselves in.
Point being, I love my adventures outside of the Tardis where the real guts and glory of everyone involved is shown and you get to see how talented, wonderful, and smart the Doctor’s fam truly is.
I’m Still Ehhh About the New Master
There’s potential there, no doubt about that, but there’s something missing from the new Master. He’s got the madness down, most importantly if we’re being honest. But everything else, I’m a little ehhhhh about it all. His motivations, I just don’t care about them. And it’s not like we should care about the motivations of bad guys, but I’d at least like to understand them in some shape, way, or form.
And then there’s the Nazis. The entire time I was thinking that this Master was not Aryan enough to join the ranks of disgusting Nazis and their followers. Surprise, surprise that the Master was using a perception filter, probably similar to the one on the Tardis and the Masters Australian Outback home. Which, odd one on that and still gross cuz Nazis. Didn’t think that something so big can go around so unnoticed, but here we are.
I miss Missy and I miss Michelle Gomez. She had that “it” factor that made the Master fun, engaging, and memorable. This new Master is just unhinged and not even in a good way. Instead we’re left with a Time Lord who wants to destroy the Doctor just because and that isn’t good enough for me right about now. And that’s not even taking into account the fact that he destroyed Gallifrey and teased her about why. He wants her to know why it all happened but how can she when he’s trapped in an alternate dimension. Didn’t think about that, did you, the Master?
The Destruction of Gallifrey
These are the moments I live for when I’m watching Doctor Who. Since the very moment this show started, Gallifrey has been on our minds. The Doctor travels the universe all alone, disconnected from his home and the rest of its people unless dangerous situations arise where other Time Lords make an appearance. And we’ve always been left with questions, many of them in fact.
Over the decades we’ve had plenty of these questions answered. We understood the Master, his/her motivations, and what led them down the path of destruction and carnage when the Doctor chose a path of light. We’ve come to know some of the Doctors family, his granddaughter traveling with him in the early days. And got to experience the leaders of Gallifrey through the Doctor’s eyes.
This new tidbit of information is grand when it comes to Gallifrey. We had come to think of his/her world as being destroyed. Then this pocket universe stuff popped up and we were left scratching our heads in confusion and intrigue because a Gallifrey out there means more Time Lords and a possible huge shift in the world of the Doctor. Finding out that the Master leveled their home to the ground has changed everything. There’s nothing for the Doctor to come back home to and without the Masters help, how in the world is she to find out the truth of why he did this?
Either way, I’m here for this next chapter of Gallifrey. I want to know what led them to this and the possibility of any survivors. And I want the Doctor to share more of her past with her fam. They’ve got her back and our Doctor desperately needs to talk to someone and stop holding things so close to her chest.
Doctor Who airs Sundays on BBC America.
