If you would like to read my review of the last episode, click here.
Synopsis: Trapped on a giant spaceship, caught in the event horizon of a black hole, he witnesses the death of someone he is pledged to protect. Are events already out of control? (IMDB)
Writer: Steven Moffat
Director: Rachel Talalay
Rating: TV-PG
Running Time: 45mins
I wish I didn’t watch the preview for this episode as it kind of took away from some of the surprises here. It is the first of a 2 episode arc to end the season so the open we got is a foreshadowing to what may happen later on but suffice it to say, the Doctor ain’t looking too good. The episode originally started as a test for Missy to see if she can be the Doctor, however, that didn’t last very long as a more pressing matter took precedence.
The four responded to a distress signal from a massive ship that was being pulled into a black hole. It was definitely fun to watch Missy play the part regardless of how short it was, kind of seeing her satirize Doctor Who. It looked like they were alone until they noticed that they were being watched and then some blue alien came over warning that something was coming after humans. The blue alien shot Bill in panic and these masked sick people arrived and took Bill, claiming that they could repair her.
The story then cut back to before their mission where the Doctor justified the mission to Bill. He explained that he wanted her to be good because they have a connection since they’ve always been friends. He talked about how they were such different people. She scared Bill so she made him promise that he wouldn’t get her killed but we all know that it happened, at least for now.
Before she left, the Doctor left her a subconscious message telling her to wait for him. Bill then woke up in an operating room seemingly alive, however, they appeared to have done something to her. Bill decided to follow the sound of a man in pain but it was just one of the same masked people pressing the word pain from their sound box. A nurse came to turn the volume down but a caretaker noticed a hiding Bill and let her go. Bill looked out a window and noticed a whole city outside.
Bill wondered what was happening to the people but the caretaker claimed that they were being cured. He took quite a shining to her. He was watching a camera with everyone else, however, they were moving much slower. This was because they were on the opposite end of the ship. Time moved faster on the opposite side of the ship being on the other side of the black hole meanwhile the side closer to the ship moved slower hence the slower people.
The Doctor figured that out too. Bill wanted to go back up but she couldn’t due to her condition. There were elevators, however, she had to be strong. The Doctor, Missy, and Nardole went down the elevator although it would be a while until they got down. The caretaker decided to lead Bill to safety, or so she thought, ultimately he led her to an other operating table.
At the bottom, Missy worked at a computer while the Doctor and Nardole tried to find Bill. The caretaker ran into Missy and he seemed very interested in her. She found out that the ship was from Mondas. The Doctor and Nardole found an operating room. They also found a Mondasian Cyberman (I had to look it up) who was really Bill. They were curing the cik people on the ship by turning them into Mondasian Cyberman. The caretaker was interested in Missy because he was really The Master. The Doctor seemed surprised to see him.
Overall, this was an excellent episode that was exciting to watch although it would have been nice to see more of the Doctor and Missy in it as it seemed to focus on Bill on the other end of the ship. Watching Missy’s meta humour at the beginning was great and I hope we get more in the next episode. As mentioned, watching the preview kind of ruined it a little but I still got a kick of seeing the old Master again and I kind of knew that Bill would become a Cyberman. I can’t wait to see how it all ends.
Score: 9.5/10
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The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.
