Doctor Who: Spyfall, Part 2 (12x02)

I really, really enjoyed that, and it certainly helped to alleviate some of my complaints about last week's episode!

Cons:

That said, I definitely found the stuff with Graham, Ryan, and Yaz to be significantly less interesting than all the stuff that was going on with the Doctor. It sort of felt like they came up with stuff to fill the time until the end, so Barton can announce his big evil plan.

And if I had one other big complaint, it would be the predictability and laziness of said big evil plan. I actually have stuff I want to praise about the reveals in this episode, and the way that technology and DNA were being merged. So it's actually the social message I'm talking about when I say that this was a little lazy. Basically, we're all dumb-asses for allowing corporations to own so much data about us. We don't read the terms of service, we click away our private lives without a second thought, and we're all addicted to our gosh-darn smart phones! And now, humanity is paying the price. I know that science fiction is supposed to touch on these types of issues, but this particular commentary feels so played out. It's not wrong, it's just... we already know all this.

Pros:

But like I said, I actually thought that several of the reveals about the villain's plan worked very well. First there's the fact that the Kasaavin were anchored in different points along time, instead of different places in the universe. Then there was the way the Doctor discovered the importance of her temporary companions - people who were instrumental in the history of the development of the computer. It was a cool nested mystery that became clear with time, and I liked watching the Doctor figure that out.

Also, it was so cool to see Ada Lovelace and Noor Inayat Khan! These are two historical figures that I have heard of and know vague things about, but this was still very educational! Once again, as I remember the brilliance of the Rosa Parks episode last season, we see that the Doctor does not shape history by interfering in these women's lives. It's not that Ada Lovelace gets her brilliant ideas because of the Doctor. They interact, and then the Doctor wipes her mind so that Ada has no memory of the Doctor at all. I feel like that's such a respectful way to deal with time travel and interacting with real historical figures. Otherwise, it takes on this icky veneer of the Doctor going along through time and shaping the entirety of humanity, and that's not the case at all.

While the companions' part of the episode was less fun for me overall, I did like the scene in the plane at the beginning. It was fun to see them all put their heads together, with an assist from the Doctor, and find a way to save the day. Lots of fun antics and physical comedy, and it was nice to see the three of them, sans Doctor, get some adventuring experience. I continued to enjoy the somewhat silly aspects of this plot thread, what with Graham and Ryan's fun spy gadgets coming into play at multiple points. Even if this stuff wasn't as interesting as what was happening with the Doctor, it wasn't devoid of interesting or fun content.

The Doctor and the Master... I'm really digging the dynamic between the two of them. I love the dichotomy, here. When the two of them meet for their big talk, you can see that the Doctor's primary goal is to distract him in order to thwart his plans, and also to gather information. But around the edges of this, it's undeniable that the Doctor feels a pull towards this person, who remains in many ways her only true link to her past. And then the Master is clearly doing all of this because of the Doctor. His ties to the Nazis, to the Kasaavin aliens... all of it is secondary to his goal of getting the Doctor's attention. It's such a twisted, charged relationship, and I really do hope to see much more of it this season.

One thing that's interesting about this two-part episode, now that we've seen the whole thing, is that it closes a story in and of itself, but it also breaks open the world and provides a jumping off point to the rest of the season. Gallifrey is apparently destroyed once more, and it's the Master's doing this time. Why? Because apparently the Time Lords lied. More information to follow, but let's just say I'm excited to find out what's going on here. The Master can be a lot more than just a recurring villain. There's Missy's redemption of course, but there's also the fact that the Doctor and the Master are unique in the whole universe. Maybe this season will show them teaming up against greater evils at some point, or maybe they're doomed to be at odds.

The ending of this episode is really what made me excited for what we'll be exploring this year. The Doctor finally tells her companions some more about her past. Where she's from, what she is. Her ability to regenerate. It's so interesting, because last season there was a persistent issue with having really good stand-alone episodes, but no real sense that the story connected to the past legacy of Doctor Who. It was a good entry point for new fans, but not as satisfying for long-time die-hards. Now, we see that some of the Doctor's disconnection from her past appears to be intentional. The fact that she's kept this basic information under wraps for so long is interesting, to say the least, and I'm intrigued to explore it further.

That's where I'll stop for now. I think we're in for a lot of fun adventures as the year continues, and this conclusion to a two-part story set things off on a pretty good footing!

8/10