Doctor Who (season 8)

I was excited to see peter capaldi's doctor, and i was not disappointed.

We were promised a dark doctor, and it wasn't exactly that, I'd describe him more as scared and awkward and sometimes apathetic. But there were darker sides to his personality were present, and they were balanced with Clara's good nature and slightly controlling side. I enjoyed her character more with Twelve than I ever did Eleven. She compliments this doctor beautifully, and watching their trust and friendship grow as she spends more time with this new doctor made me love Clara all the more.

I did like the episodes Mummy on the Orient Express and Time Heist the most this season, but I can't say the episodes are on Ten's level, maybe Eleven's. I think the show peaked with Ten, at least for me. Capaldi's performance was still respectable, and I found myself invested in each episode, just not to the point of being brought to tears like with Ten and Rose.

Still, it could have been a million times worse. It has been over 50 years, after all.

Spoilers ahead!

Spoilers ahead!

Missy. How conflicted I am about her.

I didn't like how over fifty years of the show being out, they changed it so Timelords could regenerate into the opposite gender. I'm for reasonable progression and new twists, but this felt forced. An attempt to appease the accusations of sexism the show has faced in the past years.

But the doctor being a man was not a problem that needed fixing. Female companions were not a problem that needed fixing. It was perfectly fine how it was.

And now, there's Missy. The Master has turned into a women, the first step in the path that lead to a female Doctor, of course. It irritates me, mainly because of the motive for it. If they had run out of plot lines and used this as a way to make it more exciting, great! By all means, do it! However, I see it as a political statement made to side with the critics who go too far and make a good thing seem bad. That's what has me disappointed.

But Missy herself was amazing, so I can't be all mad. They did a good job spicing up The Master's personality. She's not evil or cruel, but twisted and complex. You can sense her motive is bad all along, but you don't know how, or maybe you just want to believe she's good, even for a moment. She saved The Doctor, she saved Clara, but she could throw them under the bus any moment. She sees The Doctor as a friend, but a complicated one. They know each other better than anyone else in the world does- and that creates an unbreakable bond between them.

It's a new type of interaction we see with the doctor, the confliction and understanding and built up anger after all these years. The Doctor can forgive anyone, can save even the worst person, But Missy keeps giving him new reasons not to. The way I see it, he wants her to stop hurting people, but if the means to stop her is by killing her, he can't go that far himself. That doesn't mean if it did happen, he would be heartbroken, considering he already thought she was dead.

But while she's alive, I will say she's fun to watch. When Missy is was working with Clara to get to The Doctor near the end of the season, she screwed her over many times, but never blatantly, and that's part of her appeal. She's smart. "Here, let me handcuff you to a pipe and use you as bait," while ignoring Clara's protest. Love that.

I don't recall where Missy was when the season ended, but still alive I believe, and I can't wait to see her again!

And then there's Danny, who was a decent man, and quite stable in this show full of wibbly wobbly timey wimey stuff. But him and Clara fought so much, I was never able to grow attached? Constantly arguing and disagreeing, and he never seemed to like The Doctor, only accepted that Clara did.

I have mixed feelings, which isn't all that bad, except they're weak ones. I didn't feel anything for him really, until he became a cyberman, which only lasted a minute. So not bad, not good, just bland. Clara is mundane enough, she didn't need a boyfriend without a personality.

That's all I really have to say.

This season was good, and I do want to watch on; but there's not much that can turn me off of Doctor Who, so my opinion doesn't mean much.

Feel free to discuss with me below!