Warning: this article will contain spoilers for the latest episode, “Dark Water”.
Tomorrow night will see the 60-minute finale of Peter Capaldi’s first season as the 12th Doctor, with the episode title “Death in Heaven.” Skepticism surrounded the new Doctor Who star at the start of his run — he’s too old, he’s not hip enough, he isn’t Matt Smith, etc. Luckily, throughout season 8, the BAFTA winning actor Capaldi has proven his worth. Reviews have been consistently good for the season and Capaldi himself has been earning good words from critics.
We’ll soon say good-bye to the 12th Doctor until the Christmas Special but before that, we have the season finale to get through. And based on the cliffhanger from the penultimate episode, “Dark Water”, this episode will not hold anything back.
Last we saw the Doctor and Clara, the world was in danger and shocking information was revealed regarding Michelle Gomez’s character, Missy. The BBC released a teaser trailer for the episode, which you can watch below, although it understandably doesn’t reveal much. Still, there are familiar faces in the video, including Cybermen, so you can guess that the Doctor will have to face his enemies.
And now let’s get to the juicy spoiler. So if you haven’t seen the latest episode and don’t want to be spoiled, stop reading now. No seriously, this is a major spoiler. Okay, are you ready?
In the last episode, it was revealed that Missy is, in fact, the Master – the most notorious enemy of the Doctor. It was a big bomb to drop. Some fans correctly speculated this information but with plenty of red herrings littered by showrunner Steven Moffat, it was an effective shock to viewers everywhere.
This is the first time fans have seen a previously established male Time Lord regenerate as female. With all the buzz about a female Doctor, is Moffat beginning to open to that possibility or is this simply an attempt to get fans off his back? Either way, Gomez has given a wonderfully twisted performance so far and we’re excited to see what she does with the role next.
Capaldi should be proud of the work he’s done and the reception he’s received so far, and we hope it encourages him to stay as long as possible.
“Death in Heaven”, the finale of Doctor Who Season 8, airs tomorrow, November 8th on BBC America. Let us know what you think will happen in the comments below.
