Once in a while, no matter the era, a story comes along with writing so good that all the tiny flaws fade away, you lose yourself in the world and forget about the silly costumes and overacting as you see magic come to life, and the first example of this happening in the history of Doctor Who is... actually the pilot, that was a cracker, wasn't it? but the second time... honestly Marco Polo is also kinda up there, if I'm honest, but my point is, this is one such story. And it's not as if it is really complex, or really tries to do a lot, or has some great metaphor (at least on the surface), it's just a really really well-written historical episode, and quite frankly, sometimes that is all you need.

Though this, of course, is not to say that it has nothing to say, no, it's an interesting journey into Aztec culture that teaches the watcher and the TARDIS Team that certain events are set in stone and must not be tampered with, an ideological debate (as is the centre of most great Doctor Who stories), between The Doctor, who wishes to help but knows that he can't, and Barbara, who feels she must help, but learn she cannot, executed beautifully because we can see the problem from both perspectives; is it really our right to go into a foreign culture and say what is right and what is wrong in what they do, that sounds like colonizer talk, but on the other hand, can we stand by as innocent people get killed for no reason whatsoever. And most stories leave it at that, two opposing sides, but with fault and logic, but here there's a twist; what if the intended victim wants to die, what if they consider it an honour, should you save someone who does not wish to be saved, well, really that is just brainwashing, and really we should rid them of these rituals, oh you sound like a colonizer again.
And I guess that is the thing with The Aztecs it is such a simple story, yet deceptively complex, if you choose to engage with it, as it shows you a problem with no one-size-fits-all solution, no solve without issue, some small, but most great.
And then it ends with a line that would in time come to define The Doctor "You failed to save a civilization, but at least you helped one man"
10/10