Wasn't sure how I was going to feel about this one, but it blew me away. A beautifully absurd romp through history.

RTD's introduction of fantasy elements and the idea of gods without sci-fi explanations is paying off in full here, I wasn't sure about the Goblins, and whilst the Toymaker was amazing, he was an existing villain. Maestro is one of the best villains the show has ever had, their erratic nature is so much fun to watch whilst still being terrifying, because it really feels like they could do anything. The Master has been somewhat like this since Simm, but the powers of the pantheon of gods being introduced here take it to a whole new level.

Ncuti and Millie are just as perfect as in Space Babies, and Ncuti really gets to show off his dramatic skills here, we see glimpses of a darker Doctor peering through, and I can't wait to see more. I suspect Boom! will show us more, based on the glimpses we've seen.

The time jump took me by surprise, really reinforcing the idea that RTD just is not interested in companion setup. I suppose with the reduced episode count he wanted to get straight to the meat of the season rather than wasting half the season on setup, but it does feel a bit odd. These two episodes have quite a difficult task, they have to introduce the concept of the show to new viewers, whilst also not boring existing viewers. This was easier for S1, because it had been so long since the show ended that the fanbase that didn't need anything reintroducing was much smaller, but there's a much more careful balance that needs to be had here, and I'm not totally sure yet whether they've managed it.

If the season continues on like this, I think it's safe to say we're back.
Who's next week's written by again?

... shit.

8.5/10