this 2 parter was absolutely amazing. sacha dhawan plays his part so perfectly. the plot actually kept me really engaged for the most part, the dialogue written by chibnall for once felt in character and believable, i really love how spyfall was put together in general. and i may be biased because im a bit of a james bond fan but like... this is actually the first quality episodes we've even seen from chibnall. he actually seems to have improved here. im not sure if its because this is him actually writing out a full on plot without motw elements (the series 11 overarching plot was basically nonexistent so maybe hes also just learning on the job?) but im really pleased with this one. lots of fun. definitely a classic 2 parter. i cant wait to see more of sacha dhawan since hes also very sexylicious which means seeing him be evil is going to be a huge treat for the rest of his run as the master

What I've realised rewatching the 13th Doctor's era, after admittedly not giving it the full time of day at broadcast, is that my god it has pronounced ups and downs, its a rollercoaster. And nowhere is this as apparent to me going from Resolution into Spyfall. Resolution to me is a truly classic story, that allows the dalek(s) to be terrifyingly genius for the first time in such a long time. The dalek feels so real and gritty and creates true fear in me which is so hard to achieve using such a well known and used enemy as the daleks, because it feels so grounded in what is a believable and gripping plot.

I say this because Spyfall is the complete antithesis to everything that Resolution is. Part 1 isn't as criminal as part 2, but I could personally never enjoy a serial that is set up to be so cheesy and filled with overdone cliches without doing anything new with them really, not for me. But part 2 is where the plot becomes completely disparate and all over the place. We spend the time of the episode getting taken from time period to time period across history and after watching I'm not even sure why, except to save the dangling plot pieces that were thrown at us. It was all loosely held together by a thread by three very powerful enemies, at least two of which felt underutilised because of the need to throw as much extravagance into the plot for show. The tech CEO was a convincing villain, who really portrayed a coldness that was maybe my favourite part of the serial. The mysterious race from another universe and the master both honestly felt like they could've been left out to create a better story, we're left with 3 huge personalities as our villains that take up so much space without really clashing or being addressed in much of a meaningful way, their motivations, individually or as a mismatched alliance, never really explained. The Master especially honestly felt like he didn't have to be there, especially with no acknowledgement of the events of the Doctor Falls. It's the most unnuanced depiction of the Master in a long time which is a real shame after just having such a beautiful arc end with Missy, and we don't even know how they're supposed to fit together.

And then of course I take issue with Gallifrey being destroyed again so cheaply, apparently just because the Master had a tantrum, oopsie! The first time Gallifrey was seemingly gone in the time war it was a mythic event that defined the Doctor's character arc for series to come and was the ultimate sacrifice at the end of the greatest war known to time. Just awful for this episode to tack on at the end, "oh yeah by the way. Gallifrey's gone." Character work is far from this era's strong point, and such an extreme event will not be able to have justice done to it I fear. But I know there's more Resolutions to come, and after this showing I can't wait for an episode that will restore my faith.

Not as great as the first half, sadly. Though it still was a good episode. I'm really digging the hour long episode formats.

Not a fan of Galifrey being destroyed *again*, but I guess we're stuck with it. Let's hope Big Finish can do something interesting with it.

Another Timeless Child mention as well, I'm curious what my thoughts of it will be watching in context.

Bloody hell, that was everything I wanted from the conclusion of the two parter and more. Loved the confrontations between 13 and the Master, loved the dark stuff with 13 wiping Ayda’s mind despite her clear protests...and the destroyed Gallifrey...WOW.