The Power of the Doctor

Honestly might be one of Jodie's best episodes.

Sacha Dhawan carries most of the episodes he's in, including this one as Rasputin.

The return of old Doctors and companions for the centenary is a highlight

Personally this could've been the 60th anniversary for Doctor Who

Genuinely, what in the hell is this?! Listen, I wasn't a fan of 13's era, don't get me wrong I like the Doctor herself but she was really let down by the writers (I'm really excited for Big Finish's series actually) but this was terrible.

The Power of the Doctor is the new series Caves of Androzani. It's an utter masterpiece and succeeds as both a regeneration episode and a Centenary Special.

Mission Report by UNIT Agent Bill Filer to Trap One - Subject matter: The Power of the Doctor

I love this one. It came out right at one of those times where life had decided to continuously kick me in parts best left unmentioned. Things changed in my life right around then and left me able to enjoy things I hadn't in a long stretch of time and watching Jodie Whittaker's swansong just rekindled my love for Doctor Who in the best way possible. I love the way stories sometimes just gets intertwined with your life, stories becomes more than the sum of their parts.

This is roughly the same storytelling technique Chibnall used in Flux. It's a great big tapestry of scenes like puzzle pieces that you have to do some of the work yourself in piecing together.  It is filled with delightful scenes, moments, lines and cameos, almost to the point where the narrative becomes secondary in nature. Sophie Aldred and Janet Fielding were so fantastic, they really portrayed their characters as having lived full lives after their individual travels, while remaining true to the core personality of their roles. If I were to write out all the positives I find in this story we would be here for a while. But I will say, seeing Ian in the companions' support group brought a tear to my eye.

"The Blossomiest Blossom" surely would get most Classic Who fans thinking of Jon Pertwee and the "Daisyest Daisy", but it is also a quote from a playwright called Dennis Potter. After being diagnosed with terminal cancer he used that phrase to describe how he saw the beauty in the little things knowing the end was near - what could be more apt for a regeneration scene? And Jodie's Doctor saying "Tag you're it!" before exploding in regeneration energy in what I think is the most visually stunning regeneration in Doctor Who history was sheer perfection for me. It was Jodie Whittaker and Chris Chibnall passing the baton to a whole new era in the best way possible - with joyful expectation of the future, it might be the end but the moment had been prepared for.

End of report. Logged and filed at The Black Archive.

(Original review from the other website, you know the one)
My thoughts in a jumbled list form, as a tribute to Chris' writing and especially The Halloween Apocalypse:
1. It genuinely had the worst expository dialogue I have ever heard in any DW episode, on par with Legend of The Sea Devils, only more of it.
2. Awful, stilted dialogue.
3. Some truly awful performances from certain actors, maybe down to the horrible dialogue they had to say.
4. Worst DW special ever.
5. Plotholes waved away with dialogue scarcely better that "no, that is not a plot hole", I mean come on! "This is Ashad The Lone Cyberman... but he's forgiven me."
6. 13 acts a bit more like the doctor sometimes, not always, but still that is always appreciated, it genuinely seems like Chris learned from the way she was portrayed in The Haunting of Villa Diodati, which is great, a bit late, but better late than never, and I wish it was consistent throughout, but I will not look a gift horse in the mouth.
7. Graham goes to a volcano to stop Daleks, yep, that sounds like him, doesn't at all feel like Chris couldn't find a good way to get him into the plot.
8. The 'many doctors in one' was pretty nice, still some awful dialogue, but genuinely some nice little moments, and always a pleasure to see 8 on-screen some more! (Now give him a spin-off show already!)
9. Blatantly stolen plot points and moments from much better episodes all over the place, most obviously, the many baddies coming together from The Pandorica Opens and the master dancing to a pop song after enacting his plan from The Last of The Time Lords.
10. Chibs cribs from himself yet again, the several version of 13 from Flux and a shortened version of the conversation Yaz and The Doctor had in Legend of The Sea Devils.
11. Feels like a checklist of things that needed to happen come to life (Oh, wow, just like this review, isn't that meta!?)
12. Several more conservative, boomer jokes, how anyone thinks this era is in any way progressive is beyond me (a highly progressive t-girl, if you couldn't tell)
13. The only joy I got from it, besides seeing Tennant again, was:
13a. Laughing at how incredibly bad some of the writing was
13b. The knowledge that this is the last of ChibWho, our long, intergalactic nightmare is finally over!
14. References that make no sense in-universe, like "I guess you could call this The Master's Dalek Plan"
15. The Master was highly inconsistent, occasionally hitting a good level of unhinged, but quite often going way over the top, and just being a bit cringe if I'm honest "I'm human intolerant" and the way too long bit after the "The Master's Dalek Plan" line.
16. Visual effects were pretty good as always, some iffy bits here and there, but mostly really good as is the standard with ChibWho, all flash and no substance! or as us fans know it, the exact antithesis of the spirit of Doctor Who.
17. Why are you still reading this incoherent rant, go watch some good Doctor Who!
2/10

This is Chibnall throwing literally everything at the wall and somehow it mostly all sticks and works? I mean if Resolution was a sugar rush, then this really is a sugar rush; there's just so much going on and it edges dangerously close to too chaotic.

It is sad to say goodbye to Jodie, she's been an underrated Doctor and aha, she really goes through it in the episode, doesn't she? So many emotions and heavy moments, but she sells it all really well. I shall miss her.

Dhawan's Master is fantastic, Sacha is dedicating himself so much to the role and it really shows; he's super engaging and fun to watch, his batshit plan is exactly that - batshit - but who cares when he's dancing to Rasputin? Although... why was this not a complete bodyswap episode? Whittaker Master vs Dhawan Doctor, it would've been actually amazing to see and again, like prison break Revolution, it just seems like the obvious choice?

The Thijarians should've been in the regeneration scene, like come on, it was such a clear set-up. Oh well. Pity we never see how the Doctor regenerates into, but I guess the show had to end somewhere.