The Time of the Doctor

This episode has a lot of haters. I am not one of them. It's bombastic and Moffat-y and indulgent, and it's wonderful. Handles is excellent, Tasha Lem is compelling, it retroactively does make s5 and 6 make sense (mostly), and it's fun. It's just fun.

And then it breaks your heart. Matt Smith and Jenna Coleman put their all into this and it shows. I can't ask for more.

I think I'm officially getting tired of Moffat's vision of Who. He really doesn't seem like he has anything else to give to the show.

So much happened in that episode that should have been epic but none of it was. The return of the Timelords, the Doctor's last life, the regeneration into Capaldi...and I couldn't think of a worse way to handle them all than what we got to be honest.

I wanted to like it but I really didn't on first watch. Started off interestingly but soon went downhill. Not a worthy farewell for Smith.

This ruined the Silence and the Papal Mainframe/The Church Of The Silence but the regeneration made me cry and I think Handles is the best thing to come out of Series 7B.

11's hour is over now, the clock is striking 12's.

Prerequisites: References are made across the entire Smith era, so honestly watch all the Smith episodes prior to this to get the full experience.

The Time of the Doctor has an emotional core that I love, but I find most of the dressing and details to be lacking. The first fifteen minutes is honestly a pretty weak segment, and a prime example of annoying 'Moffatisms'. We've got everything here: annoying over-sexualization (the whole 'don't wear clothes to church' thing is idiotic), a completely irrelevant section dedicated to a companion's family that we never see again, a woman introduced who feels exactly like River Song (Tasha Lem), and a hodgepodge of different mystery boxes all coming together. I'm also not a fan of the reveal that the Silents were confessional priests the whole time (silly idea that adds nothing), and the reveal that the Doctor's biggest fear from the God Complex was the cracks in time (boring answer). Still, despite all of those flaws, the middle section is genuinely pretty good, and the last fifteen minutes are truly excellent. In particular, 11's regeneration speech is one of my favorites in the entire show, and I adore pretty much everything about that scene. Overall, this is a pretty messy episode, but I do still quite like it on the whole.

I wouldn't say that this arc needed to be a full series, but to have a second part? Yeah, I'd say that would've been a good idea. Structurally wise, I think the episode works, but each story beat gets brushed through quite quickly and it's a bit of a shame, because there's a lot of potential in this concept.

That being said, what we do get is lovely and works to wrap up Eleven's era well. Matt Smith is a great standout here with a more melancholic performance, as his Doctor reaches the end with a lovely farewell speech. The characterisation of Eleven here is really fantastic and the way he interacts with Clara, especially when he's old is some of the best Doctor Who.

Tasha Lem, HOWEVER, what a weird addition. I understand her on principle, but dear god, it's the same problem the Snowmen had, she is wayyy too sexualised and it ends up being uncomfortable. Moffat... just why?

I think, with any future rewatches, I will end up liking this episode more, but I will still always wish it had a bit more time put to it.