This was the first episode I ever watched the day it was broadcasted (having just got caught up with New Who). I liked it, but as I hadn't watched Classic some of the references meant nothing to me. Now, this actually hits different. The story is still quite messy and it is one of the most nonsensical plans the Master has ever devised (which is saying something), but it is just so much fun. The nods to the Classic era are so well done, the characters are still as engaging as ever (Loved Ace being paired with Graham) and Dhawan's Master is one of the best (behind Missy for New Who imo). The last few scenes are beautifully written, the last conversation between Yaz and 13 is tear-jerking actually, I just wished her relationship would have been better developed across this era.

So yeah, great episode to end one of the most controversial periods of Doctor Who. As this is the last one, I'll say a few things about this era. I got to this part of my rewatch hoping that my negative views regarding 13 and her episode would change, and I can safely that they did! Mind you, there are some real stinkers here (Orphan 55, yes) but there were a few gems and some have even entered my top episodes of the whole show:

• The Haunting of Villa Diodati is, in my opinion, Jodie's (and 13's) best episode. The best showcase of how high her character could have gone with better direction and better scripts. I'm not going to beat around the bush, we got what we got, but she is a great Doctor and in some other episodes there are instances where you can see that, but there is no better example than in here.
• Demons of  the Punjab is what I believe her era should have put the focus on. More historicals, with heart and hope as the focus of the story. Learning about different cultures and conflicts that have shaped our world (as this show was originally intended to do, juggling sci-fi episodes with pure historicals).
• Honorary mentions: Village of the Angels, It Takes You Away, The Ghost Monument (yes, I love it), Fugitive of the Judoon.

Plus, I'm actually a big fan of the Fugitive Doctor and Division. The scenes in Flux where the focus was on this part of the Doctor's life were my favourite of the arc.

And I can somewhat get behind the idea surrounding the Timeless Child (it could have been better handled, let's hope RTD2 does something interesting with it).

So yeah, this era was great in some instances, not so great in others, but at least it gave us Doctor Who at a point where the show could have ended (funnily enough it is a recurring theme in this fandom)

My favourite 13th Doctor episode. She is brilliant here. I love her interactions with the Lone Cyberman, the speech about the not so flat team structure when there's real danger, and her losing in the end in order to save one life. Plus the horror vibes are on point. One of the best in all of New Who.

Just making this review as a reminder to skip this episode in future rewatches. I thought I would like it a bit more than on my first watch. In my defence, some episodes of this era have gone up quite a bit in my estimation in this second viewing (Demons of the Punjab has become one of my favourite historicals, and I found it quite boring the first time for some reason).

But no, this is the worst episode this show has ever produced. Yes, even worse than some of the most infamous of the Classic Era (I actually quite like the Twin Dilemma). The dialogue is ass, the characters make no sense in their motivations and their choices (why do they all go looking for Benni only for them to get ambushed and get back to the spa?), the acting is extremely subpar, the pacing is non-existent... But the most egregious sin is that it is so boring. At least with some bad episodes like The Crimson Horror (yeah I can't stand it don't ask me why) you have good characters making do with bad scripts and dialogue, but there is nothing to grasp at here. Even the moral of the story is half-baked, with no real depth, just there to make it look deep and with substance.

Anyway, if you really wanna rewatch this, drink one shot everytime you hear BENNI!!! It will go down easier.

The horror vibes are pretty on point here. The lonely house in the forest with the lake behind... The mystery is gripping and the antizone is pretty cool. I especially loved the Doctor reassuring the little girl while writing on the wall a cold and devastating albeit rational message for her companions.

The thing that I didn't love is the discussion between the Doctor and the frog at the end. I was expecting it to be more whimsical and philosophical but no, it ended being quite shallow. At least the Doctor made friends with a conscious universe I guess...

This is the top 2 episode for the season, behind Demons of the Punjab. The next episode is a bit meh so I'll leave my thoughts on this season here. I actually have enjoyed it quite a lot, this rewatch has made like a lot more the 13th Doctor and Jodie as an actress, I like the fact that her incarnation is the most hopeful and loving Doctor of all, although she can be a badass when the moment calls for it.

This was really good, I don't get the low reviews. The Doctor confronting the timelords for their chauvinist ways, not giving a care for the rest of the universe or their own soldiers, just their war. He ends up causing riots in the army itself. Plus the speech towards the end is amazing, and the cliffhanger really cool too.

So I should probably hate this episode for what it represents and for what it does to the Doctor as a hero of the working class... But I'm just not going to beat myself for actually liking about 3/4 of the episode. It is fun, and the mystery is actually engaging. It just sucks that the resolution is so bad and out of sync with everything that came before (e.g. The Sunmakers, Oxygen...) I just know that if this were under Moffat the Doctor would have fudged that company up so bad. The Doctor is pretty badass as she confronts management for 40 minutes, and then at the end she does nothing to subvert the status quo (although you could argue that she knows that capitalism will end after the events in Oxygen, so she can't really alter the course of history, I don't believe they thought about that, it's my head cannon so I can sleep at night)

PS: I agree with everything quantumshade wrote, great review.

Beautiful, emotional, gripping and poignant story. It puts focus on a moment in history that was momentous for the people that lived through it and for all generations born thereafter, but that is not given importance in western countries. I love historicals, when they are done right mind you, and this was perfect. The cast is very good, Perm is a really great character and the wedding scene of him and Yaz's nan is tear-jerking (13 is so great). The ending is bittersweet too. I especially loved Graham and Perm's discussion right before the wedding, about how hatred against what's different gains power in a society (pretty on point for today's times) and that all we can strive to do is be good people.

I firmly believe that 13's era is the best at doing historical episodes, but sadly not so much when it comes to full on sci-fi. That's why I would have preferred for them to focus primarily on the past, as since the 60s we really haven't had a pure historical (except for Black Orchid)

I remember really liking this one on my first watch, and yeah, it is just a comfortable watch for me. It's packed with action from the start and the mystery of the planet kept me intrigued. The TARDIS being the "Ghost Monument" is actually such a cool idea and the race is pretty compelling. I'm liking Jodie's Doctor much more than the first time too, she is actually pretty badass when it comes to calling out people for what she believes is wrong (except for the no guns speech, that was a bit ham-fisted imo). The writing is nothing crazy but the vibes more than make up for it.

Okay my head just exploded a bit. But this is John Dorney, so I wouldn't expect anything less from him. I love timeloop stories, and this did not dissapoint. I do believe that this kind of story is dragged down a bit by the medium, as I would have loved this a lot more if it were a two parter in the modern series. If I normally have to rewind when listening to a standard story (cause my mind just goes off randomly if I'm not 100% invested into the story), in this case it was tenfold, especially at the beginning when it seemed to me it like an okayish story with nothing to it. I'll probably have to listen to it again at some point.

So yeah, if the show ever got the chance to do a limited series with the 8th Doctor, one of my top stories for them to adapt would be this one. The Daleks are handled so well (which is hard, as they are well overused at this point), the secondary characters are actually great, and the setting and sci-fi piece is incredibly well thought-out and innovative. Plus the cheeky call out to the Time War is a nice connection to that box set (which I have yet to listen to).

This is probably one of the best looking, greatly directed episodes this show has ever had (the final facedown with the army of Cybermen is so cool, the beginning with Bill holding the Doctor...).

The story is excellent, the sci fi stuff with the time dilation is so good, such a great concept and execution.

What else? Bill turning into a Cyberman and the whole scene when she realises the truth, Missy and the Master killing each other off when she is about to side with the Doctor, the Doctor himself having grown so much as a person since series 8... He is definitely a good man, he always was, he is The Doctor. This is the best finale for any Modern Doctor (the next one is more an epilogue in my mind, so this still counts). It would be the best but Androzani exists, they are both tied in my opinion.

This era is my favourite of the whole show, this rewatch has been amazing. I'm looking forward to rewatching 13's run, as I didn't enjoy it that much the first time. I'm going in with a positive attitude, I hope I change my mind a bit. Will post reviews of that in the future (at least with episodes that warrant one)