So who can top the Master? It turns out only a version of the Doctor himself. The Dream Lord is a composite of all the darkness the Doctor keeps deep within, brought forth by psychic particles to torment Eleven and the Ponds, and force them to choose between two separate dream worlds. One thing that Doctor Who has had surprisingly little of is gamester villains - tricksters whose entire goal is to play around with the heroes and trick them into one thing or the other. This is a shame, as they can often be the most enjoyable (look at Loki in the MCU, after all). However, the Dream Lord fills this dearth admirably. Toby Jones is having a great deal of fun in the part and it comes across as a really entertaining performance on screen. Every bad one-liner is delivered with relish, every critique of the Doctor is sinister and angry. The Dream Lord's relationship with his alter-ego is also a key part of his villainy. The idea that he can only be a version of the Doctor because only the Doctor hates himself as much as the Dream Lord does suggests a darker inner life to the main character. This darkness doesnt go away either. The appearance of the Dream Lord in place of the Doctors own reflection in the real world suggests that its still hiding under the surface, just waiting to bubble over... Admittedly, the Dream Lord isnt the biggest threat in his own episode, at least not physically. Hes just the one commenting on the threats, taunting the protagonists and setting out the rules of the world. But the idea that hes the one facilitating everything and having a bit of fun with it all makes him one of the most memorable villains of the new series as a whole. What did you think of this list? Do you agree that these are the greatest Doctor Who villains of the Moffat era so far? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
