Doctor Who: Every Master Story In The New Series Ranked Worst To Best

Just two episodes before The Lie of the Land, Missy’s presence in the vault is revealed. As the Doctor investigates a mysterious book hidden deep within the Vatican that causes anyone who reads it to kill themselves, the episode flashes back to him on a mysterious planet some time before the events of Series 10.

Here we see that Missy has been sentenced to death by a group known as the Fatality Index that specialises in executing thousands of different species from across the galaxy. The Doctor has been summoned by them to deliver Missy’s execution. The reveal that the Vatican story we have been watching actually takes place inside a simulated universe, one used by the Monks to plan their invasions, is done beautifully and sets up the Monks as a terrifying new villain for the Doctor to face.

Missy’s final pleading with the Doctor as he gets ready to kill his oldest friend is also heart-breaking, although he of course spares her at the behest of Nardole reading from Professor River Song’s old diary.

“Without hope, without witness, without reward.” is still one of the best quotes from Steven Moffat’s time as showrunner and their first utterance by Missy here is nothing short of magnificent.