Doctor Who Series 10: 7 Big Questions We're Asking After 'World Enough And Time'
1. Has The Doctor's Re-education Of Missy Failed?
Missy’s frivolous exterior and her cutting remarks about her
companions – ‘exposition’ and ‘comic relief’ give the impression of a lack of
sincerity in contrast to the tears we have seen her shed in the vault and the
TARDIS. Chillingly in the final scene it seems like Missy has repositioned
herself very much against the Doctor. So was her goodness all an act in the
first place? Has the Doctor miscalculated?
Not necessarily. As we have seen particularly with Capaldi’s Twelfth, the Doctor too can be flippant and rude when it comes to his companions. Nardole is so surprised by the Doctor’s emotional attachment to Missy that he asks for a selfie. What matters is the ends more than the means – can Missy help to bring about a positive outcome?
To be a hero Missy doesn’t need to be morally good. Missy will quite possibly be torn between the Doctor’s pleas for help and the machinations of the Master. Which side she falls upon may depend on her instincts for survival more than a moral choice. It wouldn’t be the first time the Doctor and the Master have reluctantly worked together (The Time Monster).
We know little about the Doctor and the Master’s early friendship, but when the Doctor is reminiscing with Bill it is clear that he still feels a kindred spirit with the woman who can’t bear the thought of anybody except herself killing him. The Doctor qualified his promise to protect Bill by saying that he couldn’t guarantee her safety and with the cyber-conversion inoculating her against pain, the chances are that in order to save her he will have to bring that pain back. Likewise Missy’s salvation is unlikely to come pain free and we can expect some highly emotional scenes. Nardole may yet have cause to ask for a selfie with Missy.
What questions did this week's Doctor Who leave you with? Let us know down in the comments.