Who Review: Spyfall Part Two

When we left our heroes at the end of Part One, Ryan, Graham, and Yaz were falling to earth in a cockpit-less plane, while the Doctor was trapped in the aliens’ world trying to figure a way out. Meanwhile, “O” had revealed his true identity, and the fact he is in league with Barton and the aliens…

It now transpires that neither Barton nor the aliens are calling the shots. The plan is all “O”s, and it’s audacious and devastating. The Doctor manages to escape the alien realm, but “O” tracks her down, trying to make sure her interference doesn’t ruin everything. Traversing time doesn’t end the chase, but the Doctor picks up some new friends along the way who could be helpful. Together they need to stop “O” and save the rest of the TARDIS crew, as well as the human race, from annihilation.

SPOILER ALERT!! My comments may (and likely will) contain spoilers for those who haven’t seen the episode. If you want to stay spoiler-free, please watch the story before you continue reading!

By the time you read this review, especially if you’ve seen Part One, you’ll know that “O” is, in fact, The Master. This incarnation of The Doctor’s evil nemesis is portrayed by Sacha Dhawan. Sacha’s Master is very much in the John Simm and Michelle Gomez “crazed psychopath” line, as opposed to the Classic Master (e.g., Roger Delgado or Anthony Ainley) who was more of a suave villain. I think the rational behind the unhinged version has to do with the Master being broken by the Time War and the things he suffered. If I recall correctly, this is at least alluded to in the Tenth Doctor stories “The Sound of Drums” and “Last of the Time Lords.” I can’t say I’m a huge fan of deranged Master. I think the cool, understated menace of the original was far more unnerving than the in-your-face, insane and shouty version. Nevertheless, Sacha does an excellent job with his portrayal.

Of course we have questions. How did the Master survive? Is this a new regeneration, or an old regeneration we’ve not seen before? None of these questions are asked or answered in this story, which leads me to suspect this isn’t the last we’ve seen of The Master this series. Indeed, this series might follow the pattern of the last and have a finale that connects with the first story. If this is this case, I expect to see The Master again in episode 10.

On her way back to the 21st century, The Doctor picks up Ada Lovelace in 1834, and Noor Khan in 1943. These are two real historical figures. Ada, a mathematician, is often regarded as the first computer programmer, working on Charles Babbage’s early computing machine. This is a disputed accolade, though without doubt she was the first to recognize the potential in Babbage’s work. Khan was a British operative during World War II, and the first female wireless operator sent to work behind enemy lines in occupied France.

On face value, I have no problem with the inclusion of these two notable women in the story. But I have to ask the question: Why these two people? As far as I can tell, their historical importance doesn’t really matter to the story. The Doctor could have picked up a random inventor and a random British spy. It so happens she picks up two women, both “firsts” in their fields. On top of this, Noor Khan was the first Muslim British war hero. Again, it’s fine to give these women, probably little-known to most in the Who audience, recognition. But I can’t help wonder if this is more politically correct pandering. I hope not, but it feels like it. I mean, when Ada the mathematician is the one to use the machine gun to rescue The Doctor, not the man standing next to it who invented the machine and is probably most expert at its use, I have to wonder.

So it turns out The Master used the light beings, the Kasaavin, to kill spies in order to get The Doctor’s attention. And with Barton’s technology, he plans to re-format every human being’s DNA to use as a high capacity hard drive. Exactly what purpose this serves is not clear, though to The Master, the destruction of The Doctor’s beloved humans is reason enough. This proposed “upgrade” to humanity sounds a bit Cyberman. We’ve been teased that the Cybermen are making a come-back this series, so maybe there’s a link? Or not?

Ryan, Graham, and Yaz escape from the plane by means of metal plates on the walls of the aircraft that guide Ryan to a laminated sheet instructing him on how to connect his phone to the plane’s computer. He does this, and The Doctor appears on the plane’s monitor screen to guide them through landing the plane. We discover at the end that The Doctor went back in time to when the plane was built to prepare it for that moment. One can only wonder how these additions weren’t noticed by Barton or the plane’s crew before. I could perhaps accept that the small plates would go unnoticed, but the laminated sheet in one of the seat pouches? Surely someone would have seen that? And if someone did find that sheet, there’s a chance they might have moved it, or thrown it away. I can’t say this was the most convincing escape. Why not give Ryan and Graham something among the spy gear they stole that they could use to escape? That would have been better, I think.

The story ends with The Doctor foiling Barton’s plan by embedding a virus in the statues he used to summon the Kasaavin. She did this during her travel through time, inserting the fail safe into the statues at their creation. I suppose it’s possible no-one ever noticed someone had tampered with the programming, but given how long those statues were around (one was in Babbage’s study), it’s a bit of a stretch.

The Master says he spent 77 years on Earth–from 1943 to 2020. If he did, don’t you think he would have made a point to give himself some help during the 1970s and his entanglements with The Third Doctor and U.N.I.T.? Unless this incarnation is prior to that time, he would have known what happened and what to do to avoid failure. Indeed, he could have made sure The Doctor died, giving him a clear path to wreak havoc on the world. As it is, The Doctor reveals to the Kasaavin that The Master is not really interested in helping them, so they capture The Master and imprison him in their world.

The Master had asked The Doctor if she’d been home. He told her that Gallifrey had been destroyed, so she makes the trip only to find he was telling the truth. But there’s more to the story. In a holographic message played in the TARDIS, The Master informs The Doctor that he was the one who destroyed their home planet as revenge for the lies the Time Lords had told. It appears they deceived The Doctor and The Master about their past. The Master made particular mention of “the Timeless Child,” which was previously spoken of in last season’s “The Ghost Monument.” What is this all about? Who is this Timeless Child? What’s the truth the Time Lords were covering up? More set-up for the season finale, I think.

On the whole, I enjoyed this story. While I wasn’t a fan of the Bond motif through Part One, I thought it was the stronger episode of the two. Part Two shed the Bond theme, but played on time travel in a way that didn’t seem entirely justified and just provided cheap “get-out-of-that” resolutions. However, the story idea is good, and we have some solidly evil villains for The Doctor to defeat, which always makes for better storytelling.

Not classic Who, but certainly a story worth watching. Am I still convinced Who needs to go on a five-plus year hiatus? While this story gives me hope that I’m wrong, I’m not yet sure that I am. Eight more episodes to go. We shall see…

Did you watch Spyfall? What did you think? Share your thoughts in the comments.