Spoilers might rock a mic like a vandal.

(Source: BBC One)

Doctor Who is in. Well, not completely. Just virtually. I did enjoy the walk down memory lane as Doctor Who decides the fate of none other than Missy herself (Michelle Gomez in the house). I thought the idea of a culture that revolves around death intriguing. It’s kind of ruined in the end but let’s not yet discuss that. First we’ll have to deal with the Vatican. Sigh.

This one is a personal peeve of mine. I see the way that the Vatican is held in high regard being a very influential religion, but it’s hardly one that can suddenly call upon themselves to represent all faiths. It’s very similar to when the US thinks they can represent the entire planet in every superhero vs. aliens movie or tv show. So, yeah please both of you get over yourselves.

That being said, I do like the not so far fetched idea that the Vatican has a secret library of all things blasphemous called the Haereticum (there was an index of such books). At the same time, I hated the whole “you can come us for a confession anytime” as if such offer were some kind of privilege. The Veritas, literally “the truth” in latin, would be a title that the Vatican would not want exposed. The fact that it turns out to be a whole we’re-in-the-matrix deal might have died right there if it weren’t for the Missy prelude and later reveal.

Yes, Missy is alive and well in the vault. She also might be the only chance the Doctor has to prevent the coming invasion/apocalypse thing. As for that civilization that revolves everything around death, I didn’t quite get them being so cartoon-like afraid of demise based on the Doctor’s record. Wasn’t death their thing? Wasn’t the last Time Lord unarmed?

Still, all and all, a pretty good episode that hopefully is the start of the main underlying story finally coming to fruition. Bring on Missy, bring on the enemy and let’s see what the oncoming storm can bring.

Highs/Lows/RandomNumberGenerator:

  • All computers can rock a random number generator, and yes you can have more than one generated in the same program and it will not be the same. The rnd() function usually generated a number between 0 and 1 and you multiply by the range you one and round it up. Yes, it is possible they match. But they rarely do. So, stop saying computers are bad with random numbers. They’ve been able to come up with them for a while.
  • The Veritas’ big reveal ends up being that we’re in the matrix, or rather than they were. Not the first time that I’ve seen a TV show do the matrix, but then again not even the matrix was the first to do the matrix either. It’s a tale as old as time in sci-fi.
  • Missy was the best part of the episode. The Pope didn’t even register.
  • I was enjoying the idea of a civilization where culture revolves around death and execution. However, it goes south at the end when the Doctor’s list of fallen enemies is enough to scare everyone around in an almost cartoonish fashion. Shouldn’t they have a more mature approach to death? And shouldn’t they know the ways in which the Doctor’s enemies have failed, meaning they shouldn’t be in harm’s way if they just don’t threaten him?
  • The oath is revealed. The Doctor must guard Missy’s body in the vault for a thousand years, but not necessarily dead. There’s obviously loopholes.
  • We’re still a long way from the finale, so I’m glad we got Missy halfway through. That means there’s more coming up.
  • Really? The computer inside the simulation has an outbound mail server… Ok, ok… I’ll stop with the computer geek stuff.
  • Why do we end on the oval office of the Whitehouse? Why does Bill have to ask if that is “the President” as if there’s not a hundred presidents in the world? Because even for show from the UK, the US Whitehouse has more gravitas that 10 Downing Street. It really shouldn’t.
  • I’ve learned that although there was not a library, there existed an index, a list of all publications heretical and immoral called Index Librorum Prohibitorum. Whether that implies that the Vatican Secret Archives had a section for the books listed in the index, I have no confirmation.

That will do for now.