The Timeless Children

"It's red because it's drenched in the blood of our people."

Writer: Chris Chibnall

Format: TV

Broadcast: 1 March 2020

Series: 12.10

Featuring: Thirteenth Doctor, Yaz, Ryan, Graham

Synopsis

The Cybermen are on the march. As the last remaining humans are ruthlessly hunted down, Graham, Ryan and Yaz face a terrifying fight to survive. Civilisations fall. Others rise anew. Lies are exposed, truths are revealed, battles are fought, and for the Doctor – trapped and alone – nothing will ever be the same again.

Verdict

The Timeless Children was an excellent series finale to continue the story already started in The Haunting of Villa Diodati and Ascension of the Cybermen. This one is certainly a controversial episode but I think it's done fantastically well. The fandom reacted to this story in a big way and I can understand why some may not be happy given that it depicts the origin of regeneration on Gallifrey and shows that the Doctor was the Timeless Child, the basis on which the entire Time Lord society is built upon. Incorporating all of this into an episode with the Cybermen coming to Gallifrey at the offering of the Master is superb and I just love everything about this. It's good to get an explanation from the Master as to why he destroyed Gallifrey rather than just him being reckless and I like the irony of the planet being destroyed just three series after it was saved. Sacha Dhawan shines as the Master and I think he and Jodie Whittaker work phenomenally well together. The chemistry is magnificent and you can see the inferiority complex going on inside the Master's head when faced by her. He despises the fact that his old friend and greatest adversary is the basis of which he is comprised. It's terrific. The scenes within the Matrix are brilliant and the Master tells a phenomenal story concerning Tecteun and how she was Gallifrey's first explorer. Her discovery of the Timeless Child is intriguing and I thought it was fantastic how everything was connected with the Ireland images we had seen in the previous episode. This was a visual filter on what had really occurred at the hands of the Division. Time and time again the Doctor was used and exploited for necessary interference at the hands of a Time Lord branch that doesn't exist. It all fits in very nicely and I like how in taking away one mystery in the form of Gallifrey's and Time Lord origin, it provides another by adding so much mystery to the Doctor. Currently the Thirteenth Doctor, except there have been so many more pre-dating the First Doctor including canonising the Morbius Doctors which is a great deal of fun. The alliance of sorts between the Master and Ashad was fantastic and I loved the simplicity in the moment that the former killed the latter in order to release the Cyberium. Him taking that within himself was terrific stuff and I thought his plan of creating CyberMasters in then form of Cybermen with the ability to regenerate was spectacular! The image of the Cybermen with the metallic collars synonymous with Time Lord society was brilliant. It was certainly a powerful look! I thought Graham's emotional admiration for Yaz was a nice moment and the humour that came with her 'good human' reply was great stuff. Ryan also had a good moment when he destroyed one batch of Cybermen, only to have another emerge behind him atop the hill. The Doctor being challenged to use the death particle on Gallifrey within Ashad was superb and I liked the Master pushing her to use it even though he knew she wouldn't follow through. The look despair in the Doctor's face was great. The moment before that in the TARDIS where she sends everyone – companions include – back to the twenty-first century is incredible as she accepts her fate in sacrificing herself and all organic life on her home planet to save the universe and stop the CyberMasters. Ko Sharmus emerging to fulfil his duty and carry out the detonation was a good way to end things, and I also enjoyed the ending in setting up Revolution of the Daleks with the Judoon imprisoning the fugitive Doctor from within her own TARDIS. Overall, an excellent finale!

Rating: 10/10