As most have stated here, Capaldi's stuff got better after his first season. He definitely hit his stride in the second season. While I didn't mind Jodie, she just never really felt like the Doctor to me. I will also agree that it was horrible writing that did her in though. They would have a lot of episodes that were fairly good just be tainted with horrible endings. It really felt like most of the writers just didn't know good ways to end the stories. The best thing about those episodes was the Master. Honestly, just fantastic casting and performance from him during that run with Jodie.
this is the way the world works, if you wanna find some quality friends, you gotta wade through all the dicks first...