Board 8 > Anyone else watch the latest Doctor Who episode 'Extremis'?

(+) Yeah! (+)

I don't wanna spoil anything for anyone who hasn't yet done so. Heck, just giving my impressions would already color one's view of it. But I felt like making a topic for it, as it had some themes in it I really enjoyed and were well presented.

And by well presented, I mean AMAZING as well. Granted, I love tales about simulations, particularly if they are done well. Which, I think for the most part, was the case here. CERN blowing up, Nardole going into the shadows, the explanation and tests...all of it was handled without anything too glib. It is the sort of narration that could easy have been in a science fiction novella rather than too quick and easy dumbed down for TV.

And that's only half the story, the other half is The Doctor himself. His blindness, his relation with Missy, what he might do if all hope were lost. All of it is supported by Capaldi's considerable acting skills. This guy is seriously trying to become my favorite doctor, and would probably already be there if not for some questionable writer decisions. Through him, his decades old narrative is pushed forward inch by inch, and while the payoff is yet to come, the setup manages to stand up on its own merits.

Easily one of my favorite stories of the Capaldi era, and if I were to compare it against all others that have come before it, I'd still rank it quite favorably. It probably doesn't quite have the same rewatchability or meme potential that something like Blink had, but there's a lot to love here I think. Just what would one really do if one discovered their life was a simulation?
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I thought it was pretty neat. I'm still reflecting on it even now, so it definitely had an effect on me.

One thing I really liked was they didn't do that dumb thing where they needlessly raise the stakes just because none of it was real. Like blatantly killing of major characters or stuff (Nardole and Bill only "died" after the reveal). I hate it when shows do that, and it would have telegraphed the ending sooner.
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Yeah, the amount of respect for the audience and the concept was refreshing. There very well could have been some tells squirreled away too, but it certainly didn't go out of its way to be showy about what was going on until it was the right time for the reveal. Given the purpose behind the simulation, that was likely part of the point too. Doctor Who doesn't usually go into sci-fi concepts without at least a little handwavy nonsense that The Doctor can babble about, but here it was treated with dignity.
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