That's true! xD

Three cheers for Davies for being the only modern showrunner to not give the Doctor a secret backstory!

He did put that nameless woman in The End of Time who was definitely meant to be the Doctor's mother.

Ascension of the Cybermen

We finally get some more tension between the companions and the Doctor, even if it is all too brief. Graham and Yaz have a lovely scene, which would have had more impact if they'd had any actual one-on-one interaction before this episode, but they haven't. Also Yaz tells Graham he's come a long way but he's been keeping up pretty much since mid-S11 so that doesn't really mean much, either. We also get to watch Brendan's life and apparently this was a series of flashbacks seen by the Doctor but we don't have a single scene of Thirteen actually reacting to them so it's hard to tell.

The Timeless Children

This finale definitely had more drama and impact than Battle of Rattlesnake Canyon and I appreciate that, it's an improvement. Dhawan's scene with the Cyberium was great, although I wish the writing would give him something beyond "manic and evil". Graham tells Yaz she's the best and we all go "... yeah?" =/ Again, that would have had way more impact if they'd shared any one-on-one interaction before these past two episodes.

I am not particularly concerned about canon - Who does not really have a canon as such, which I think is one of the reasons it's survived this long. I do have an issue with a) Ruthless Doctor being inserted into the canon to make things more diverse without letting us actually see her as the Doctor and b) Thirteen telling the Master that this trauma makes her special and superior to him. Yeah, we have a white woman telling a MOC that she's better than him. Ugh, Chibnall, why?!

Lrnu, V'yy or fnq vs Wbqvr tbrf orsber Puvoanyy.

What I loved about this episode: the characterisation of Byron as the original "bro" and his mystification about why the Doctor was immune to his charms; the characterisation of Mary Shelley, they really got her energy and intellect and it was a wonderful performance; Graham trying to speak "posh" and failing; the absolute creepiness of the Cyberman suit seeking 'fresh meat'; the house becoming TARDIS-like and getting bigger on the inside.

What I really disliked:

"You know of my daughter?"
"Will do - gorgeous brain!" (Which I totally wiped by the way!)

The Doctor mindwiping Ada and Noor becomes even worse in hindsight because of this episode, where we have Romantics seeing Cybermen and Percy Shelley being told he's going to die and yet they're all allowed to keep these memories because... they're the finest minds of their generation? Like Ada wasn't? Like Noor wasn't worthy of keeping her memories even though her death was even more imminent? It infuriates me.

There have been several BBC budget cuts over the past few years and DW suffers from that, even though it's one of the BBC's most lucrative properties. I doubt reducing the number of episodes was Chibnall's idea, he certainly doesn't have as much leeway as the GOT showrunners did. Having said that, I'm not happy about it, any more than I'm happy about losing the Christmas Day slot and having it replaced with one on New Year's Day. =/

Yes, I know there's not much they can do about the number of episodes being cut down but I still think this background could have been put in earlier. =/

A great look at mental health, isolation, fear and anxiety. Also, an episode that gives us some background and character work for Yaz?! Praise be! I just wish we'd had this SO MUCH EARLIER! Back in S11 ideally, but as that's not possible, it would have been lovely to have this come after Orphan 55 as Ryan's nightmare has a callback and CYHM carries on the theme of responsibility to loved ones and the Earth. I also wish Tahira had had something to do.

V zrna, Ebfr nyfb fnj gur Rnegu trggvat qrfgeblrq, naq Nzl fnj na nex fuvc pneelvat gur erzanagf bs uhznavgl (obgu va gurve frpbaq rcvfbqrf!) naq gurl jrer noyr gb trg onpx gb nqiraghevat cerggl dhvpxyl gbb. Fb guvf vf pbafvfgrag jvgu gur erfg bs gur fubj.

Gehr ohg jvgu Ebfr gung jnf gur angheny raq bs gur Rnegu. Gung vf jung jvyy nyjnlf unccra, fur whfg tbg gb frr vg. Naq jvgu Nzl, gur rzcunfvf va GOO jnf nobhg urycvat gb svk guvatf. Urer gur pbzcnavbaf qba'g trg gb svk guvatf. Gurl trg gbyq "jryc, guvf zvtug or lbhe shgher vs lbh qba'g chyy lbhe fbpxf hc, zbivat ba" naq gung'f vg.

This episode tackles the climate crisis a lot better than Orphan 55, helped by the specific focus on microplastics. Plus, Chibnall Who finally manages to have two named gay characters who both survive to the end of the episode, which should be easy to do in 2020 but here we are. Jake is also one of the few fully realised secondary characters we've seen in Chibnall Who, helped by the sterling Warren Brown, the George Harrison of Luther (less famous than Elba and Wilson but just as talented), with faults, fears and a very human heart. More of this, please.

Chibnall and McTighe missed a trick with Ryan (who was shown to have a vlog and have an online presence) not knowing Gabriela or her blog. It would have been lovely to see them bond over that, especially since we haven't really seen Ryan connect with any secondary characters apart from Bella and they bonded over sucking thumbs. And the reveal of 'the plastic was all the aliens' fault' and saying one person is responsible for it reduces some of the impact because we know it's not just about 'one person' or 'individual responsibility'. McTighe can't quite let go of the "it's not the system that's the problem" mentality that spoiled Kerblam!. Also the fonts still make me wince.

Still one of the better Whittaker episodes.