Written by Chris Chibnall
Directed by Jamie Magnus Stone
The Master: "Doctor, I did say look for the spymaster or should I say, Spy Master? Hi!"
It's been over a year since the Daleks (well, one of them) made their return in the nice but could've been better special, Resolution and realising that audiences are craving more than that, Chris Chibnall only went and brought back the best enemy the Doctor has ever had for the opening episode of Jodie Whittaker's second series as the 13th Doctor.
In the past we've had the likes of Derek Jacobi, John Simm and Michelle Gomez all redefine and modernise the role of the Master and now it's Sacha Dhawan's turn to give us his own take on the classic role and so far, he's off to a great start. I'll be blunt: everything that works in this episode is solely down to him if we're being honest here.
Spending most of the time as a 'friend' of the Doctor's and former MI6 agent named O, the Master played the waiting game as he sized up the new Doctor and her friends (while also planting some seeds of doubt with the Fam) before the grand reveal at the end of the episode. In terms of reveals, the show has done this excellently three times over, so a fourth go managing to be as great is an achievement in itself.
At this rate, I don't know why the Doctor expresses shock when the Master reveals themselves as the character never, ever stays dead and going by this logic (also until Chibnall confirms otherwise). I'm convinced that Dhawan's Master is straight after Gomez's and that upon regenerating from Missy, the Master abandoned the idea of redemption. That's a good thing as far as I'm concerned as the Master works far better as a villain.
In this episode alone we saw the Master working with tech guru Daniel Barton (Lenny Henry), who owns a company named VOR and some mysterious creatures shrouded in light. The Master also had no problem revealing how he came about taking over the original O's life before sending the Doctor to a creepy looking forest (which Yaz also went to for at least one scene earlier in the episode) and leaving the companions to die on a plane for good measure.
Bringing the Master back is something I was hoping that Chibnall would do. I'm still a little surprised he decided to do it right now but having an actor like Sacha Dhawan in the role will hopefully force Jodie Whittaker to up her game as this episode really did highlight a weakness when it comes to her Doctor.
For me, one of the things that has held Whittaker back as the Doctor hasn't just been Chibnall's writing and the appalling lack of stakes, it's been the companions. They simply don't work. Graham works a little but not that much and despite this episode trying to do more with Ryan and Yasmin, there's no getting away from the fact that they're just dull companions. For all of our sake, I really do hope this series will spell the end of the "Fam" once and for all. Maybe the Master can kill them all off, right?
As for the rest of the episode, it ventured into James Bond spoof territory. Some of it was a bit funny, most of it was really wasn't but it did add a bit of flair and character to the episode. Still though, the most talked about event was of course the Master's return and it's not hard to see why to be honest.
- Sacha Dhawan previously played Waris Hussein in An Adventure In Space And Time and has done some work for Big Finish.
- We got to see this Master's TARDIS (disguised as a house) and TCE made a return of sorts, considering how the original O was dealt with. I also liked the tribute to Terrance Dicks as well here.
- Does Ryan actually fancy Yaz's sister or was he asking for her number just to wind her up? I wouldn't be surprised if Ryan and Yaz are paired off towards the end of the series.
- Stephen Fry was wasted as MI6 agent, C but at least we got some references to both UNIT and Torchwood and the show referencing the Doctor being a man in the past.
- The ratings for this episode are so far, 4.88 million, which is somewhat lower than a lot of last series but everything was down last night.
- Chronology: A year since the events of The Woman Who Fell To Earth. This episode had fun going all international with trips to Moscow, London, San Francisco and Australia to name but a few places.
Spyfall, Part 1 was certainly a Masterful return for one particular baddie and while the main plot itself did jumble a bit, this episode does prove that when Chibnall actually puts the effort in, he can deliver a rather compelling version of the series. I hope this is a good indicator as what the rest of the series will be as we finally have an arc in (everything the Doctor knows is a lie) and her best enemy is finally back in the mix.
Rating: 9 out of 10
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