Doctor Who: Extremis

As most Doctor Who fans know, we’re rapidly approaching the end of Steven Moffat’s era. There’s no question his showrunning tenure has been a divisive one, but at least here in the States, it was on his watch that the show attained such immense popularity. He has scripted more stories and filled more minutes than any other writer in the show’s history. (Due to the classic series’ serialized format, though, he hasn’t written the most episodes.) You’d think he’d have run out of ideas by now, but as “Extremis” proves, that’s hardly the case. If the previous five episodes nestled you into a comfort zone of sorts, “Extremis” aims to knock you flat on your back. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Moffat’s greatest strength is his unpredictability.

First, let’s talk vault, which is perhaps the only predictable aspect of “Extremis.” Presumably, Missy (Michelle Gomez) is inside. I say presumably only because we never see the Doctor open it and view Missy on the inside, despite the chronicling of the events that led up to her imprisonment and a blind Doctor in the present whispering to Missy from outside the vault. However, this wraparound tale tells of events “a long time ago” (in the show’s timeline, seemingly some time after the events of “The Husbands of River Song”), in which Missy has been condemned to execution by an unnamed race who developed the technology to destroy a Time Lord for good. But why Missy? Why now? What has she done? These questions go unanswered, so while we’re given the answer to who’s in the vault, that answer gives way to a whole new batch of questions.

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Graphic courtesy Design by Stuart Manning.