How Steven Moffat Redefined The Master | Video Essay
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- Опубліковано 9 тра 2019
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We delve into Steven Moffat's characterisation of Missy across Series 8, 9 and 10.
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All footage used in this video is for educational purposes only.
The ending of her arc upset me so much, not because she died, but because the Doctor will never know that she did the right thing. I BAWLED.
Rea without witness. Without reward.
Actually it's possible she let him feel the blade she would use. She seemed to look down at it to let him know.
The Doctor still wouldn't have agreed with Missy killing her previous incarnation even if it was The Master.
Yeah, the fact that the Doctor didn't see that Missy really did change makes that whole thing just gut wrenching. Although inevitably a new version of the Master will return someday ... and I guess we will have to see how much of this story line they decide to address, because they could easily just go back to the Master being evil again
@@LionFoxProductions but not without hope :)
Best part about Series 10 is that you *never* know whether she’s faking or not till her final episode
@@morgothable Not really. Much like the earlier incarnations of the Doctor in Day of the Doctor, The Two Doctors, The Five Doctors, and The Three Doctors, their time-streams are out of sync, meaning that the Simm Master has no memory of the events of that story.
^
@@OrangeKyle91 Actually, the Simm Master does remember one thing. That he needs to always carry around a spare dematerialisation circuit.
I was honestly never under the impression that Missy was faking, but that she possibly backslid in in World Enough and Time/The Doctor Falls when she meets Simm
Ikr, I was thinking that's cool and all, her playing nice, but this is the master, she'll flip the switch...right? I was NOT prepared for that episode. Season ten was really well structured regarding missy's subplot
Missy: shows that the master is more than just a villain and her relationship with the doctor is complex
Chibnall: uno reverse card
Doctor: is a timelord
Chibnall: uno reverse card
John Simms master regenerates into Sacha Dhawan master who regenerates into Missy, you can’t change my mind
@@darrylcole3671 There is actually an audio story in which Missy regenerates into another Time Lady (the Lumiat) who discards the name of the Master completely. She has a device which allows her to control her regeneration and choose a personality that preserves her newfound good nature. The Lumiat is eventually killed and undergoes an uncontrolled regeneration into "Sacha" and reclaims the identity of the Master after discovering the Timeless Child legend and swearing to destroy Galifrey. Personally I think this was a poor way of handling the character as it really cheapens the development Missy went through.
He's playing 4d chess with Trump, not to mention 6d uno.
@@jacobe1074 agreed
"Hopefully if Missy returns, whoever is running the show will be able to do this seismic development justice."
Chibnall: *changes her face without explanation and makes the Master wacky and evil again*
I do think that I will wait until the end of Season 12 to talk about how the Master is portrayed in the current season.
Robert Smith I mean whoever was going to bring back the Master they were never really going to keep Missy’s arc, or Gomez.
@@samt3412 ... Or even after... Or never !
@@EditedAF987 why not? isn't it just bad writing to ignore three seasons of character development, especially since it was so recent
WhiteWolf99 The showrunners usually disregard their predecessors work. I mean Moffat erased the memory of the entire RTD era from the perspective of the people on Earth and brought back Gallifrey after all of that establishment that RTD did. If a show runner will want to do something they will do it regardless of what they’re predecessors did. That’s why this show has always had a wonky canon
I actually find the name change quite fits Missy's character. She fully embraces being a woman to the point that her outfit choice are heels, corsets and dresses. She even feels the need to correct a Dalek when he calls her a time lord.
I think that's a brilliant contrast to the Thirteenth Doctor, who dresses gender-neutral, doesn't seem to care how she's adressed and doesn't even notice being a woman at first.
For me, it just works as a way to differentiate this specific incarnation from Simm and others. With the Doctor, you can just use a number. Although the obvious text of the name change is that the Master was amused by her gender change and headlong embraced all the the implications of being female in this life ... while the Doctor barely seems to care, notice, or even comment on it that much. Not that we are likely to see Missy interact with 13, but it would be funny to see Missy specifically react to them both being female
I also like the name change because it reflects her character change. Master makes a time Lord who thinks he's better than everyone else whereas missy represents her more morally ambiguous change in character. She could have kept master or mistress but I think it's significant that it's changed
You're so right !! And Chibnall's "work" so desastrous !...
Princess of Fireflies exactly! but remember when people would shit on him before? I still stand with him till this day tho
Agreed.
Damn i never realized that missy did do something good WITHOUT WITNESS, WITHOUT REWARD in the end. Though heart breaking, I loved the moment before, but now... Holy shit, that's genius writing
With the new Master being introduced, I wouldn't be surprised if Missy becomes the Master's equivalent of the War Doctor. Both abandoned their name, and their actions go against what their past and future incarnations stand for.
Noice theory m8
I think your right I also thing when missy and sims die he just regenerates into the new master and missy becomes a mere paradox
and It took 10 and 11 to give the war doctor back his name because 11 dared to do what he and 10 would not; changing a time locked event.
I think Missy is the end of the masters story. She is the final incarnation. Sacha dhawan is after simm and before missy.
Could be. But I think Simm said that he converts into her. I instead think that Sacha Dhawan is before Jacobi. It will fit with how Missy says, that she's know the doctor since he was a little girl
Moffat: *creates a masterpiece Master arch
Chibnall: ..right, so *ANYWAY*
I think that inevitable tbh
I thought the new Master O was good a little psychotic but good
Maxemal Yeah, it was good. But it also goes entirely against what Moffat did. That’s the main problem
@@gooper3644 Not really, we don’t know where Dhawan’s Master fits so he could very well be before Missy. I’ve been headcanoning that she’s the Master’s last incarnation this whole time so her development still stands 🤷🏻♀️
PinkPerfectPeach Yeah I’d like to think so, but I don’t think you should need a headcanon to enjoy it. I wish they addressed it somehow, like maybe have the doctor say “I’d thought you changed”. The doctor may have missed her sacrifice, but he knew she had at least improved
A few points:
1. As far as the 'test' the Doctor gives Missy goes, the deck was pretty much stacked against her. If the Doctor had led the TARDIS team I believe it still would have gone pear-shaped. So I'm not sure it's really fair to say she didn't succeed first time because she never had the chance to.
2. Changing her name from Master is totally fine because Missy is obviously all about performative gender as a character. Look at her outfit; it's all corset and heels and skirt. I'm not sure if the Master was a woman in her next regeneration she would necessarily keep the name Missy. It would depend on that regenerations personality.
3. Michelle Gomez was fucking amazing in the role. What a gift to the show!
I think they chose to call her Missy because unlike ‘Doctor’ ‘Master’ is masculine so they’d have to call her Mistress which doesn’t have very child friendly connotations.
It was also to prevent spoilers.
She flat out says that Missy is short of The Mistress.
Her next regeneration in the audio and comics (never appeared on TV) is a purely selfless good incarnation and was called the lumiat who went around doing what the doctor did to get his attention before getting killed by a early version of missy before series 8 I beliebe
Like wise...
It's a shame they turned The Master into a scream ego case in season 12. I honestly do miss Missy over this piece of work...
That final speech from the Doctor to the two Masters I think is a perfect moment to show why the Doctor is the Doctor. The speech is great, but he's not giving it because he thinks they'll change their minds, he knows it won't, but he's saying it because he has to. He absolutely cannot let them walk away thinking they're better than him, that they're better than helping, that they're the smart ones for walking out. He knows he's going to die and that they're going to leave him to it, but he can't let them think they're winners.
No. If you listen once more, you'll notice he says : "This is not about winning". And I really don't think he's faking or lying !...
philippe bernard He isn’t saying the doctor lied, he’s saying the doctor knew he would fail.
Personally though, I disagree. I think the doctor knew Simm couldn’t be convinced and gave the speech entirely to Missy
Funny thing is, he does change their mind. The master is Missy's past, even if he won't remember hearing the speech until it actually happens he is still going to subconsciouly think about it. The doctor basically gave them 2 lives to accept his offer, and in the end she does, without witness and without reward
I never knew that people didn’t like Moffat, I came into the show in Moffatt era and have always loved his work. Not a fan of chibnall though.
Yh same x
I came in with rtd and still loved most of moffet
Nobody Likes Chibnall, although admittedly the way he had managed to unite both fans Russel T. Davis and Steven Moffat's respective works to agree on something is very impressive, unfortunately for him, that something is how utterly garbage his writing is and how he has effectively ruined Doctor Who with The Timeless Children.
@@edricklawrenceong7776 I'm quite sure that average fans opinion on Moffat skyrocketed after S11 came out, and did even more so after The Timeless Children.
Who has never tasted bitter, doesn't know what sweet is like.
ШКОЛЬНИК-ЛЕПРЕКОН to be fair to Moffat, he’s not a bad writer, this is the same man who wrote, “Silence in the Library”, “The Empty Child”, “Blink”, “The Day of the Doctor”, and “The Girl in the Fireplace”. Steven Moffat is an excellent writer, he’s just a crap showrunner.
Missy was an absolutely brilliant incarnation. I really would’ve loved to see a larger continuation of her arc with Capaldi, however with that said, I do really love how her arc was forcibly ended by Simm before she truly “turned good”. Such a heartbreaking ending to her character when you think about it. Especially considering the eventual next iteration of the Master/Missy will more than likely end up being a totally 1 dimensional villain, as I have no optimism that Chibnall will write a worthy successor.
Big Finish have done a Missy box set, if you're fine with audio stories then it's well worth a listen (along with the War Master stuff, as Jacobi is arguably one of the best incarnations)
On the subject of Chibnall, he's more of a character person than anything, I feel like if he writes a story with a new incarnation of the Master they won't necessarily be a 1 dimensional character, however the story itself could go either way as he has a record of inconsistency with stories, some of his stories are actually quite good while others are simply average or bad.
Missy destroyed the character. WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE! You think its good that Moffat pandered to people like Claudia Boleyn? That he made a character who had been in it since the 70s into a punchline? If you defend Missy you can't be a DW fan. Its as simple as that.
Yikes
@@josephwilson282 Roger Delgado played basically a pantomime villain who you knew would get defeated yet showed up every time for a whole season, Ainley wasn't much better, the Roberts master was a joke, and the Simm master was extremely over the top, to say that Missy ruined the character is ridiculous when she was one of the first TV incarnations to really give anything new to the role that didn't come across as a joke. Also r/gatekeeping, please try to claim I'm not a real fan when I've spent hundreds of pounds on big finish audio stories, seen a majority of the classic series and all of the new series, have used the Big Finish lost stories range to complete the sixth doctors run as the TV show screwed him over etc.
@@ErinTheFennec Yeah a real fan trashes the classic era Masters as being rubbish to beef up one agenda driven incarnation.
Your post is so full of shit I don't know where to begin.
Missy was a joke for the following reason.
1/ She threw out all of the Masters character. Even if you do think Missy was great, LOL, why not make her a new character? Why lard her onto the old one and fuck up his story?
We can never have the Master again thanks to Missy.
The Master in Classic Who had three motivations.
To get revenge on the Doctor, to conquer the universe because he believed under his rule it would be a better place, and to prolong his own life.
He always operated in the following ways. He was manipulative, he would twist people's minds, he would also place himself in a position of power and use that against the Doctor, take advantage of people's prejudices, and tensions, and he would use hypnosis to take people over.
All of these things made him a fascinating character. It was great watching him play on people's weaknesses, turn good people like Trenchard and Gaia into monsters etc.
Now all of that is gone. HIs lust for power clearly doesn't matter anymore, his hatred of the Doctor has been undermined, as Missy was borderline in love with him.
The character has been wrecked both in the past and the future. You can't have the Master in it again, but even in past stories like the Deadly Assassin you can't look at him without laughing. When he goes on about hating the Doctor so much you laugh. Now he looks like a repressed homosexual who can't get over the fact that he wants to shag Tom Baker, or a jilted ex lover.
2/ Missy should anger anyone who is a fan because she only came about because of pandering.
Basically feminists slandered Steven Moffat as a sexist, a racist, a homopghobe, they even accused him of promoting rape in his scripts. So he made the Master into a woman to pander to them.
That is comparable to in the 70s, when the conservative nutjob Mary Whitehouse trashed the show for being too violent and so the Beeb caved and fired Philip Hinchcliff.
The BBC has a history of caving to political fanatics. Sadly however people (not saying you as I don't want to get this personal. I'm pissed at Missy, but obviously this is just a tv show.)
Still people are so spineless when it comes to calling out left wing fanatics. Its easy to call out right wingers like Mary Whitehouse. She was homophobic, she was old, and stupid. Lefties however are often pretty young girls or hipster guys who seem more reasonable and likable on the surface, but they are just as bad.
3/ She was fucking awful all around anyway. I don't get this "se brought more to the role" IN WHAT WAY!
You are telling me Ainley, Roberts and Delgado were too over the top compared to Missy!
LMAO you don't think Missy was not over the top? With her constant changing accents, hammy delivery of lines like "I'VE NOT TURNED GEEEEEEED" "I'M DUCKTA DUCKTA HOOO"
The only way Roberts and Ainley could have been as over the top is if they were both homoerotic Disney characters. Maybe they could have been gay versions of Gus the lovable Chimney Sweep? "BLIMEY DOCTOR I'M A DOUBLE HARD GEEZER AND I WANTS A SHAG! CHIM CHIM CHIMMEROO"
Also in terms of being one note are you serious? Missy kills people because she is BANNANA. She is also by far the least threatening and lame ass villain in the shows history.
In her first story she is beaten by a no thanks. She gives the Doctor a Cyber army with no fail safe in her first story. In her second she does what exactly? Bum around for a bit and shoot people for no reason?
In her third series she has to be rescued by the Doctor. Fucking come down for a villain that the Doctor used to try and kill all the time, but who always escaped and used to gloat to the Doctor about it!
Then her ending where the Master kills himself is completely out of character for the villain who was a total coward and would never sacrifice his life.
All Missy did in 4 years was kill an asthmatic fangirl.
Even then that didn't take as Osgood has become a bigger character since then. Also she only was able to kill Osgoof because she suddenly gained teleportation powers, and the guards and the Doctor for some reason did nothing!
Missy is a joke of a character. She represents the destruction of an iconic, interesting and threatening villain solely to pander to people who ruined the producers reputation.
THAT should anger you if you are a fan. If not well then you are saying that you are happy to let the show be sold out to a pushy political ideology.
*Chibnall:* Who's Missy?
How did you manage to write a whole essay about Missy and didn't even mention how Michelle Gomez is the perfect actress for the character? She did a stellar job portraying the madness but also that classy style.
Missy was such a turning point for Doctor Who and I am forever grateful for Michelle Gomez and Steven Moffatt👏🏻👏🏻
What a lot of cshit. Missy was the worst character in the shows history. What are you grateful for? For them turning a proper villain into a horny Disney character. Moffat should apologise for destroying the Master as a character.
@@josephwilson282 Chill out mate xD
@@josephwilson282 As always, Moffat is great with ideas, but shit in execution. I loved the story lines Missy had, but I *hated* the lines, the acting, the whole feel of it.
@@martinmaguire-music6692 I agree, Moffat's work as a writer was so strong, yet his period as Script Editor has been unwatchably bad. I was thrilled to hear that he was leaving, though would be happy to see him write one-off tales of the Doctor. As for Missy - I remain unconvinced by her as the Master; same with the 90s raver Master - I don't see any relation between them and the Classic Masters.
@@fellowcitizen If by 90s raver master you mean John Simm the how is he not like the classic Masters? Because he's crazier? He still has the same goal of taking over the world, uses disguises, hypnotised people and allied himself with other races. Same MO, same motive, same relationship with the Doctor- same character.
Also, the very subtle backstory of Missy giving Clara The Doctor's number so that one day he'd break the rules to prevent her death. Just to prove that they are two sides of the same coin. Very brilliant when that came together in Hell Bent.
Good point. It always seemed random to me that Missy would give the Doctor Clara's number but she did say that she's been "up and down" the Doctor's timeline, so she must have seen how much Clara meant to the Doctor during that time. Plus, she might have noticed the other Clara's running around. It still pisses me off that the Doctor was completely oblivious to that until his 12th lifetime although John Hurt at least had the excuse of being Time Locked into the Time War so Clara's echoes couldn't reach him.
I loved Missy's few interactions with Clara. It really did a great job showing who the character is in small ways. She would take actions that would both help and hurt Clara, at the same time.
During the Moffat era:
“EWWW THIS GUY’S SO LAME AND SEXIST TAKE HIM AWAY TAKE HIM AWAY”
Fans Post-Moffat:
“How Moffat was actually a genius the entire time.”
We are such a fickle audience aren’t we?
Can't wait for the "Chibnall wasn't that bad" videos five years from now.
That's probably why DW showrunners and actors always stick around for a little while longer. The audience's opinion of them is constantly changing, just look at Moffat and Capaldi.
nah because we were entitled Moffat from the get go was the best and we expected that every episode and series. we didnt appreciate him when he was here and when he left esp with how awful chibby chips is we are all the more realising how good he was
Guy McPerson | I wouldn’t hold my breath.
Honestly, Moffat did have good stuff. But a lot of his later episodes also had a lot of useless fluff in them which could have been cut out. Looks like he was excellent at grand arcs but not so great for episode by episode plots
I think Missy was an absolute stroke of genius by Moffat. He could have just made Master 2, but he waited and gave us the best antagonist I've ever seen on television.
EDIT: I don't think we've seen the last of the Master, or maybe even the last of Missy for that fact. It's expressed a couple of times that in the time between the Master and Missy, they either don't remember what happened or they're being intentionally withholding. It's a safe bet that the Master will either regenerate into someone else and then they regenerate into Missy, or they regenerate straight to Missy and maybe we get some mind wiping shenanigans as we did in Hell Bent.
Missy was NOT the best antagonist dumbass!
Crossing into your own timeline creates a paradox wherein only the oldest incarnation retains memories of the event. This is why the War Doctor and the 10th Doctor didn't retain memories of saving Gallifrey.
That being said, we definitely haven't seen the end of the Master (assuming the show continues). There is even an already existing rational to allow for the Master's return. 12 didn't actually defeat the Cybermen, only stalled them to allow Nardole and the humans to escape. The Cybermen were shown to be capable of taking a recently dead person and restoring them to life. I mean, Bill had a massive hole straight through her chest, and they fixed her and then turned her into a Cyberman.
12 changed the Cyberman definition of humanity to include 2 hearts. Missy died right by the elevators, just like Bill did. Say it with me now.
Cybermaster.
Dear God, and the man who wrote Cyberwoman is now running the show.
@@elliotmay Christ, why did you have to remind me of that. I'd successfully repressed it up until now.
@@DrLipkin I'd be really disappointed if The Master became a cyber-controller or whatever, it'd just be another instance of the Cybermen playing second fiddle to another bad guy. Last time we saw the Cybermen *truly* be the full-focus antagonists was Nightmare in Silver, and god I really hope we don't get to see those walking, talking, assimilating Mary Sues ever again (World Enough and Time/The Doctor Falls don't count IMO because the stage is being shared by the Master.)
I would love it if Missy was the last incarnation of the character, chronologically speaking. I would much prefer it if Missy's bad-to-good arc is preserved and future versions of the Master are previous incarnations we haven't seen before. Missy's death will lose its power if the next Master is evil again.
I think a good way to go if the Master turns up again would to have them fully commit to pursing power and going back to their old ways BECAUSE of Missy's death. That they took it as a sign that they can't change, and aren't meant to. You'd have to dedicate a whole episode to that but I feel it could work.
@@Ben-vf5gk Yeah, that would work if you really focused on the tragedy of the situation - how the Master was *almost* a good person but fell at the last hurdle.
Another option would be if they dedicated an episode to the Master pursuing a false, twisted version of goodness. In the same way that the Cybermen think they're doing good by converting people into Cybermen - that sort of evil which thinks it's good so is all the more appalling.
What we can't do, but which probably will happen, is immediately revert to an Anthony Ainley/John Simm style Master as if Missy's character development never took place. I really hope this isn't the case though.
@@theoodthebadandtheugly3577 While I do love Simm and Ainsley in Survival I agree. I would also like to see the hypnosis element brought back. I had this idea of the Master starting a cult. What do you think?
@Colin Forever That's kinda what gave me the idea but a much darker take. Think Jonestown.
@@theoodthebadandtheugly3577 Before Ainley died, I believe it was the intention that Ainley's Master would die in Pertwee's fanale becoming good, so this fits rather nicely with the original intention of the writers. However, it would be interesting if the Master was salvaged and took over the cybermen in my opinion, especially if he/she was the one who ousted Simm's Master through timey-wimey stuff.
Season 9 and 10 are honestly some of the best Doctor Who we got in a while.
Loving all this appreciation for the twelfth doctor era here. Definitely the best run of the modern series
It was a mix of amazing and cringeworthy. Heaven Sent - probably the best Dr Who ep ever. Hell Bent - meh...
Blue’s Truths Podcast Not many people would agree but it is my favourite run of the modern series and had some good stories like Heaven Sent, World Enough and Time/The Doctor Falls and Mummy on the Orient Express. Also Peter Capaldi’s Doctor is my favourite being one of the best actors to be the doctor , he is like an amalgamation of the classic doctors like John Pertwee, Tom Baker and Sylvester McCoy and Peter Davison. Also his run felt the most doctor who in the modern series, it had the most nostalgia and callbacks of the modern series which is lacking a lot, especially in Jodie Whitaker’s era which pretends anything before Jodie Whitaker never happened except for silly references to her meeting dead famous people who we could easily imagine her being in her being the 13 incarnation when she did that even though she must have been a younger incarnation at the time. Like when she gave Graham sunglasses she said she got them from Pythagoras, like Pythagoras would have modern plastic sunglasses, and she had them in her pockets before she got her tardis back, she got a new coat and she said that her pockets were empty when she fell from a train. The only explanation would be that Peter Capaldi has woman’s modern sunglasses from Pythagoras since World Enough and Time or Jodie Whitaker is an obsessive lier. It would have made sense if she gave Graham her sonic sunglasses as the doctor did carry those but as we know Chris Chibnall hates anything that ever came before his run.
I’m stunned by this lol it’s definitely not
@@SymphonicWords Do you hate Peter Capaldi.
TechRefreshed1000 No, I love him especially from The Thick of It but I found him sadly to be one of the most underserved by the writing along with Matt Smith. Just not a good time under Moffat.
Why did Steven Moffat have to make my:
Top 2 Doctors (1Matt 2Peter)
Favourite Master (Missy)
One of my favourite monsters (Weeping angels)
Favourite TARDIS exterior
Favourite Interior (12's TARDIS)
Favourite Screwdriver (12's)
Favourite companions (Amy and Rory)
My kind of writing that's not big for a lot of people.
BTW I started watching Doctor Who with David as the doctor.
I feel the same!
CRAG 11’s interior
YOU SKIPPED MY BOY. YOU SKIPPED 9!
Can't believe you skipped 9. Not cool, my dude. He's only on for 1 series as well, not exactly the longest or most attention requiring amount of time. Your loss, I suppose.
Someone who gets me
Moffat has done the thing, which was originally planned for Roger Delgado´s Master. He was supposed to appear one final time and the story ends with the Master sacrificing himself for the Doctor in some sort of explosion. Sadly because of Roger Delgado´s death, that could not happen anymore. To give the charakter closure, Moffat has done exactly that, which I think is cool. Don´t if he knew about that prior to writing the finale, but still.
I'll never understand the hate so many people have for Moffat
Yes I loved a lot of Moffat’s work on Doctor Who (he has nothing on RTD obviously but still good) and it is practically art compared to Chibnall.
@@theanarchistocelot1620 the episodes RTD gets the biggest prais for mostly is what boggles me, because those are mostly written and directed by Moffat.
I love loads of Moffitts work however towards the end of his tenure I think his stories started to slip a bit
Because his highs are quite high, but his lows are pretty deep and he fell too often.
Because Sherlock shat the bed and there’s a lot of crossover fans.
Missy is flat out, one of my favorite fictional characters ever!
I just love how they modeled missy as an evil mary poppins, I was blown away during the scene where she floats down to earth with her umbrella.
At the end of "The Doctor Falls", Missy symbolically and literally kills her old self when she kills the Master. His death by her hand cements her transition from the two dimensional, revenge focused Master to the kinder, gentler Missy. Ok, we're not convinced that Missy is kinder and gentler, but she is at least on her way.
That being said, I feel that Simm's portrayal of the Master was, well, a masterstroke. Simm is a brilliant actor. In "The End of Time" we can see a glimmer of Missy in the exchange between the Doctor and the Master when he actually allows himself a moment to imagine what his life could be like if he and the Doctor could travel the universe together as friends. His face shows a longing, however briefly, for a universe with them together, and both even wonder what their lives would have been like if they didn't each have the other. They recognize, in that moment, that each has in some way shaped the other. I don't have a problem with Simm's Master being more similar to Tennant's Doctor because that beginning of their arc shows how they are and aren't counterpoints to each other. Simm's Master is a two-dimensional villain but a three-dimensional person (so to speak) and that is ridiculously difficult to play.
Missy is to Master what Valeyard is to Doctor.
Exactly! That's such a good way to put it.
More Valeyard to come, in fact, in Time War audio CDs...
@@Ben-vf5gk So good I didn't understand a single thing !
Hot fuckin take right there
With the exception of Jon Simm's second arc Usually the master is calculated then crazy but Gomez's character started from crazy to calculated which felt rather fresh.
Bill gets shot.
My first reaction:
"Thats a bit of a big hole for a simple laser pistol".
Missy and all the building that went into her character was so amazing and it worked really well. It's such a shame to see them throw all of that away for another generic murderous "antagonist" Master.
We need to call her Missy tho or else the song wouldn’t work.
“Hey master you so fine...”
It just doesn’t have the same touch.
I'd happily ditch the song
@@FullFatVideos No don't do that the song was such a nice touch.
I think you've hit on the REAL reason. All that plotting and character development stuff was just so they could work in that song. :)
@@daverhoden445 It turns out Michelle Gomez was actually just singing it between takes and didn't realise it would actually make the final cut...
(But yes - I would love if that were the real reason 😂)
@@Laura-hw3cu I can totally imagine that happening xD
i miss moffatt now
LOL !!!
I miss him. I really miss him. Not because of Chibnall or anything, I just miss the way he portrayed the Doctor and the arc and basis to the Doctor's motivations and flaws. And especially Missy, giving the Master a fitting end to a multiple series long arc.
Capaldis face when he realized who she was killed me😂😂😂😂
It's honestly a little heartwarming that he has a little smile on his face when he realizes who she is. Granted, the horror sets in pretty quickly after that, but the fact that that was his first reaction says a lot.
Glad they called her Missy! Just for “Hey Missy you so fine you so fine you blow my mind, HEY MISSY! :P
I so agree, Moffat can write complex characters and with actors as good as Capaldi and Gomez we got to enjoy wonderful performances.
From this video I realized something has changed about the Doctor's motivation.
Without witness, without reward.
This is meant to be the Doctor's unspoken motivation for his actions.
( Spoken, of course, only when desperately attempting to persuade Missy and or the Master )
It's the Doctor's motivation for his actions from when Susan left until 13.
(Perhaps during Susan's tenure also, with his unpredictability could be explained by his need to protect his granddaughter over all else)
Yes we hear variations of this creed but it is spoken by others (River and companions) to explain the Doctor to others.
13 comes along and instead of just doing Doctor stuff, she continually needs to state that her job is to help people to justify actions taken.
In the past we were told (companions, Jackson Lake) the Doctor has helped us soooo many times yet we have never thanked him.
The new writers have given us a Doctor that needs to explain her motivation constantly, not one that just acts, no verbal reason given. (Yet the audience knew)
"Hopefully if Missy returns, whoever is running the show will be able to do this seismic development justice." ouch.
Having Missy was an absolute masterpiece and she was a fantastic foil for Capaldis Doctor
Then along comes Chibnall and along comes a brand new Master with all of that development out the window
Sacha's acting is good for the New Master but like a little bit of explanation about what happened would have been appreciated
Missy is the best master since Delgado (who was and still is the definitive master)
I'd argue that Jacobi makes a better Master than Gomez but I have to agree that Delgado is the incarnation that everyone else needs to live up to.
@@voteDC yeah but he only plays the master for a very short time (I haven't heard his big finish yet) he plays the proffesser in most of his one appearance
@@lazy1119 There was more menace in his one line of "I.AM.THE.MASTER!" than in the entirety of Simm and Gomez' time as the character.
Why they felt the need to make the Master a comedy character is something I will never understand.
If you get the chance check out the Big Finish stuff with Jacobi, it really does put the other modern Masters to shame.
but the master is male.
I'm happy to see that there are at least some people in England who recognize Steven Moffat's talent (or even genius, sometimes), coz I'm seeing so much haters !!... I fully agree with you to see this female version of the Master as (one of) the most unforgetable of all, and the end of that ultimate arc is a pure beauty, a shakesperian tragedy !...
Sometimes, Moffat mades some mistakes or had some weakest moments, as anyone does (even the Doctor !); but in the end he stays for me as probably the best writer the show ever had; the most creative and original. And even as a showrunner, his creation of two Doctor(s) so differents one from the other, but both so exiting ! Without forgetting Missy, the first female Master You just have to see how awful this show has turned since christmas 2017, and the Chibnall/Whittaker's catastrophic "reboot"; coz it really was a reboot, and not a continuation, as did Moffat in 2010 when he replaced RTD !...
Missy was amazing. Although while Simm may have been too camp during the 10th Doctor era, the end of Series 10 was easily his best showing. I don't really get the complaint about the name "Missy" it is just an easy way to differentiate Gomez from Simm because unlike the 13th Doctor, you can't differentiate them with a number. I don't really feel like she needed to appear any more in Series 9 than she already did. In fact, going a really long time without seeing her made it more powerful when she shows up in the Monk Trilogy. If the Master ever appears during Whittaker's run, it'll be very interesting to see if they chose to just forget this character arc, or will he/she remain a more ambiguous character
Keep it up guys. Quality essay
That was maybe Capaldi's second best monologue as the Doctor. His best one was the one about war where he tells them to "sit down and talk." That'll give you chills every time
That "Sit down and talk" speech was the one that finally made me buy Peter Capaldi as the Doctor. He was a VERY slow burn for me. John Hurt convinced me that he was the Doctor in a single episode while Capaldi took the larger part of 2 seasons.
current Master is the only thing i somewhat enjoy about the new season but i still hope that he'll turn out to be a pre-Missy incarnation. otherwise Chibnall ruined her arc completely just to save his dull, boring episodes
He won't be. It wouldn't make any sense
E it kinda does. Either he turned evil again because being good got him killed or he snapped after he learned this mysterious secret about the timelords, I definitely can’t imagine any of the other pre Missy Masters doing something like that
@@EditedAF987 i feel like i do after the last weeks episode. he might be ruth-doctors' master and not our master, if that makes sense? they don't have to be some parallel universe doctor/master, but they both must be a part of the timeless child arc. maybe they are the product of timelords' experiments? doppelgangers? that way masters identity crisis would make sense
I miss Steven Moffat. He'd do Jodie's doctor justice.
Jodies nurse was dead on arrival.
Michelle is tied with Roger Delgado in my opinion. She's amazing in the role, though it took me a bit to feel that way.
I started watching DW when "Terror of the Autons" first aired, so grew up with Delgado's Master. He's still No 1 in my affections, but Michelle Gomez is comfortably in second place.
She’s got nothing on Delgado dumbass
Michael McGrath Was the insult really necessary?
@@Geek3824 Yes. People who think Missy is even comparable to the original Master ought to be fucking sterilized.
Hank J. Wimbleton Imagine being this worked up over a fictional character....
Michelle Gomez FTW!!! She absolutely owned the role - and I'm still holding out hope that some day a show creator will crawl over broken glass and beg her to return.
Just erase Chibnall's era first. They managed to drag John Barrowman back for that train wreck.
@@tomnorton4277 Hell yes... or at least create something coherent out of it... the idea of past lives he/she doesn't remember was pretty good but really needed better direction - something like Davies, Moffat & Gaiman working together could have made gold but what we got was a mess which gave the companions more presence in the show than the Doctor.
Firstly fantastic essay on this, Missy has been such a huge development for the character and with the O reveal in Spyfall i'm very much worried that it's a post Missy incarnation which would just ruin everything Moff achieved here.
I do like the name Missy however, while there would be nothing wrong with her continuing to refer to herself as the Master, I feel it makes a nice distinction over what she used to be and what she is by the end of her arc.
Triggerpigking The actor who plays the new master said he’s directly after Missy regeneration wise. And Chris confirmed it as well in the official Doctor Who Magazine that was released after the opening episode of this last season. The new master still has a lot of Missy’s mannerisms when he reveals himself if people paid attention. All the Doctors/Masters still have part of their previous selves in the beginning after their regeneration until they find their footing in their new bodies and their regeneration has fully settled. 10 still showed parts of 9 in his first official episode when he finally woke up, 11 showed signs of 10 in his first episode same with 12 etc... even in the classic Who episodes of the new Doctor showed signs of their previous self to begin with the same with the Master/Missy even the War Doctor was showing signs of 9 even though they saved everyone in TDOTD because he forgets what they’d just done, which matched up perfectly with 9’s behaviour during his season because of him thinking what he’d done to two race’s wiping them out he was very bitter, angry and sad just like the War Doctor was until they saved the planet and took his name back in the end.
We can never choose a favorite Doctor . . . but we can almost always agree that Missy is the best Master.
Of course Doctor is a gender-neutral term, while Master really is not, so Doccy makes no sense while the Master not going by Master does.
But in terms of what it represents it makes more sense for the being known as "The Master" to continue to call themselves the master.
The word "Doctress/Doctoress" was used for a female doctor up until the early 20th century, after which it became largely obsolete.
@@FullFatVideos
They probably should have gone with Mistress after the whole "who is this crazy Mary Poppins cosplayer" mystery was resolved at the end of series 8.
the master is male is why, not female.
@@pastorbri And then he turned female.
Missy is maybe my favourite Master
Michael McGrath Someone’s opinion differs from mine? R E T A R D
@@MichaelM28 falsehood. He may be your favorite, just like Simm is mine, but I would argue they aren't the best, because the title "best" subjective.
a fake master maybe
pastor brian oh bugger off
Brilliant! I love Missy and you summarised her perfectly here
"the master kills themself despite the fact they want to live forever"
until season fucking 12
I never thought about the titles of the "The Magician's Apprentice" and "The Witch's Familiar" but thinking about them now they're actually really good titles. Both titles are about Clara, and how the two time lords see her. I mean how many other companions has the Doctor actually taught how to fly a TaRDiS, at least in the modern series. Rose didn't fly it she became it, Martha was only his companion for a very short time, Donna wasn't the type to learn it though she probably could by her end, Amy and Rory could have been but I doubt it.
Anyways, the two parter despite the main plot being, basically the Doctor's answer to 'would you kill baby Hitler', the episodes subtext is all about what he thinks of Clara, and what Missy thinks as well. At the start when Clara sees the confession dial she thinks that she's the Doctor's best friend and it's for her, Missy then tells Clara that she is just a pet to her and the Doctor. This is challenged by the doctor when he basically takes over Skarro in ten minutes, just to make sure Clara is safe, then reinforced shortly afterwards by Missy's repeated treatment of Clara as a tool. And it all culminates as the Doctor is able to identify Clara in the Dalek casing despite Missy's constant deflections.
TLDR: The titles of that two parter relate directly to the sub-plot of the episodes.
Hot Take: Missy is the best version of the Master.
That is a hot take 👀
Yup!
No she isn’t dumbass
Michael McGrath
Alright mate, no need to throw your toys out of the pram when someone else has a differing opinion.
@@J_Tevo He's right though. The idea of Missy, who is completely contrary to everything the Master is meant to be, being a better take on the character than Roger Delgado's Master is frankly a slap in the face to Delgado's legacy as an actor. I have nothing against Michelle Gomez herself, she just did the best she could with the material she was given, but the material she was given was *garbage* and you're an idiot for lapping it up.
this was the best analysis. i love anything to do with missy, so i had to watch, and i was not disappointed.
Missy absolutely made the show for me. Gorgeous, funny, witty, conflicted, she was the shining light next to Capaldi.
That final statement aged like an avocado
I loved Missy. I miss her and 12 so much.
Missy is the grand farewell Moffat gave us. Proving one last time that he knows how to run a show brilliantly
I'm only 4 mins in so far, but honestly, so far everything you have said really just reinforces what I was going to say when I got to the end anyways.
I do not feel that Moffat redefined the Master at all. In fact, everything he did with the character was actually very much within the characters roots in the first place. What he did just reinforces that he was a fan of the series that really went over the canon with a fine tooth comb, before he came up with nice big plot twists full of shock.
He didn't establish the fact that The Master and The Doctor were old friends and that their encounters were basically a game of chess between them. He simply took those threads and information seeds planted in the classic series and fleshed them out in a way that was completely true to BOTH characters over-arching personality.
A lot of people forget that fact about the Timelords. Each incarnation has their own, individual personality and quirks... but there is always a very strong, very subtle background personality... the part of them that is... them. The true personality. (Whittaker has not even remotely been able to capture the Doctors true personality). Missy very much fit within that true personality of The Master... it was clear she was The Master within 5 seconds of the reveal, especially in consideration of what we had seen of her up until said reveal. Michelle Gomez was fantastic in the role.
Whilst I certainly have things I didn't like about aspects of Moffat's run, it was always obvious how much love and respect he had for the show. He forged the show in ways that absolutely redefined it. Made it truly accessible to all. Was always a very public and long time fan... and I genuinely think he knew where the show was headed with the next in line as showrunner, considering all the effort and work he put into Matt Smith's entire arch... the story of a man finally at deaths door and who knows it. His final season and episode, us seeing that final breath about to be taken.
He truly took to the classic series with an electron microscope and a fine toothed comb before he did anything, his respect for the canon and where that could LEAD the show in a more modern direction was absolutely inspiring. But for all that and for all his wonderful work with the character, he really didn't redefine anything... and that is not a bad thing, nor a criticism. He took what was laid down long before and found the way to really make that shine. That is a fantastic thing!
The only reference to the classic series that I think Moffat messed up was the Great Intelligence. I liked Richard E Grant's portrayal but the Intelligence sees revenge as so petty and insignificant in comparison to knowledge that only lesser beings obsess over it. There's no way it would have thrown itself into the Doctor's time stream.
And then the Chibnall era threw all of this development out the window
Wibbly-Wobbly. Timey-whimey.
Maybe not. Sacha could be from before Missy. We never see Simm regenerate.
@@LordHeadcheez that's what I think aswell
It’s kinda sad that all of this nuance and character development kinda just get thrown out with the new Master. He just kinda gets reduced back down to a basic “super smart mastermind who can overpower the doctor”, with a hint of crazy most likely inspired by John Simms’ version of the master. The actor that plays him plays him well and did his best with what he was given, but overall it just doesn’t live up to the sheer beauty of Missy’s development and reverts back to a one-note cameo.
This is a truly excellent analysis - completely agree with your conclusion on the timeless child as well. Subscribed!
Another quality essay as always guys. Can’t wait for more!
Sci-fi Sherlock Holmes and James Moriarty
Yeah I get John Simm isn’t the most complex but he doesn’t have to be. Simm’s Master aims to dominate and he resents the doctor because of his need to help people and stands in his way. Missy is more complicated because of the situation she’s been put in. She feels like when you have a massive fight with a friend and you fight for so long you forget what it’s all been about and just want to be friends again. Simm represents the bitterness of the wound the master feels, The part of them that would rather die Then let it go and in the end they both get what they want. Simms master kills Missy to stop her from aiding the doctor, Missy kills the old part of her that was holding her back from embracing change and Missy does change. she is now free of the hatred of the old master and is regenerating into a world where he no longer exists as a part of her character.
I hink the name Missy worked, the change shows how different she is from the Doctor, a Time Lord's chosen name is a promise, and Missy's willingness to change it at the drop of a hat shows how different she is, how little she cares for things like promises
Missy was proof that a female Doctor could have been phenomenal. Chibnal, Whittaker and the BBC completely fucked up an incredible opportunity.
Going to be honest, for a long time Missy was my least favourite Master. I believe It's because of certain quirks Moffat gaves the character that just felt like directly winking at the camera, which I'll admit do annoy me a fair bit. But I can't deny that she's probably gone through the best arc of any Master. I just feel It's a shame that she was sometimes overshadowed by those annoying moments, that don't make her as enjoyable to watch as a Delgado or Ainley.
You must be at least 90 years old, maybe 100 ?!... I'm sixty and when I see most of those actors of the 50's/60's, I just feel like laughing during the "dramatic scenes"... So, you must be about 90, no ? 89 ?...
This is why I have a major problem with the idea of Dhawan’s Master being post-Missy and genuinely hope he’s a pre-Missy incarnation. If the Master were to become that sadistic and malicious even after everything Missy went through as a character, then it would represent a major backslide in the character’s development without any solid justification. REALLY hoping we get some sort of confirmation soon from the TV series (and not some random short story or comic in DWM) that Dhawan is in fact pre-Missy
That final scene with Missy was fucking phenomenal. Chills every time I see it.
13:07 is when it's fun to watch as a Hungarian person, since the titular translation of "Doctor" is "Doki". Aaaaand that's why everyone refers to the series in English. :)
While the doctor starts to define himself in his new form and starts to feel comfortable oh who and how he is, Missy starts to become more gray and to change, perfect opposition
Full Fat Videos i love your doctor who Videos, could you do another companion video like with you did with Clara? Maybe with rory or rose or bill
The makings of a deep, more complex character for The Master has existed since Jon Pertwee and Roger Delgado’s friendship bled through the screen and allowed the writers to suggest that they had been childhood friends. Since then there have been times when the two of them share a “moment” that implies their connection. Moffatt used those moments and crafted a tragic and oddly beautiful friendship between Missy and The Doctor. The Doctor speaks fondly about their past. And how he’s disappointed the two of them couldn’t truly be friends. That’s why The Doctor seems his companionship with countless others. Though there have been countless companions coming and going, the one that always remained was The Master. In actuality his only TRUE friend. She sees the light AND the dark in him. It’s not surprising he left his last will and testament to him/her. I think we finally got the payoff that started all those years ago. Great video essay!
I only just now remembered how the titles ‘The Magician’s Apprentice’ and ‘The Witch’s Familiar’ are referring to Clara’s role with the duo of The Doctor and Missy respectively. Clara is The Doctor’s apprentice, trying to become like him, and becomes like Missy’s pet in the story.
I really love these doctor who videos
Then chibnall went and ruined it in series 12
I think the change in the master/Missy did begin with the master attacking Rassilon in end of time but Simms master’s hubris and self-indulgent hatred blinds him so he needed to regenerate to see that the Doctor is the only mission left in any capacity, to either bring him down her level or try to rise to his, but her past deeds literally blasts her in back how bitter sweet
I appreciate the value of this episode a lot more now
Where on earth did the idea that Steven Moffat is a bad writer come from? Like I've heard this and I actually think people have gone insane, yes there is a variance of quality in his episodes but if you wrote a list of the ten best episodes since the revamp he will have written eight of them.
He redefined the whole show from the 'Monster of the week' cliche to a much richer world, developed characters like Amy and Clara, the doctors he wrote for are deep and satisfying as well as completely contrasting and as stated villians like the Master and Davros who previously did evil things 'just cos' are suddenly these complex and fascinating studies.
Incidentally I completely agree that Simm's master while performed well was one dimensional, not well thought through motivation wise and utilised mainly for comic effect and lacking in any deeper feeling whereas Michelle Gomez just absolutely smashed it both in performance and in characterisation. Her attempts to bring the doctor down by giving him a moral dilemma in Series 8 and trying to make him shoot Clara in Series 9 were dark and brilliantly uncomfortable.
Moffat was a Really Great Writer!!!
Missy was a great example on how doctor who fans don't get mad at a gender swap as long as it's done well.. And as long as her main gimic isn't "I have a vagina".. Missy was the master.. She didn't copy any of the previous ones she did her own thing and still came off as the master.. When the reveal came it wasn't even that surprising..it just made sense
I'm not very far into the Jodie arc, but so far she's fine. She's kinda like 10. I don't feel like she's bad at all. Feels pretty natural to me. Just finished the episode with the race on the deadly planet where she finds the Tardis again.
You aren’t wrong, but there is a pretty big difference between gender swapping a secondary, arguable tertiary character and the main character of the show. Not entirely comparable
Missy is basically a Female Version of Loki...In Everything...Single...Way!!! And I love it!!!
Excellent job putting that together … Aloha from Maui ~
Moffat did some stupid stuff but Missy was fucking brilliant.
EDIT: when I say moffat I mean capaldis series. I wasn't a fan of the direction he went with capaldi. Capaldi is a great actor but damn his doctor had issues, not capaldis fault tho. I loved Matt Smith's doctor as he was my first doctor.
While the Masters final scene in last of the time lords was mainly about revenge, it still showed the Master embracing synergy with the Doctor by them both telling the other one to step aside to deal with a treat. If the Master wanted, he could totally have had Rassilon kill the Doctor and then kill Rassilon afterwards, but he decided to step in and therefore did save the Doctor. This is not a full redemption for sure, but it's completely unfitting to the Masters behaviour in Moffats finale where he acts like he did in The Sound of the Drums.
This is the single best thing above series 10 and definitely puts it above 9, 11 and 12.
Fantastic character study.
Hey Sam.
Chibnil did not infact bring the next master justice lol
I really hope Sasha Dawan’s (I hope I spelled that right) Master is an incarnation before Missy because if he isn’t, it means Chibs erased an era’s worth of character development :/
It wouldnt be the first time.
3:05 the Dalek Emperor is a good example here, “hail the doctor - THE GREAT EXTERMINATOR!”
Seriously he needs to appear again, I don’t lie reviving dead villains but the Emperor aka Dalek Prime has survived death like 4 times. Just say he emergency temporal shifted out (good cut back to Dalek lore of RTD1.) and I want to him personally exterminate people those weapons on his Parting of Ways suit and probably hidden blasters could be cool to be used like he probably did in the time war.
Simm’s Master really is much better in his crossover with Missy and the Doctor. He’s calmer, methodical but still has the same sense of self than the more crazed version experienced by the 10th doctor
I actually loved both masters :D
And this Doctor rocks!
I wonder how the new doctor is! I’m pretty sure she’s amazing too
Amazing for some, terrible for others. It seems like Season 11 isn't going well. People complain mostly about Chibnail's writing than about Jodie's performance, but still some people can't stand her. I haven't watched 13th series yet, so no idea, if she's good or not.
Missy was renamed to missy cause it was used as a suspense builder through her arch especially in the episode where you find out
Missy is definitely one of my favorite characters in Doctor Who because of her gray motives and her growth throughout the series
I agree with this video so much, particularly with your take on Simms' Master. I also had other issues with that take on the Master, mostly with the story writing. The story felt wrong for the Master and didn't really give Simms a chance to shine. For me it was really in Simms' last appearance, where he came back and was against Capaldi and with a really good Master story that he truly shone and finally was the Master for me.