Doctor Who Review: Spyfall: Part Two (Season 12 Episode 2)

Take a second. Take a breath, and then let’s process what we just saw on Doctor Who Season 12 Episode 2, “Spyfall: Part Two.” 

“Spyfall: Part Two” matches the opener in terms of action and chase, and expands on it with some time espionage. It’s a thoroughly enjoyable episode, yet despite all the thrilling adventures, some parts of the episode just don’t hold up on close analysis.

Doctor Who Season 12 Episode 1, “Spyfall: Part One,” ended on a note that made it hard to predict where it was going. There’s a plane going down, the Doctor was in another realm, and the Master was in the wind. That’s a lot to resolve really quickly and the series handles each component. 

After the Doctor saved her friends from the crashing plane, I had a feeling that she’d traveled back in time. It wouldn’t be the first time the Doctor went back to leave a companion a message during a hopeless situation. (See: the first ten minutes of Doctor Who Season 5 Episode 13, “The Big Bang.”)

The poetics of picking Ada Lovelace and Noor Inayat Khan when the entire plot hinges on domination through ubiquitous computing devices is a smart move and actually really interesting. They were both pioneers of their time and led really interesting lives.

INVENTOR: That is not designed for use by a young lady.
ADA: Nothing is, and yet I find myself more than capable.

To be honest, the Doctor’s interactions with them reminded me of Timeless. 

However, their stories ultimately get lost in the soup of “Spyfall: Part Two.” The Doctor needed allies while she was marooned and couldn’t afford to take “the long road home” unless showrunner Chris Chibnall decided to go Doctor-light the second episode in.

Obviously, while the Doctor needs their help she obviously can’t say much about what she’s actually fighting without mucking up the history of computer programming. Retconning their memories was a wise move, but I would be lying if I didn’t hope their paths would cross again in the relative future.  

What the time espionage plot does do well is put the Doctor and the Master against each other. The cat and mouse game that they play through time is intriguing, and the first time we’ve seen the Master use his Tardis in modern Doctor Who.

Dhawan’s performance is fantastic and he has spectacular chemistry with Jodie Whittaker. The tissue compression weapon is a classic Doctor Who reference and his attempt to hold the room hostage in 1834 is thoroughly terrifying.  

I’ve been dying for some answers regarding where he falls in the timeline. There’s enough from classic who to make audiences think that he could fall between two of the classic masters, but we’ve yet to get a clear read on exactly where he lands. 

I’ve been trying to peg what it is about Dhawan’s performance that makes me question where he falls in the timeline. His performance trends towards homicidal maniac, but whereas John Simm’s master was strategic and Michelle Gomez’s master approached annihilation with a hint of fun, Dhawan’s seems out for blood.

There is something sinister lying underneath his speeches and movements and while it’s evocative of the archetype of the Master, but there’s almost something extra to it. 

If the pattern holds, I do think that we can expect to see Dhawan’s “Spy Master” back again. While the Doctor may have exiled the Kasavin back to their realm, the Master has always been good at escaping.

It stands to reason that after the message he left for the Doctor and ending with that seething note of “why would I make it easy for you” just begs to be concluded later in the season. 

One thing that just didn’t make sense was Barton’s role in this plan. Lenny Henry did a great job playing the manacing head of a tech company, but the big presentation reveal doesn’t match the same showmanship the Master has. 

The presentation seemed poised to reveal a big plot, but when Barton ultimately reveals that the plan is to turn the human race into hard drives, I had to ask myself “What for?” 

Barton makes a point of saying that some people are going to remain sentient so that things keep running smoothly, but everyone else is going to die. It’s confusing as to why some people would need to remain sentient. What exactly would Barton have gained from this enterprise?

Without people feeding into the giant human analytics machine that VOR created his company is useless. It’s hard to see why the aliens wouldn’t just betray him and wipe the slate clean and just eliminate the human race entirely. 

In so many ways, Barton’s role in these episodes feels like Luke Rattigan from Doctor Who Season 4 Episode 4, “The Sontaran Strategem.” Luke was creating an academy to protect the brightest of minds  with the expectation they would be transported to a new planet by the Sontarans and safe from the plan. Rattigan later found out there was no planet and the Sontarans had no intention of honoring their deal. 

Upon finding out that the Kasavin were just the mechanism for the Master’s plan, I expected Barton to betrayed. Maybe he would have been, had the plan gone further. Unlike Rattigan, Barton managed to slip away and I have to wonder exactly how that might come full circle in the season to come. 

All in, “Spyfall: Part Two” sets up some promising threads for Season 12. If they can keep up the level of personal storytelling and continue to explore the bond between the Doctor and her Tardis Fam that’s a big step up from last season. 

I am also very curious to see where the myth of The Timeless Child leads. Out of the gate I want to say that that child is the Master, but I feel like that steers a little too close to Doctor Who Season 9’s big question of “Who or what is the Hybrid?” 

Stray Thoughts: 

• The fact that Yaz’s miraculous transport to Australia turned out to be just that was kind of a relief, but I do feel like there was a double-agent opportunity that was missed there. Given everything the Doctor was doing in 1834 and 1943 it definitely would have been too much. 
• The callback to Doctor Who Season 11 Episodes 1 and 2, “The Woman Who Fell to Earth,” about Ryan not being able to ride a bike was a nice touch. 
• Can Graham keep the laser shoes? They weren’t entirely practical but they sure provided some fun sequences. The shouting that he hadn’t read the manual is another line that worked, mostly because it was so true. (Think about it, most tech doesn’t even come with more than a page of instructions anymore) 
• I think “I’m not where I wanted to be, but I can work with it,” is one of the best motivational quotes from Doctor Who. 
• Time Lord telepathy hasn’t been used much in modern Doctor Who. The brief conversation between the Doctor and the Master was a nice classic touch and I am hoping we see more of those callbacks in the rest of the season. 
• I almost want to laugh at Tardis Fam’s realization that they know nothing about the Doctor. Doctor Who Season 11 operated with a lot of standalone episodes that focused more on story than the  connection between the Doctor and her companions. That said, the realization that they truly had no idea who they were traveling with is long overdue.
• The Doctor handed The Master over to the Nazis and the Master, in turn, had to take the long way round to meet up with everyone in the 21st Century. I’m a little concerned that when we see him again he’ll be even more determined to “arrange” for the Doctor’s death. 

What did you think of this episode of Doctor Who? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Doctor Who airs Sundays at 8/7c on BBC America.

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