Apparently this is the beginning of a 3 episode mini-arc. So this episode should be setting up the story and the danger that awaits.

A lot is revealed this week.
Firstly Missy. I'm not a fan of the character in the previous appearances. I prefer the Master to be cunning, suave, manipulative and a little mad with my favourite being Robert Delgado's.
Missy is about 90% oh so mad, I think this is supposed to be scary because she is so unpredictable. Much like Moriarty in Sherlock I've always found it falls flat. Their motives move with the wind, their schemes make no sense and as they have no end game they never feel like they are going to defeat the hero.
Having said that Missy this week was pretty good. Michelle Gomez reigned in the crazy so we got a more somber Missy.
It worked much better and she came accross much more sympathetically while still having moments of nuttiness. "I felt tired".
I would prefer the crazy to come in small bursts rather than be the norm.

The location for the Missy sequence was very impressive, I loved the high cliffs and the waterside.
The Doctor dilemma was a little interesting and there are some references to a previous character (personally I hope that's all they get references, no returns please).
I didn't think the Doctor would go through with it at any stage. Perhaps if this had come shortly after some terrible act Missy had done I would have bought it but I think as it was the scene lacked that edge.

We find out what is in the vault which I think many have already predicted.
Much like the Time War the Doctor suggests that he may need to call on Missy if things get really bad. This seems like a plan with no downside I am sure

The main plot around the Veritas had Dan Brown's "Angels and Demons" all over it. A secret hidden in the deepest part of the Vatican, cardinals going missing and the involvement of CERN.
I think that the people at CERN must be getting sick of being the science representatives, who ever called the Higgs Boson the "God Particle" must have their face on a dart board at CERN.

The Doctor is taken to the Vatican by the Pope no less to read the Veritas. Whoever reads the Veritas we are told then takes their life.
This creates problems with the Doctors lack on sight. It does create some amusing situations especially involving Nardole.
Though he repeatedly is slow on the uptake to describe the situation that I am surprised the Doctor didn't snap at him.

The Doctor's sonic (sigh) glasses seem able to tell him all sorts of information but not render people. This seems strange as "sonic implies sound" and even we have 3D ultrasound that can render images of babies in the womb.
I thought this was all building up to a dilemma where the Doctor needs to know what is in the Veritas but does he risk someone else reading it to him, but this never came up as a helpful electronic version had been created.

The portals in the Vatican were interesting, leading to all sorts of secure locations.
They reminded me of the doors the Keymaster opens in the Matrix Reloaded.
The scenes are CERN were initially confusing but did build up to an interesting conclusion.
The revelation this brings is a bit a of science fiction cliche but just about worked.

The final scenes with the Doctor cornered were interesting. In this situation he has no hope and cannot really win and at one point gives up. We don't see this very often from the Doctor, the complete loss of hope and it was interesting that Missy's words restored it.
Much like in the classic "Inferno" the Doctor cannot save this world but does what he can to save another.
I kept guessing what he meant any computer program can do, crash?, cause an "unhandled exception" error, lock up, apparently they all can email.
I am never buying a program written by the Doctor, I don't want my 7zip emailing everyone what I've just unzipped.

Overall it was a decent setup episode. It allowed us to see the enemy win to some degree and by hinting at the need for Missy's help established them as a threat.
It does really depend how this all pans out.
7 emails sent by my media player, that I really don't want shared, out of 10

One of the best episodes in Capaldis run. Funny, exciting and full of surprises. Just loved it.

The whole Pope in the bedroom scene was just hilarious.

Hope the story continues to be that good.

10/10

I still wonder if when the vault opens it will be Missy, or some other regeneration of The Master. Or will we be getting both, The Master and Missy, including River Song.

@wonder2wonder said:

I still wonder if when the vault opens it will be Missy, or some other regeneration of The Master. Or will we be getting both, The Master and Missy, including River Song.

I hadn't thought about that. It would make more sense if Missy was an earlier regeneration to the Simm's Master.
Simm chose not to regenerate and as far as I can remember, the reason for Missy turning up after this has never been explained.
I would like a new Master though.

I thought the whole thing with that device to temporarily restore his eyesight was ridiculous. Why not upgrade his sonic sunglasses to scan and OCR text? It was already sending information to his brain in the form of visible text.

@PK9 said:

I thought the whole thing with that device to temporarily restore his eyesight was ridiculous. Why not upgrade his sonic sunglasses to scan and OCR text? It was already sending information to his brain in the form of visible text.

Or why doesn't he go to the best eye specialist in the universe or any other place in time to have his sight restored?

I suppose it is not possible because his blindness is part of this season's plot.

It was an episode of two very distinctive halves. One was rather good, with a novel and original approach, whilst the other was disappointingly predicable and unoriginal . However, it was nice to see all of the regulars in fine form - even if Nardole does continue to be overshadowed by both the Doctor and Bill. Perhaps the fact that he is constantly kept in the background is a strategy by Steven Moffat to keep us from suspecting him of having some greater importance or significance later in the series?

In any case, did anyone really believe - even for a moment - that the Doctor was seriously going to carry out the execution of Missy? And by calling Missy his friend and refusing to punish her for her crimes, does that mean he actually accepts or condones her activities? If so, what sort of a message does that send out to viewers? By the way, did this plot point remind anyone else of an earlier DOCTOR WHO serial that featured Paul McGann?

Meanwhile, the section of the episode that featured the Pope, the Bishop and the Vatican was quite entertaining. The fact that it was all revealed to be a part of the aliens' training ground was a nice twist - although it wasn't exactly a shock. I had already picked up on a certain similarity between this episode and THE MATRIX - not to mention ANGELS AND DEMONS - well before the end. In any case, it was an interesting introduction to a multiple episode serial and I look forward to next week's episode to see what happens next.

In any case, did anyone really believe - even for a moment - that the Doctor was seriously going to carry out the execution of Missy? And by calling Missy his friend and refusing to punish her for her crimes, does that mean he actually accepts or condones her activities? If so, what sort of a message does that send out to viewers?

The raison d'etre for the Doctor, his moral high ground somewhere above Mount Olympus, has always been a conundrum for me. The last episode had a quip when he suddenly appears and a character says "Oh my God." His reply, "No but I can see how you could make that mistake." which approaches a sci-fi theology comparable to Star Wars' The Force. But it's erratic and inconsistent.

I super admire the acting chops of Michelle Gomez and love Misty as a character. She is always spellbinding in her evil wickedness. But you make a good point. The Master should be destroyed, just as the Daleks should be destroyed. I just don't get or agree with the Doctor's obtuse logic not to whenever he gets the chance.

@SkyPowers said: I super admire the acting chops of Michelle Gomez and love Misty as a character. She is always spellbinding in her evil wickedness. Michelle Gomez is a very fine actress and her portrayal of an evil and manic Time Lady is second to none. However, I just wish it had been as the Rani or even a new and original Time Lady villain. After all, there aren't many Time Ladies about to begin with.

And surely they deserve better than the hand-me-down of second-hand and well-used Time Lord villains?