Doctor Who | Season 12 | Episode 2: “Spyfall, Part II”
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For a quick read, go to Review. For a complete summary, go to Recap.
KBear Recap [Read time: 5-7 min]
“Don’t have a TARDIS. Do have an Ada.” The Doctor
The Doctor (Jodie Whittaker) is in the alien environment talking to herself. She is trying to keep herself calm, and she is worried about her companions remaining calm. They are still on the airplane screaming for dear life. Ryan Sinclair (Tosin Cole) sees a plaque with his name on it. There are other plaques leading him to a pamphlet that will tell him how to land the plane. The Doctor notices the energy surges and wonders where they lead, and what this environment is. Doctor: “Could be inside something. Ah, I hope it’s not a liver. I hate being inside livers. People always get so offended. ‘What’re you doing in my liver again?’” A woman hears her and shouts hello. The Doctor finds the woman, her name is Ada (Sylvie Briggs) and she tells the Doctor everything will be fine. The pamphlet shows Ryan how to connect some wires from the plane to his phone. The Doctor appears on a screen and tells everyone not to panic, especially Graham. Graham O’Brien (Bradley Walsh) tries to talk to the image on the screen, but she tells him not to try to talk to her because obviously she can’t hear him. She needs the time to give Ryan the instructions in case they are cut off. Ada tells the Doctor whenever she gets paralysis; she is taken to this realm, which she thinks could be her mind. This is the first time anyone else has been here. The energy surges surround her, she tells the Doctor a word comes to her mind, Kasaavin, one of the creatures appears.
The Doctor tells her to get away from it, but Ada tells her the creature is her guardian. The Doctor doesn’t believe that’s true. The surges build up, Ada is ready to leave, she is afraid the Doctor will be stuck here if the Doctor doesn’t take her hand to leave. Against her better judgment, the Doctor takes Ada’s hand and leaves. On the plane, the Doctor has loaded an app on Ryan’s phone to help him fly the plane. Graham leaves to shut the cockpit door, Graham screams at Ryan, “Level up. Level up.” Soon Ryan has control of the plane. He proudly tells Yasmin Khan (Mandip Gill) and Graham, “I can fly a plane. I can’t ride a bike but I can fly a plane.” Daniel Barton (Lenny Henry) is in the Master’s (Sacha Dhawan) TARDIS. The Master is reliving his great triumph over the Doctor when Barton gets a message that his plane is about to land. He angrily asks the Master how this can be possible. The Master warns Barton to watch his tone; he isn’t one of Barton’s employees. The Master sees on one of his screens where the Doctor is. He tells Barton to take care of the companions and he’ll deal with the Doctor.
The Doctor wakes up in 19th century London, in 1834. An airport worker (Tom Ashley) tells Barton that his plane landed but no one was aboard. He asks Barton to tell him if he’ll be, doing these types of tests again because it is going to be a lot of work to smooth this out with the aviation board. The companions are hiding behind a hanger watching this. They still have a link to his diary; Barton will be making an address in London, they decide to go there. Barton makes a call telling someone to track them. The Doctor and Ada are at a scientific exhibition, and everyone is amazed how they appeared. The Doctor sounding like a carnival barker exclaims, “I am bound to never reveal my secrets. Go about your day, knowing that you may tell people you were privileged to witness The Marvelous Apparating Man! Lady! Apparating Lady! Every time.” Ada asks the Doctor who she is and why she was in her realm. The Doctor tells her she is a time traveler and the events of the last episode; Ada thinks the Doctor is treating her like a fool. The Doctor assures her she doesn’t see her as such. The Doctor is frustrated that she doesn’t have her TARDIS.
The Master walks in wearing 19th century garb and starts shrinking people, killing them in the process. The Doctor tries to get the crowd out of there, but the Master orders them to stay where they are and put their hands over their heads. He tells her, “When I kill them Doctor it gives me a little buzz right here, in the hearts.” He orders the Doctor to kneel before him or he’ll kill some more people. She does and he commands her to call him by his name. She does it softly at first but he makes her repeat Master several more times. He asks her how she got here; the Doctor realizes that the Master doesn’t control the creatures. She asks him does he even know who they are; he tells her the creatures are the Kasaavin. The Doctor asks did he bring them here, he says he they were already embedded. He, Barton and the Kasaavin formed an alliance. The Doctor scoffs at the idea. While they are talking, the Master doesn’t notice Ada, she goes over to the machine gun exhibit and shoots at the Master, something the Doctor doesn’t ‘officially’ approve of, but isn’t unhappy about. The Master taunts her by asking what she is going to do without a TARDIS. Ada throws a grenade at him. Doctor: “Don’t have a TARDIS. Do have an Ada.”
“Where there’s risk, there’s hope.” The Doctor
The companions are walking down the street when Barton calls them. He tells them he is tracking them and he knows everything about them. A large screen on a building shows the three companions and says they hijacked a plane and that if you see them, contact the authorities. Ryan tells Graham and Yaz to smash their phones, that’s how he’s tracking them, and they have to get off the grid. Yaz calls home but Ryan knocks the phone out of her hand and smashes it. The Doctor and Ada are at the home of Charles Babbage (Mark Dexter); the Doctor recognizes his machine, the Difference Engine, a calculating machine that is a predecessor to the modern computer. She realizes that Ada is Ada Lovelace, considered the first computer programmer. She knows they definitely have a connection to what is going on. In a case, Babbage has a sculpture called The Silver Lady. Barton has the same sculpture in his office. She asks Babbage where he got this sculpture and he says a man brought it to him, saying it was a gift from his Master. The Doctor starts figuring things out. Doctor: “Multiple Earths. Except not. Not multiple earths, multiple time periods. These creatures aren’t just alien spies on Earth. They’re spies through time. Through history. Starting with you.” [Looking at Ada.] The Doctor aims her sonic at the sculpture, she hopes if she sonics it, the Kasaavin will appear and she can use them to get back to the 21st century. Ada: “If this is your plan, it is fraught with risk.” Doctor: “Where there’s risk, there’s hope.” The Doctor sonics the The Silver Lady and a Kasaavin appears, the Doctor grabs it, but Ada grabs her hand and they both disappear. Babbage finishes his drink totally confused.
Graham, Ryan, and Yaz go to a housing construction site to hide. They discuss what to do if the Doctor doesn’t come back. Ryan resolutely says they will stop Barton. Graham: “Ryan’s right. We carry on doing what the Doc would want us to do.” Ryan jokes that Graham said he was right, and Graham tells him not to get used to it. They all realize there is so much they don’t know about the Doctor. They wonder why the Doctor didn’t recognize the Master. Graham tells them what the Master said about knowing her when the Doctor was a man, and he tells them about the time the Doctor told him and Grace that she had just gone through regeneration. Graham says when they see her again, and he assures them they will, they will ask her more question about herself. Yaz asks what they have at their deposal. Ryan and Graham kept some of the spy gadgets. Graham has on a pair of laser shoes while Ryan has a pair of rocket launching cuff links.
“These are the dark times. But they don’t sustain. Darkness never sustains. Even though sometimes it feels like it might.” The Doctor
The Doctor and Ada land in Paris, 1943. A woman (Aurora Marion) comes upon them, she hides them from a Nazi patrol led by the Master in a German uniform. A large number of Kasaavin appear at the housing construction site. Graham uses his laser shoes on them. Barton visits his mother (Blanche Williams) whom he has tied up to a chair in a hanger. He wants her approval for all the success he has had, but since he has her tied up, he isn’t getting it. The Silver Lady sculpture is in the room. Barton wanted to see her on the last day before everything changes. The Kasaavin electrocute her. The Nazi patrol shows up at the woman’s place. The Master has his troops shoot into the floor. The Doctor and Ada hide under the floorboard next to radio equipment. The Doctor recognizes the woman, she Is Noor Inayat Khan, a British intelligence agent, the first woman sent behind enemy lines as a wireless radio operator. Noor asks who they are, since the Doctor seems to know everything about her. The Doctor asks Ada what’s wrong; she is looking out the window at Paris burning. Noor mentions they thought they’d never have to go through another war like this. Ada is shocked humanity has fought two wars like this. She wonders if this darkness is all the future holds. Doctor: “These are the dark times. But they don’t sustain. Darkness never sustains. Even though sometimes it feels like it might.” The Doctor comes up with a plan.
Yaz calls home from a phone booth, her sister Sonya (Bhavnisha Parmar) answers. They are worried about Yaz and want to know what she has gotten herself into. She tells Sonya she is fine, she’s with Graham and Ryan, they will straighten this out soon and if anyone comes to their home don’t leave with them. After Yaz hangs up, a car pulls up with Barton’s men. They tell Ryan and Yaz to put their hands up, Graham sneaks up behind them and uses his laser shoes [which he’s gotten good at using] to make them put down their guns and surrender. Ryan tells Barton’s men that Yaz called home because they knew they would trace the call and come here. They are going to take their phones to track Barton. Yaz reminds Ryan he shouldn’t give away their plan. Ryan apologizes for talking too much.
Using Noor’s equipment, the Doctor sends a personal code to the Master; Noor doesn’t recognize the code; the Doctor explains it is the rhythm of two hearts. Once he answers her code, the Doctor contacts him psychically. They agree to meet in person at the Eiffel Tower with no troops. After she arrives, the Doctor criticizes the Master for portraying a Nazi. She tells him he doesn’t look Aryan, why are they following him. He tells her he is using a perception filter so they’ll believe what they want to see. She asks him about the things that have happened so far. The Master gladly admits he was behind the car attack and that he shot C. The Kasaavin were already on Earth, he just gave them a different plan. They have spies embedded throughout the universe. The Kasaavin are from another dimension. They began killing intelligence agents because the intelligence agencies were beginning to notice them.
The companions arrive at the hanger where Barton’s mother is. He calls them to gloat. Barton tells them he’s been two steps ahead of them the whole time; he has a global announcement to make. Yaz asks him about being 93% human. He tells her he’s a builder, he allowed the Kasaavin to test him as proof of concept.
“Why would it stop? I mean, how else would I get your attention?” The Master
Noor sends a message to London as the Doctor asked her to do. Noor: “Why are we trusting her?” Ada: “I have seen extraordinary things with her. She is wise and unafraid. And I believe in her.” Noor asks if Ada is ready to go out into the night, they are on another mission for the Doctor. She left them a cell phone to contact her if they spot something anomalous. They spot something that fits the bill. The Doctor receives their call. The Master asks the Doctor why she didn’t die. Doctor: “Me and Yaz, both time travelers fizzing with artron energy and my DNA not matching the rest of humanity. We confused them and I don’t think their as stable in this dimension.” She asks what the Master’s plan is. He plans to have Barton and Kasaavin wipe out humanity for him. Once they’ve done that, he’ll wipe out the Kasaavin himself. Doctor: “When does all this stop for you? The games. The betrayals. The killing.” Master: “Why would it stop? I mean, how else would I get your attention?” The Master changes the subject and asks the Doctor had she been home lately. She doesn’t understand why he is asking. He tells her he went to Gallifrey and found it destroyed and everyone dead. The Doctor doesn’t believe him. German voices interrupt them. The Master asks what she has done. The Doctor had Noor send a message to London that the Nazis would intercept, praising the Master for being a great double agent. She jams his perception filter so they can see he isn’t white. The Doctor leaves him to his fate. Barton arrives to make his speech. The Doctor joins Ada and Noor; they found the Master’s TARDIS. Once inside the Master’s TARDIS, the Doctor looks at some maps. Doctor: “I know what this is – – a temporal map, showing every significant person in the development of computers through history. Starting with you Ada. This is the plan. See?!” Ada and Noor: “No.”
Barton begins his speech thanking the public for giving his company all of their information, and getting very little in return. He sends a text to every phone and tablet around the world. Yaz reads the monitor, “You have three minutes to prepare. Humanity is over.” His audience thinks he is joking, he continues that humanity can go no further. Our DNA is good at storing information, so he will repurpose us to be hard drives. He presses an app on his phone, the Silver Lady sculpture in the hanger begins spinning and the Kasaavin appear and then disappear, their energy attaching themselves to Yaz’s family and Barton’s audience. The Master shows up in the hanger, he spent 77 years on Earth after the Nazis arrested him. He did not enjoy living through the 20th century. He has arrived in time to watch humanity pay. Ryan asks what is happening. Master: “Conversion and transmission. We’re transmitting Kasaavin energy around the world all at once, into every device, hitting every human being and erasing all their DNA simultaneously.” The Silver Lady stops spinning and the Kasaavin energy that grabbed everyone ceases. The Doctor, Ada, and Noor strut inside the hanger. The Doctor explains that she started following the Silver Lady throughout history. When Barton received it, she snuck into his office and created a virus so if a Kasaavin army amassed, the Silver Lady has to shut down. When the Kasaavin’s army shows up, she plays a recording of the Master saying that when they wipe out humanity, he’ll wipe them out. Doctor: “That’s the trouble with modern technology; you never know when you’re being spied upon.” The Kasaavin grab him and take him to the place the Doctor and Yaz were. The Master angrily screams “Doctor!”
The companions have many questions, one of them being how she sent Ryan the instructions on how to fly the plane. She, Ada, and Noor run back into the Master’s TARDIS so that she can go back in time to make the plaques and video. The Doctor picks up her own TARDIS and takes Noor and Ada back to their times. Noor asks do the Nazis win; she assures Noor they don’t and takes Noor’s memory of her time with the Doctor. Ada pleads for the Doctor not to take her memories of the Doctor, but the Doctor has to do it to preserve the timeline. She tells the sleeping woman that she will lead the way to the new age.
“We are not who we think. You or I. The whole existence of our species built on the lie of the Timeless Child.” The Master
The Doctor thinks about what the Master said about Gallifrey and decides to see for herself. When she arrives there, to her horror she sees that the Master was telling the truth. When she gets back into the TARDIS, a disc comes on with a holographic message from the Master. He admits he was the one who destroyed Gallifrey. Master: “I had to make them pay for what I discovered. They lied to us. The Founding Fathers of Gallifrey. We are not who we think. You or I. The whole existence of our species built on the lie of the Timeless Child. Do you see it? It’s buried deep in all our memories. In our identity.” A few days later the companions tell her she’s been quiet the past five planets. She denies it. They tell her she never shares anything about herself even though she knows everything about them. She tells them she shares. Finally Graham asks her who is she. The Doctor answers, she was born on Gallifrey, she’s a Time Lord, and she can regenerate her entire body. The Master was one of her oldest friends, but they took different paths. Yaz asks can they visit Gallifrey, the Doctor distantly says another time. She walks away in deep thought.
KBear Review [Read time: 1-3 minutes]
The episode picks up where Spyfall Part I ended, the companions are on the crashing airplane and the Doctor is in the alien environment, or in the dimension where the Kasaavin originate. The Doctor meets Ada Lovelace, whom is considered the first computer programmer. The Kasaavin spy network spies on the people who created and developed computers throughout history. She and Charles Babbage are some of the first in developing the field. The Doctor is able to escape the place by grabbing Ada’s hand, but she ends up in London, 1836. The Master follows her there and kills some people at a scientific exhibition. Ada comes to the Doctor’s defense. The Doctor spots the Silver Lady sculpture at Babbage’s house, it is the same one in Daniel Barton’s office. The Doctor uses her sonic to get the Kasaavin to show up so she can get a ride back to our century. Ada grabs her hand just before she carried away, and they end up in Paris, 1943. A woman named Noor Inayat Khan helps them. Noor is a British Intelligence officer who was sent there as a wireless radio operator, the first woman sent to do that job behind enemy lines. The two women become the Doctor’s adjunct companions. The Master follows the Doctor to Paris, disguising himself as a German officer. The Doctor has Noor send a message to London, for the Germans to intercept praising the Master as a double agent assisting the British. The two women are also sent out to find anything anomalous to the area and contact the Doctor on a cell phone she gives them. They spot the house which is the Master’s TARDIS. After the Nazis arrest the Master, the Doctor takes his TARDIS. Using his TARDIS, she is able to put a virus in the Silver Lady sculpture that has it shut down if the Kasaavin army approaches. This prevents Barton’s plan of rewriting human DNA so humanity can be repurposed as hard drives. The companions have been dealing with him while the Doctor was gone. They were saved when the Doctor went back in time to make plaques directing Ryan to instructions on how to land the plane and installing them in Barton’s jet. The companions realize how little they know about the Doctor and finally ask who is she. She tells them the truth, but leaves out that the Master has destroyed Gallifrey and told her that everything they know about their species, even themselves is a lie. That is too much for the Doctor to share.
In two-parters, sometimes the first episode is the weakest because too much setup, or the second episode fails to have a strong conclusion to the story. Fortunately, that wasn’t the case, both episodes were strong. While the first episode was a homage to Bond movies, this episode changes the course of the series. The Master destroys Gallifrey and says everything is a lie.
The Timeless Child is mentioned, the first time since last season’s The Ghost Monument. We have a storyline that could change our understanding of who the Doctor is. It adds stakes to the character, since she has to deal with losing her home again, and questioning who she is. It brought out some of the best acting Jodie Whittaker has done as the Doctor. I’m looking forward to where this storyline will leave.
This episode looked great again. The guest stars Sylvie Briggs and Aurora Marion as Ada Lovelace and Noor Inayat Khan were so good, I wouldn’t mind them being companions. If I want a guest star to be a companion, they’ve done a good job. The companions we have were good and I liked seeing them as a team. Sacha Dhawan knocked it out as the Master, I hope he gets out of the Kasaavin dimension so we can see him again soon. I’m sure we will, especially near the end of series 12. Spyfall Parts I & II were a great way to start the new season. If you’re interested here’s links on Ada Loveless and Noor Inayat Khan.
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