An era of the series has ended, but as always, Doctor Who continues moving right along.
It punks its impressionable audience into believing a lie, then punishes them for their foolishness.
Coleman excels at showing her character’s horror at what the Doctor has suffered, and what it’s done to him.
Director Rachel Talalay surpasses her work on last season’s finale, providing whole sequences of breathtaking visuals.
The story is a tragedy in the literal sense, which means that Clara’s end comes about as a direct consequence of a flaw in her character.
The episode’s found-footage conceit presents several unusual challenges for both writer Mark Gatiss and first-time director Justin Molotnikov.
While the previous episode had many obvious references to read-world events, such allusions are considerably toned down here.
Last year the Doctor exhibited an antipathy toward soldiers bordering on the cartoonish, but he’s more restrained here.
New director Ed Bazalgette proves adept at both keeping the light-hearted antics bubbling along.
The episode provides unexpected but satisfying explanations for all of the questions set up last week.
First-time director Daniel O’Hara creates a very convincing environment using mainly lighting effects, a constant low-key shimmering in the background always reminding us that we’re underwater.
When he’s on form, writer Steven Moffat is adept at constantly surprising the audience.
The Doctor’s barnstorming re-entrance is a hilarious moment of pure absurdity.
Showrunner Steven Moffat presents the intersection between Doctor Who and Christmas in the most direct possible way.
After hovering around the fringes for most of the season, Missy finally takes center stage.
In “Dark Water,” showrunner Steven Moffat begins the process of drawing together the threads of this season of Doctor Who.
It keeps up Doctor Who’s tradition of placing its most off-kilter episodes just before the season finale.
New writer Jamie Mathieson delivers an intriguing and suspenseful standalone episode with “Flatline.”
It successfully strikes a balance between telling a suspenseful story in its own right and further exploring the tension between the Doctor and Clara.
It ends with a wrenching emotional development that should be a major turning point in the relationship between the Doctor and Clara.