The Moment is an all powerful weapon of destruction so large that it was deemed too scary by the power hungry and desperate time lords. The Moment was a woman. Unless you are reading something political into that, I would call that a strong female character. Yes, she was compassionate (Would you rather have her be…

My biggest fear was that the whole thing was going to be cameos (Dr. Who's Greatest Hits Collection). I loved that it was a good story instead. Even Tom Bakers cameo hit the right note. He wasn't there just to be there, he was there to reassure the Doctor.

But wait, aren't you the same person? Or are you a regeneration?

The note would probably also disappear into the ether as time righted itself.

Gallifrey is best when it is a generic "home"— an emotional avatar for the audience's own mix of sentimentality and frustration. It should always remain his origin, but not a specific origin.

And a little bit crazy.

The funny thing is, as long as Gallifrey is missing, he is still the last time lord. It is a genius conceit if for no other reason it allows him to be the last known time lord, but have the hope of returning to his people.

That's the way I understand it. One thing that you have to be able to accept with any time travel story is paradox. He both did it and didn't do it.

Yeah, he is a big hero. But because of the time travel paradox (and a little help from the Moment), he gets to see the outcome of both decisions— he gets to make the mistake and not make it, too.

Okay, I have been thinking about this for a full day, and this is my opinion about the darkness of the Doctor.

I don't think the 9th would have fit in the story. The story was about hope and redemption and optimism. He was all about rage, anger, and hurt.

The Zygon thing is one of the things that Who does best, they take wonderful philosophical notions (veil of ignorance in this case) and put it into a practical situation/context everyone, including children, can understand.

In that regard, I see it very much like comic book style storytelling. Without these resets and continuity cheats, it couldn't have lasted 50 years.

Ever known someone to go through mental illness? It is all in their head, but it might as well be real.

Infinite universes. Infinite timelines. Somewhere, sometime they did push the button.

I'm not, in the same way I am not disappointed the "real" Rose wasn't there. Too much baggage that would distract from the main story line.

I thought it was a nice use of Piper as well. It brought her back, but didn't wedge in some kind of "Rose returns" storyline. It was also nice that the War Doctor was the only one who could see her. It felt very much like a new character/story rather than a fan service useless rehash.

When the Doctor gets too old to be the Doctor any longer, and he wants to be nostalgic, what better name to choose than The Curator.

He drank a potion on Karn. Eternal life (and duplicity) i kind of their thing.

Glad someone else caught that. I thought it was a brilliant homage.