To be fair though, the monks had been *waiting*, they say, for just the right moment to be able to offer their bargain and have it accepted. They waited for us to screw up in such a way that they could step in and win our "love" by being our "saviors" (and, by the way, our lords and masters forever). They are far…

Thank you! Some common sense at last. I find it a bit weird that so many folks here are selling Bill so short, particularly when it's quite clear from the scene itself that she's trying to preserve the best chance of reclaiming Earth from the monks. She's been to the stars, for crying out loud: she knows how to…

It was a very smart choice, made under tremendous pressure. Clearly, Whithouse should have leaned harder on keeping her motives crystal clear, since so many viewers completely miss the real point of making the choice that would keep the Doctor alive, and sighted, to turn the tables on the monks.

Also the corollary: if the monks have the Doctor on their side (which seems to be the case), his help makes THEM impossible for anyone to defeat, end of story. She chose to save him so he could save Earth; then she chose to try to eliminate him, when he joined the enemy instead of saving the Earth from them.

I don't read it that way at all. She saw that the monks were in control, and also that the best hope of getting rid of them was the Doctor — if he had his sight back. So she made the best of a lousy situation, not choosing her friend so much as the one person she knows who could actually DO something about the monks.

Maybe longer, though, since the Doctor remarks that their simulation is "too good", and that might have taken many runs to bring about.

I wonder, though — then anyone who walked into the house would be in the simulation, including Moira, and Penny. I'm thinking maybe the "join" between simulation and real world is the doorway to Bill's bedroom. She steps through and is in the sim. Vatican, just as the Pope said ("I thought we were back in the…

Thanks for spotting that — I missed it. Oh dear, I guess I'll just *have* to go re-watch the episode again. Poor me . . .

Aawww, but you knew that already, didn't you? <big toothy="" smile="">

"Things we lost in the fy-aahhh . . . "

Exactly. He's made 12 his own forever, and thanks to digital recording, that "forever" could be quite a long time. I don't think I've ever seen a DW run that rewards re-watching as much as this one does — for the audacity of the writing (at its best), and the depth of heart and full commitment of the lead actor.

Good question; and, no idea. Did Bill enter the simulation when the (simulated) Pope burst into her bedroom? Or was she already a simulated Bill and in that world, so that she could interact with said simulated Pope? I'm just wondering where the seams are, real world on one side, unreal on the other (and how can…

Have you read the other comments here? Somebody's forgotten something, maybe, but that somebody is not Moffat.

It was not just you.

Well put, although I still think the "never give up, never give in" thing is rightly replaced by if you ever are cruel or cowardly (which everyone is, sooner or later), "always make amends". He *does* give up, after all — "Turn me off" — because it's the only thing left to do. Except for one final bravura gesture…

Agreed. That character work was astounding, and it made fans who love a Mary Sue (ie, the "impossible Girl") go nuts. A realistic *and realistically flawed* woman spoiled their fantasy. Clara changed into an adult person because she had to, in order to be strong and sharp enough to lead the Doctor to his own growth…

Wasn't insulting in the least. Thrilling, actually — because it was done so *well* by people who know what they're doing, and where it's going.

YES. It's already engraved on my brain. This stuff is fabulous, miss-steps and all. I can hardly believe what I've been seeing.

I thought he's been very well done by. Horses for courses . . .

This is why I learned my lesson, and bought an Amazon "Season ticket" to S10: no commercial breaks. Wonderful!