Sorry, when was it suggested the Doctor didn't have the key?

You've just used hindsight twice. First in knowing that Danny would be around to help out, second in "knowing" that the Cybermen needed a commander to do anything.

Neither was she going to reveal what was going on while unconscious. The Doctor made it perfectly clear he wanted her conscious, right before he himself was tranquilized.

In the case of Doctor Who, they don't "just shoot her" because she HASN'T given a speech explaining the evil plan. Also because just shooting her (1) wouldn't remove the threat, and (2) would be murder.

I'm experiencing something I haven't experienced before: I want to watch that season of Doctor Who again.

In the previous episode, the people who abducted Saul phoned the ISI agent to tell that they had done it, so yes she is most definitely part of the same plot.

Absolutely. She intended Aayan to die, yes, but she intended to achieve what she really wanted at the same time. Aayan dying was never her GOAL. And now he's dead anyway, no longer a piece on the board to be manipulated, and she hasn't achieved what she wanted.

But they knew Aayan had been in the CIA safe house. The ISI agent was given the photographs of Aayan from the safe house.

I don't quite follow your logic. For them to be major news stories, everyone would need to know about them. The 3 things you mentioned are all things that are NOT yet widely known in the Homeland universe, and in at least a couple of cases the characters involved would very much like to keep it that way.

Surely being back at square one is the entire point? To have that sense of effort that has failed? To have a defeat?

Well, the review doesn't seem to say it so I will. Hats off to the superb Michelle Gomez, proving that for a great actor, character comes from within not from outside appearance, least of all trivial bits of outside appearance like gender. She has the crazy vanity and scheming required of her character.

We'll figure out how to chop 'em all down eventually.

Trees work with oxygen and carbon dioxide every day. It's what photosynthesis is all about. If we're talking about a forest that sprang up overnight, I hardly think that the idea they can work with oxygen and carbon dioxide levels is the thing that's going to break plausibility.

Releasing enough of a non-flammable gas to dilute the oxygen in the immediate vicinity is exactly what some fire extinguishers do! Carbon dioxide extinguishers for example.

"On that note, the whole fire being extinguished because the trees were
withholding oxygen was laughably bad. They'd have to withhold all the
damn oxygen on the planet."

"The episode presents some fascinating ideas about the tension inherent
in the magic of the natural world: People are enchanted by it, but it’s
just too big and wild and scary to bear to look at for very long."

Well, if you know all about it, why say something like "So if I walk in and give you a piece of paper in a leather wallet, you'll just accept I'm from MI5"? The whole point is that people see what they want to see. And what the policewoman wanted to see was someone impressive taking an interest in the case.

Thanks for another fine review - I really enjoy reading them. Maybe that's partly because we seem to be on similar wavelengths so often, but I always find lots of insights.

Point number 4 tells me you don't know about psychic paper. Which was also used in "Mummy on the Orient Express" to hilarious effect.