This article contains SPOILERS for The Power of The Doctor
‘The Power of the Doctor’ was one of the most hotly anticipated Doctor Who episodes in the show’s history, as we prepared to say goodbye not just to Jodie Whittaker but Mandip Gill, John Bishop and showrunner Chris Chibnall, plus rumours circulated wildly about an unexpected regeneration twist.
When the episode aired on Sunday night, fans and critics alike ate it up, live-tweeting their reactions with gusto – and from the reactions so far, ‘The Power of the Doctor’ certainly didn’t disappoint.
Here’s how the action unfolded on Twitter:
SERIOUSLY SPOILERS: don’t read on unless you want to find out everything that happens
Dan’s shock exit at the start of the episode left fans emotional, and some felt the abruptness of his goodbye was a bit jarring:
Dan reacting like any reasonable person would after being nearly shot in the face and flying into space tbh #DoctorWho
— Dominic G. Martin 🎃 (@DominicJGM) October 23, 2022
Wait I just remembered the one thing I dislike about this episode…
DAN LEWIS??!
You just wrote out Dan Lewis like THAT?! He’s just like oh yeah guess I’ll go bye??! It’s an insult to all the Dan stans, our man deserved better!!#DoctorWho
— KK✨ (@kkthedoctor) October 23, 2022
It’s a testament to how wild this episode is that the Daleks and Cybermen were one of the smallest talking points, although fans did enjoy their return:
10/10 ep the second we had a Dalek and Cyberman look at each other like “wtf is this guy doing” #DoctorWho
— Liam Duke (@DukeOfSwindon) October 23, 2022
When the Doctor was reunited with Ace and Tegan, fans were quick to spot a nod to Ace’s old jokey tendency to call him by another name:
But fans were quickly distracted by seeing The Master’s face on some of the world’s most famous artwork, which proved a comic hit – with some pointing out its unexpected cultural relevance:
Famous paintings being defaced. They had no idea how topical that would be the week of the broadcast, huh? 😅 #DoctorWho
— Danny Palmer (@dannyjpalmer) October 23, 2022
In fact, The Master’s (and Sacha Dhawan’s) performance in general was a huge hit with fans, as ever. There were particularly strong reactions for his Rasputin disguise, Boney M musical number, and his sartorial choices references nearly all the past Doctors after he forced her to regenerate into him:
The Master dancing to Rasputin is RTD levels of ridiculousness and I am here for it. #DoctorWho
— Craig Bates (@craig_bates_) October 23, 2022
The Rasputin thing. Did not know Chibnall would ever do something like that. Legendary stuff. Every Master needs some manic dance scene to something both appropriate and wildly inappropriate. #DoctorWho
— Claudia Boleyn BA 👻 🌹Socialist🌹 Sapphic🌹 (@ClaudiaBoleyn) October 23, 2022
It’s genuinely unnerving how good Sascha Dhawan looks in Thirteen’s coat #DoctorWho
— Tia Owen 💙💛 (@BlazingOptimist) October 23, 2022
And then, of course, the fandom was treated to brief cameos from some of their favourite past Doctors, including Peter Davison, Sylvester McCoy, Colin Baker and David Bradley as William Hartnell. Whovians were particularly enamoured by Paul McGann’s return:
When Paul McGann appeared, I applauded. I didn’t even mean to, it was just how my body reacted. #DoctorWho
— Morgan Jeffery (@morganjeffery) October 23, 2022
Although some felt like there were other characters who should have made a brief return:
As if this wasn’t enough emotional turmoil, we then saw some incredibly moving reunions between Tegan and Ace and their Doctors:
And then, out of nowhere, Graham appeared and everyone lost their minds:
Jo Martin’s return was also popular, as was Ace getting out the old baseball bat to show some Daleks what for, but then the fandom seemed distinctly unimpressed when several characters were tasked with manning the TARDIS, a nod back to Journey’s End:
And then, sh** got real once again, as the fandom had to face the reality of saying goodbye to Yaz, and Yaz saying goodbye to her Doctor – with many feeling sad they didn’t get a particularly romantic farewell:
Before the final scene, we got another set of surprise cameos in the form of Graham’s support group for the people the Doctor left behind:
And then, it happens. The regeneration we’ve all been waiting for. David Tennant returned. And the reactions were pretty much as hyperbolic as you’d expect:
And there we have it. The episode was over, and Twitter seemed collectively emotionally drained. The episode reviews came in (you can read our The Power of the Doctor review here), and were on the whole very positive:
Well that was pretty spectacular – nostalgic, heartwarming and I cannot wait for the new series #DoctorWho
— Jack Chapman (@Itsjackchapman) October 23, 2022
I have not cried like that to an episode of Doctor Who in a long time. I’d say the last time being when 11 regenerated. God that was a beautiful beautiful tribute to the show, to the character of the Doctor and most importantly their friends. Thank you Jodie. #DoctorWho
— tom dix (@TomDix_) October 23, 2022
I mean, where to begin?!
That was absolutely epic, I laughed, I cried, both with shock happiness and sadness, it really kept me on the edge of my seat and held me throughout! I’m going to be rewatching it again as soon as I can #DoctorWho
— Jimi Wolfe (@CaptainJimiPie) October 23, 2022
God that was good. Kinda wish I’d have been able to see it in on a big screen. Most of the magic of #DoctorWho comes when you don’t know what’s coming, and that was surprise after surprise. Epic. #ThePowerOfTheDoctor
— Darren Jones (@djdarrenjones) October 23, 2022
A fitting, bonkers tribute to #DoctorWho itself.
Stuffed to the brim, but fun with a stellar mission statement and 3rd act.
Yes, I cried.
— MrTARDIS (But Spookier 🎃) (@TrilbeeReviews) October 23, 2022
I’m shaking. I got high off of that. Literally, actually, high. The maddest, most full-fat, high-sucrose, acid-trip version of #DoctorWho ever. Perfectly bonkers. I completely lost it several times… ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜
— Riccy of KARNAGE (@sisterhood_karn) October 23, 2022
that was epic and exciting and heartfelt – and those references to the past had me wiping away a tear. A fantastic ending – and here’s to the future! #DoctorWho
— Roy Gill (@roy_gill) October 23, 2022
That episode was the most cinematic Doctor Who has ever looked by a country mile. Beautiful. Plot held together well, amazing performances, cameos and WHAT AN ENDING. Perfect way for the current team to bow out. #DoctorWho
— Connor 🧑🚀🧑🚀🧑🚀 (@Connor_Hall2) October 23, 2022
That was SO great and so much fun to watch with my boys! Slightly like watching a day at the Big Finish studio though as I can safely say I’ve worked with 90% of that cast 😂. Funny, moving, epic. Wonderful stuff. #doctorwho
— Helen Goldwyn (@HelenGoldwyn) October 23, 2022
Fun. Many parts good, a few less good, more time would improve it, but that’s one of the best yet portrayals of how jealous/envious/obsessed the Master is over the Doctor. Had great fun spotting callbacks. No idea what will happen next, look forward to finding out. #DoctorWho
— Genevieve Cogman (@GenevieveCogman) October 23, 2022
Spent a lot of that 90 minutes gasping, grinning, going “Eeeeee!” and then tearing up quite a bit by the end. I want even more of Ace and Tegan! Cannot wait for 2023. #DoctorWho
— Hannah Cooper (@MrsSimonTemplar) October 23, 2022
We’ll leave you with the sneak peak at what’s to come:
What did you think of The Power of the Doctor? Leave your reviews in the comments…
The post Doctor Who: The Power of the Doctor Reactions Flood In appeared first on Den of Geek.
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