Now, let's start talking about individual episodes! The bad: Robot of Sherwood [spoiler]"Robin Hood is real" just wasn't a very fun idea. Or, at the very least, if Robin Hood was real, and his life just got mythologized, you'd expect it to not be as true to the story as the episode was. I suppose it doesn't help that I'm not a fan of Robin Hood in general. I actually liked the premise that the episode joked about more than the actual one. The bit about Robin Hood being a robot to act at being a hero to keep the populace pacified. That would've been more fun.[/spoiler] The Husbands of River Song [spoiler]I still don't like River, so, y'know, there's that. This episode also felt like it wasn't taking itself very seriously, which totally killed the vibe. The Doctor pretending to be amazed when he steps inside the TARDIS for the first time is really funny, though.[/spoiler] The Return of Doctor Mysterio [spoiler]Doctor Who is always at its worst when it's trying to be something it's not. Just like The Unicorn and the Wasp, which felt like a discount Agatha Christie novel, The Return of Doctor Mysterio feels like a discount superhero movie. It's a shame, because the Doctor Who-ish bits were fun, like uncovering the plan to destroy New York and all that, but everything about The Ghost was... Ehh... Also, like, you can't just say "there's a legit, 100% bona-fide superhero on Earth" and then just leave it at that. What the heck is this guy doing during all the other crises?"[/spoiler] The Lie of the Land [spoiler]I hate that this episode is on the list of episodes I don't like, because I love the premise here. The Monks create a false history that they've always been there, and the Doctor has seemingly betrayed humanity. I love the conclusion, too. Love was what let the Monks in, so it's love that has to drive them out. It's great. But the middle bit of this episode drags the whole thing down. After the big confrontation with the Doctor he just laughs it off and says "Gotcha!", and it really killed the whole mood. Felt like the show was smacking me in the face saying "Oh, you were getting invested in this plot? Aren't you stupid!". It also feels weird that they went to Missy for help, only for her role in the story to not amount to anything. Side note for Extremis, I think most of the episode is really good, but I don't buy the idea that everyone was offing themselves because the world was a simulation. That is, like, sci-fi 101. Some people having an existential crisis? Sure. But everyone? Nah.[/spoiler] Twice Upon a Time [spoiler]I didn't [i]hate[/i] this episode, but it felt like nothing happened. I get what they were going for--the captain had to accept he was going to die, and the Doctors had to accept they were going to regenerate, but it kinda just felt like a setpiece. "Oh, the first Doctor is back!". Oh, cool, what cool adventures do they go on? Oh, they don't, really? Well, alright. I did love the bit with Rusty, though. I had figured they were going to the Daleks, but I didn't figure it was [i]that[/i] Dalek. He was genuinely kinda scary. I doubt we will, but I'd like to see him return eventually.[/spoiler] The good: Mummy on the Orient Express [spoiler]This was really fun for two reasons. The first is just the mummy themselves. The idea of only having 66 seconds to live as soon as the mummy targets you makes for great tension, and I really liked how no one could see it except the victim. The second was the Doctor's response to this situation. It perfectly encapsulated the general vibe Capaldi has where he doesn't really seem to like people all that much, but still does everything he can to save them anyway. The bit where he transfers the mummy to himself at the end is brilliant.[/spoiler] Dark Water/Death in Heaven [spoiler]Coming off of Smith, I was getting a little burnt out on the show, but these are the episodes that pulled me back in. I wasn't totally sold on the idea of an afterlife, until it was revealed that the aferlife was actually just artificially created by Missy. At that point I was still thinking "What in the world could she make an afterlife for?", and then the answer was a birthday present for the Doctor? That's horrible in the best way. And it wasn't out of spite, it seemed to be a genuine gesture of some warped version of kindness. I loved it. That said, the bit about the Doctor needing to fully enable Pink's Cyberman emotion inhibitor thingie felt a little forced. "Why did the rainclouds not disburse?" "Because it's going to rain again." Golly, could the Doctor really not have figured that one out? Pink's final moment was really sweet, though. Saving the kid intsead of himself. I dig it. I was surprised when they legitimately killed him, too. No resurrection or anything. Good show.[/spoiler] Side note on Last Christmas. It's not one of my favorites, but I'm impressed they managed to start off an episode with "Santa Claus is real" and then gave me an episode I liked. Not one of my favorites, but much better than I anticipated. The Magician's Apprentice/The Witch's Familiar [spoiler]I just really enjoyed all the banter between the Doctor and Mr. Dalek Man. I forgot his name. I think they had a really interesting dynamic going on. The idea of the Doctor giving up his sonic screwdriver because of the bad memories it brought him when he let Mr. Dalek Man die was also really fun. Granted, I wish he got it back a little sooner than he did because I didn't like the sonic sunglasses, but I liked the idea in these episodes. Clara/Missy also had a fun dynamic, and the bit at the end where Missy tries to goad the Doctor into killing Clara was fun.[/spoiler] Heaven Sent/Hell Bent [spoiler]So, how best to handle the Time Lords returning was a question that had been on my mind since the Doctors didn't push the button, and this is probably the best way to do it. Show the ruthlessness of the Time Lords forcing the Doctor into a torture chamber for billions of years. The time loop was fantastic (except one key detail we'll get to later), and I loved how when the Doctor finally return to Galifrey, all he had to do was turn his back on the people coming to meet him in order to get the big man in charge to come meet him face to face. And then he had such a sway over the people of Galifrey that the other Time Lords ordered to execute him stand by his side? I love it. This was also another example of "The Doctor gone too far" which was the big selling point of other episodes like The Waters of Mars. Unlike Waters of Mars, though, where I that conflict was really fun, I enjoyed the rest of the episode, too. Clara trying to stop the Doctor from going too far was great. Granted, Clara's decision at the very end feels a little out of character, but I can let it slide.[/spoiler] The Pyramid at the End of the World [spoiler]Apologies if I got the title wrong on this one. It gets cut off. The reason why The Lie of the Land made it onto episodes I didn't like was in part because this episode was fantastic. I really love the Monks as villains. They're so fun. I loved the idea that they just show up with this vague preminition that they know the world will end soon, and they ask for control rather than try to take it by force. The idea of love being the key to letting them in is a fun premise, too. Some of the writing was a little awkward, but I really enjoyed it regardless.[/spoiler] The World Enough and Time/The Doctor Falls [spoiler]Missy meeting the Master was the real selling point here. Their dynamic was great. We had the Master at the height of his evil evilness, and Missy at the brink of redemption. I mentioned that having Missy teetering on the edge of redemption was a big part of why I enjoyed her arc as much as I did, and having her come face to face with her own evil self was a great way to send it off. When I saw Heather's eye at the end I actually got goosebumps 'cause I was all like "No way, is that-?!". I may be biased, because I liked Heather's characer way more than I should given her screentime, but her reappearance at the end was mostly a good thing, even if it felt a little out of nowhere. My complaint is less with this sepcific scene, though, more that I wish she had more scenes besides this one. Supposedly she's connected to Bill whenever Bill cries, but there were other moments where she could've been slipped in, too, under that same premise. Even if it wasn't as direct. I already mentioned how much I liked the "This is where we've been heading!" scene, so y'know, that too.[/spoiler] And finally, I saved this one for last because this is my favorite episode in Capaldi's run: The Zygon Invasion/The Zygon Inversion [spoiler]Okay, I'm going to be honest, these episodes are definitely hard carried by the Osgood Box scene. But oh sweet baby corn, do I love the Osgood Box scene. I was wondering what in the world the Osgood Box could be, and this was by far the best possibly solution. Stick the two murder ladies in a room and tell them to push a button that will destroy one side and they have no idea which is which. The tension and stakes were high, but it didn't come from a monster, or some supernatural threat, but people. People being angry and scared, and trying to answer an impossible question. I love it. Capaldi screaming at the top of his lungs was a bonus on top of that. I mentioned I was a little iffy on the bit at the end of Smith, with him deciding not to press the button on his box, but this scene made it all worth it. Also, the rest of the episode is good too, to be clear. But, if you gave me just the rest of the episode, I'd say it's fine, but this scene skyrocketed it on my rankings by a lot. The Zygon Inversion is my second favorite episode in the series, now. Turn Left still gets #1.[/spoiler]