Even if the Doctor Who series 12 finale is amazing, the series still didn’t make proper use of its new incarnation of the Master. Doctor Who made waves in the fandom when its two-part series 12 premiere"Spyfall" ended on a major revelation - that the Master is back. The Master has been a staple of Doctor Who since the episode “Terror of the Autons” all the way back in 1971.
Due to the fact that they’re a Time Lord like the Doctor, the Master has the ability to regenerate and entirely change their physical appearance. The last time the Master appeared was during Peter Capaldi’s run, when the Master was going by the name “Missy” (Michelle Gomez). However, she sacrificed herself at the end of her story, and the Master was presumed dead, until he made a sudden reappearance during the series 12 premiere, now being played by Sacha Dhawan.
The Master’s sudden reappearance got fans excited to see the return such an iconic character, but for whatever reason, after his presence in the premiere, the Master was missing from the rest of the season, barring a brief cameo at the end of last week’s episode. For fans looking to see what Dhawan’s take on the character would be like, this was a huge disappointment - especially considering so much more could’ve been done with the character.
Historically, the Master’s appearance in new Who (that is, Doctor Who episodes after the show’s hiatus) has signalled an important plot revelation or climax of a story arc. Past arcs that The Master has been involved with included “The End of Time,” “Utopia,” and “Dark Water,” all of which drastically changed the status quo of the show. As such, it seemed that expecting the Master to play a significant role in the season was par for the course, but instead, he was summarily dealt with in “Spyfall, Pt. 2” and conveniently tucked away so that he was no longer a problem but could still be brought back when the time came.
The Master’s absence left much to be desired, considering how much energy Sacha Dhawan brought to the role and how much the promotional material teased a huge revelation regarding The Master was in the works. What fans got instead was episode after episode of reveals being described as “huge,” but then never really explained or fleshed out. The Master’s plot line unfortunately fell the same way, as did the reintroduction of another fan favorite from previous seasons, Jack Harkness.
Both Jack and the Master could have brought new energy to the show, which has been criticized for having companions who lacked personality or depth; bringing Jack and The Master into the fold would have squashed those criticisms. Sadly, though, The Master was absent from the rest of the season, and even if the finale is spectacular, the show still will have under-used one of their most well-developed and longstanding characters.
The show’s mishandling of the Master is indicative of how it’s used many of the classic Who villains this season, which in and of itself was an attempt to appease critics who said series 11 didn’t have enough classic Who. While the show has used more classic villains than last season, the lack of depth and meaning with which they were utilized was disingenuous and even pandering.
Series 12 has still had some strong moments - the Jack and Master reveals were both incredibly fun elements of their respective episodes - but they teased fans with the prospect of a massive return to then turn around and not use the characters properly. There’s still hope for Doctor Who’s series 12 finale to include this iconic character, but it can’t incorporate the Master where he should have been - in all the other episodes of series 12.
More: Doctor Who’s Season 12 Finale Has To Answer Too Many Questions
