Warning - Don't read this if you haven't yet seen the episode as this will ruin everything and anything you don't know about the special.
With this being a follow-up to the superb 50th anniversary, a Christmas special, and most notably Matt Smith's conclusive episode of his tenure; the episode has a lot of baggage in the form of expectations. The first thing you realise about the special is that a slow build up is nowhere to be found as each scene sprints into the next one even making comical family scenes fast paced. For some, this is a fault, but I like it as it's a huge contrast to Tennant's swansong and it doesn't feel limited to being a Christmas episode, a final farewell, but rather a thrilling episode of Who that keeps you engaged. Some dislike this as there is very little time to breathe, and even on repeat viewings, it doesn't feel any different, but as I said, it makes sure that you listen to the special and don't just sit down and watch flashy things on your screen. Speaking of which...
The effects are on top form and nothing is over or under cooked (like the Turkey). The costumes, props, and all round visuals including camera work are exceptional; but off course, one of the most memorable things to leave this special with is the ageing make-up done to Matt Smith to make him look 300 years older and another set of prosthetics that make him appear almost as if he's William Hartnell's long lost brother. I must say when it was leaked from some news papers that the Doctor would appear visibly older, I knew straight away that the first Doctor would have a visual reference and he definitely did. The grey hair slicked back past the forehead was a lovely callback to where it all began.
All the acting is fantastic with Matt Smith still being pushed in his performance by taking on an old man ready to die who struggles to pull a Christmas cracker, and the lovely, wild Doctor we've all come to love. Jenna Coleman is still the Impossible Girl (more on that later), but thankfully like the 50th, she's given her own character to play and play well. This is heightened by her family making an appearance with her grandma, father, and father's girlfriend showing up. The father I didn't mind, the grandma had some nice comedic timing, but I couldn't stand the girlfriend; some are calling her Clara's step-mom, but I just don't want to because that would be a disservice to Clara. This woman told Clara she should like boy-bands because of her 'age', moaned when she was crying because her apparent 'boyfriend' left her on Christmas day and honestly just annoyed the pants off me.
Orla Brady makes a welcome debut as Tasha Lem. An old friend of the Doctor's who is in charge of the Papal Mainframe. Her flirting was very reminiscent of River Song, so whether this was intentional or not has yet to be revealed, but hearing the Doctor say 'I Do.' with a light sexual undertone made my Christmas... The writing is great and Steven Moffat has tied up some loose ends that he's left throughout Matt's era and whether he intended on doing this or if he was just making it up as he went along is up to speculation. Questions like who blew up the TARDIS, who was Madame Kovarian, are given answers, but the most amusing one to me was the entire creation of 'Silence Will Fall' as it brought the whole arc which started all the way back in Smith's first episode full circle. One thing that isn't actually spelt aloud is that 'The Name of the Doctor' has now not actually happened as the Doctor having more regenerations means he doesn't die at Trenzalore, so technically him and Clara never met due to her not having any time stream to jump in. On repeat viewings, I really wish this had been brought up in the conversation at the end as I don't want it to carry over to Capaldi's reign, so Clara ahs saved the Doctor his entire life by jumping in a time stream that never was. What a Woman!
The whole episode was a very subtle twist on The Eleventh Hour. In that episode, the Doctor hopped into the TARDIS for five minutes and went back to find an Amelia Pond 12 years older, in Time Of The Doctor, Clara is sent away and clings onto the TARDIS to come back to a 300 year older Doctor. In TEH, the Doctor flies around the moon and back to an Amy two years older, in TTOTD, Clara is yet again sent home and comes back to a Doctor who we can assume is 300 or 400 years older. If this was the plan, it was a brilliant play on the events that shot Matt Smith on our screens commandingly saying 'Basically.. RUN'. Although a one hour time slot was a bit harsh after the success that would be Day of the Doctor, Moffat certainly did the best with what he had and managed to mix tying plot holes, a good Christmas special, and a great last episode for Matt in 60 minutes although I think an extra 5 or 10 minutes wouldn't have hurt as the next time the show will be back is an anonymous Autunm broadcast.
-Verdict-
Matt Smith's Doctor has been very child-like, has treated children with respect and I believe that Barnable being ginger was no coincidence and seeing him just brought back memories of the girl who waited; so he saved Clara in the harshest way to stay and protect the town called Christmas to make the ginger hair wait no longer and the TARDIS was a reminder of the friend that he tricked. This episode shows the darker and lighter side of the Doctor, not only constantly, but at the same time and for a final farewell to the actor that has seen the show go to a global status, that's just great. The only gripes I have are little nitpicks with the third act and what I think was a huge missed opportunity by not having the Doctor change into his Series 6 tweed jacket for the regeneration. Another Doctor has said farewell, and like all the other selves, his hour is over now, but we'll always remember when the Doctor was Matt. Good luck, Peter, and Geronimo!
List your thoughts down below of what you thought of the story and how it lived up to your expectations. Much appreciated.