Now that the full series is out, I wanted to give my spoiler-free thoughts on the eight episodes. Don't worry, spoilery thoughts on the finale will follow. :D

Space Babies

The weakest of the series, which makes it a baffling decision as the opener. Apparently some people loved it, but the science was a shambles, the Doctor leapt to many many conclusions, the CGI was uncanny, and SPACE babies.

The Devil's Chord

The second weakest, unfortunately. I cannot fault the acting, and it did suffer from still having to explain things (the sonic, for instance), but it also made weird choices. I've already complained about this, I think. :D

Boom

MUCH better. Not the greatest episode, but far better. The plot beats strung together a lot better than in Devil's Chord, and while the physics didn't really work the way the script claimed, it still worked.

73 Yards

Might be the best episode of the series? The plot was fun, and the way Ruby used the main feature of the plot to her advantage was cool. The ending was a bit... vague on how it actually worked, and RTD is not helping in interviews about what she said.

Dot and Bubble

A very clever episode with something - actually several things - to say. The twists were very deliberately out of nowhere, for all that there are small hints seeded throughout.

Rogue

So much fun. Apparently even more fun if you actually watch the show Ruby brings up, because there are specific references seeded throughout. And yes, that character being introduced is very deliberately extremely familiar.

The Legend of Ruby Sunday

Pretty good. The Doctor spends a lot of time running between two plots that seem to have no bearing on each other, but which he has just randomly decided are connected. The reveal at the end had me rocking with surprised laughter while the rest of the family stared at me in bafflement.

Empire of Death

Maybe the only episode which didn't say its own title, though I might just not remember it. A very RTD finale: high stakes, the companion rather than the Doctor stuck in the middle of it, and an ending to the series arc plot that doesn't quite satisfy. This particular ending left a huge blazing "but that doesn't work", which we can headcanon into sense but it would be nice if it had actually hung together. But overall it was good!

More, and spoilery, thoughts on the finale when I get a chance, but overall I liked the series, liked the cast, and wish some of the scripts could have been better.

hS

It's not without issues (the kid's behavior is strange and the ending is played more optimistic than it ought to be IMO), but it's a smaller, more character-driven story with a more serious tone, which I tend to prefer.

This season is really wearing its thoughts on its sleeve so far: anti-capitalism, anti-war, and anti–blind faith in this case. That's fine with me since I agree with them, but the first bit is a little weird coming from Disney. They talk a good game, but do they put their money where their mouse is? {= P

~Neshomeh

The plots themselves felt half-baked, and though I know Devil's Chord is supposed to set things up for later in the season, it didn't set things up in a satisfying way. Space Babies was just tonally all over the place, and it was especially painful because this is supposed to be a new introduction to the show.

I do love Ncuti and Millie as the TARDIS duo, and love their dynamic so far. They've been the highlight of the new season, and I was admittedly loving Jinkx's performance as the Maestro. Lowkey dreading building up to a possible reveal that the Doctor is another one of the entities from beyond our universe, and that this is how it's all going to tie into the Timeless Child again.

Anyway, all in all, not a great start to the new series. I'll keep watching because I do want to know if my theory that Ruby is Susan's granddaughter, or Susan herself under the effect of a Chameleon Arch, is correct. (the Doctor does seem to have settled into a more familial relationship with her quite quickly, huh?) The Rani namedrop also had me sitting up and pointing excitedly (how long has it been, now?) so I'm really hoping we'll see other Time Lords starting to make a reappearance.

Moffat coming back could either be brilliant or a complete circus. Either way, I'll be there with popcorn.

[The series finale. The Doctor lost Ruby about ten minutes ago, let's say in an explosion. Now suddenly she shows up alive]

DOCTOR: Oh Ruby, I'm so glad you're okay! How did you even survive that?

RUBY: Ruby? Who's Ruby?

DOCTOR: What? Babes, what's wrong? Don't you remember?

RUBY: Oh Doctor, haven't you figured it out yet? I'm not Ruby Sunday.

DOCTOR: Oh no. No no no no no.

RUBY: Ruby Sunday never existed. I... am... the Master.

---

Of course I have evidence; otherwise it would just be a Crackpot Hypothesis.

1/ There have been five musical numbers in Doctor Who. Three of the others were the Master. The fourth was the Toymaker with the Master in his tooth. The Master should be involved this time too.

2/ A woman's hand picked up the Gold Tooth Master. Ruby is also a woman. QED.

3/ The Doctor has been scanning Ruby and getting puzzling results. The last time that happened was when Amy Pond turned out not to be human right now.

4/ The presence or absence of Ruby Sunday has repeatedly caused major alterations to the timeline. The biggest of these was her stepping on a butterfly - which the Doctor had pretty much told her would have no effect - and Silurianising the human race. That says Time Lord to me - like back in Turn Left, when the Doctor's death caused the whole world to go to pot practically overnight.

5/ She looks like Clara Oswald cosplaying Rose Tyler. You know - the only two NuWho companions the Doctor kept across regenerations, so plausibly the ones he was most attached to. If you were trying to gain his trust, that's a great way to go about it.

So how did this happen? There's multiple options here:

a) She's just the Master. This is how she regenerated after being freed from the tooth.

b) She's a bigeneration of the Master at some point.

c) She's the Gold Tooth Master, possessing a human body like the Tremas Master in OldWho.

d) In 13's last episodes, she was briefly forced to regenerate into the Master; Ruby could be the Master half of that combination, running around by herself.

e) She's the Master's daughter, either from Harold and Lucy Saxon, or from Saxon and Missy during that one disturbing episode they had together. She calls herself the Master because the Master is dead, so she feels she's inherited the title. (This could also be the case for option d.)

The biggest hint that we're looking at the Master's daughter would be if the Doctor's daughter reappeared, which has been rumoured since forever. Bonus points if she believes the Doctor to be dead and is calling herself the Doctor, "to keep the name alive". Options c and e also both explain why Ruby became a Silurian, which is a bit tricky if she's a full Time Lord.

Obviously I will be adding evidence to this theory as it comes in. ^_^

hS

But yeah, I pretty much agree with everything you said. I don't think it all rubbed Phobos and me the wrong way quite as much, but still. The look and feel is very much influenced by Disney, IMO, which is sometimes okay but often a bit cartoonish and cheesy. And the writing suffers from Davies' "because reasons" approach to plots. I was also fed up with "space babies!" by the end. ;^_^;

But the eps ARE fun, though. {= )

Maestro is extremely well performed. Maybe a tad out of place, but worth it. I'm curious about the rest of the "pantheon" even if it makes me scratch my head a bit. If the Toymaster is play and Maestro is music, then what other, say, cornerstones of sapient experience might we get?

~Neshomeh