Doctor Who: Ascension of the Cybermen (2020) - Review

So here we are with the first part of the Doctor Who Series 12 finale, 'Ascension of the Cybermen', which for no reason at all doesn't feature a "...Part One" in the title, which seems a bit odd after the opener 'Spyfall', but oh well. Despite what the title may suggest, this isn't a standalone episode, and like a good few episodes of Series 12, feels like set-up with no pay-off whatsoever, meaning that I am once again trapped on the edge of my seat wondering if Chris Chibnall really can stick the landing with so many dangling plot-threads.

'Ascension of the Cybermen' starts off with the Doctor (Jodie Whittaker), Graham (Bradley Walsh), Yaz (Mandip Gill) and Ryan (Tosin Cole) attempting to defend the last seven humans that side of the universe from a Cyberman attack. I say attempting because they are quickly defeated by flying Cyberman heads that looked so utterly ridiculous that all sense of tension vanished immediately. Seriously, the Cyber-drones needed a much more menacing or at the very least, less comical design. Some of the humans are killed, and the "fam" are split-up, with Graham and Yaz going with three of the humans in an escape capsule, and the Doctor and Ryan going off with human survivor Ethan in a Cyberman ship. Ethan has all the characteristics of a convenient plot device, and thus they manage to reach a mysterious Boundary to another part of the universe guarded by a strange wizard. Meanwhile, the others find their way onto a Cyberman war carrier, before their two Cyberman attackers led by the Lone Cyberman / Ashad (Patrick O'Kane) pursue them. Quite why there are only three Cybermen on two ships is slightly baffling, and considering Ashad has the Cyberium within him, why doesn't he just go straight to the Cyberman war carrier and wake up the millions of war-model Cybermen inside? Ah, ye olde plot contrivance.

The new war-model Cybermen look a bit silly, with over-designed 'The Invasion'-style helmets, Iron Man chest pieces and random bits of armour and underarmour spread out. When shot in wide-angles, the outfits look a bit silly, but the close-ups don't look too bad. The Cybus Cybermen still look better, which makes the upgrade look like more of a downgrade. Quite why the Peter Capaldi-era Cybermen didn't show up instead is another matter entirely, but I'm not too fussed. Chris Chibnall seems determined to almost entirely retcon Steven Moffat's Doctor Who tenure out of existence, and if this includes Cyberman designs, then so be it. Ashad here feels like a generic villain, promising incredible knowledge without actually demonstrating it. Once again, there's an entire warship full of Cybermen that are just sitting there for no reason other than to build-up a cliffhanger.

Oh, and naturally the Boundary the old wizard is guarding is revealed to lead to Gallifrey, which is conveniently revealed in a dramatic way before the Master (Sacha Dhawan) makes a welcome return promising that this is where "everything changes". In an episode that felt like more of the same, this is a big promise for next week's 'The Timeless Children', but more of Dhawan's Master is very much welcome, even if I still can't believe that this is the third - yes, third - Who finale to feature both the Master and the Cybermen, after 2014's 'Death in Heaven' and 2017's 'The Doctor Falls'. Hopefully this story will end up closer in quality to the latter.

Nitpick time though: as much as I like Segun Akinola's score for Doctor Who, I do miss the old Murray Gold Cyberman theme. Akinola's motif just isn't quite as distinctive. Ho-hum. Nitpick over.

To be honest, I have very little to say about 'Ascension of the Cybermen'. The C-plot following Brendan is intriguing, but left with no explanation or resolution; Ashad's plan is so vague that all the plot conveniences could turn out to be intentional; and the whole gateway concept is as open as the gateway itself. Quite where this is all going I have no idea, but I am worried that Chris Chibnall will just delay all of the important answers to next series. All of Series 12 so far has felt very nostalgic, bringing back the Master, the Cybermen, Captain Jack, the Judoon, introducing a new Doctor, destroying Gallifrey (returning the show to it's 2005 status quo) and more, without adding anything particularly new. I don't know what Series 12 adds to Doctor Who canon, other than more of some very familiar ideas executed in a slightly different way. Chris Chibnall handles all of these elements very well, but he doesn't add anything truly new. Oh well, time will tell. Hopefully we'll get some conclusion in 'The Timeless Children'.

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