Missy’s Top Five Moments (So far)
Mark McCullough picks out 5 of the best so far from Michelle Gomez’s incarnation of the Master.
In the run up to the premiere of Series Eight, we were teased with a filming picture revealing the mysterious “Gatekeeper of the Nethersphere”. Very little was known about her identity other than that she was played by the wonderful Michelle Gomez. As the series progressed, we were treated to tantalising glimpses of her, usually picking up characters who had died within that narrative. Naturally this lead to lots of speculation about who she was and what exactly her plans for the Doctor were. As you would expect this all came together in the finale of Series Eight, which are the only two episodes (to date) to properly feature Missy. As such there is not as much material on hand to analyse her character in this article, so instead I have opted to look at five of her top moments (in chronological order) and use them to explain why I love her character.
5. “Cybermen from cyberspace. Now, why has no-one ever thought of that before?”
One of the most chilling moments in the entire two part finale was when Missy revealed that her army had been hiding in plain sight all along. The way she conducted the rise of the Cybermen out of the pools of Dark Water exuded an air of authority coupled with insanity. This was particularly borne out by the quote: “Humankind, bring out your dead.” A simple scene that is effective at establishing Missy and her army as a unique yet genuine threat.
4. “I couldn’t very well keep calling myself the Master, now could I?”
The reveal of her identity was one of the most divisive moments of Series Eight. I can’t help but feel that part of the reason for this was due to the fact the scene was dragged out slightly, with a delay from learning she was a Time Lady until finding out she was the Master. Not only that but the reveal was the cliff-hanger, so anyone who had any doubts about the drastic change in the Master’s character was given a week for these doubts to fester before Gomez was given the chance to dispel them. Regardless of your opinion on the scene, it would be foolish to deny that it was one of the key scenes of the series and one which I feel has paid enormous dividends. I really can envisage anyone other than Gomez as the Master now.
3. “I’m going to kill you in a minute. I’m not even kidding. You’re going to be as dead as a fish on a slab any second now, all floppy and making smells. But don’t tell the boys. This is our secret girl plan.”
Another defining scene was her confrontation with fan favourite Osgood. Whilst I am devastated by the loss of Osgood I am in love with how Moffat handled it. Throughout the scene Missy is in total control and teases Osgood at every opportunity. She doesn’t just kill Osgood, she makes sure she dies without dignity and dies afraid. She emphasises her superiority throughout her taunting and ultimately opts to kill her for fun even when reminded that keeping her alive would have been more beneficial. What this does is create a really unhinged and unpredictable villain which is exactly what is needed in a finale and is a perfect depiction of the Master.
2. “Permission to squee…”
I’m cheating ever so slightly here by using a Seb quote instead of a Missy one here, but I’m sure you all know the scene I’m referring to. Again this scene reinforces the point I made in the previous paragraph about Missy being an insane threat. It makes things even more unpredictable when even those on her own side are not safe from her murderous tendencies as Seb and Doctor Chang can both testify to. Her body count could have been even higher as Clara is targeted and Kate too would have died had it not been for the Brigadier. The take home message for Series Nine’s opener should be don’t mess with Missy
1. “Conquer the universe, Mr President. Show a bad girl how it’s done.”
The final showdown between Missy and the Doctor was unlike anything we had ever encountered before. Normally the Doctor has to beat an enemy in order to protect the world, but here Missy isn’t attacking anyone, so there is no fight. Instead she targets the Doctor’s character mentioning the parallels between the two of them, something which I have always seen as a key element of the relationship between the Doctor and the Master. I really enjoyed seeing Missy embrace this aspect and use it to place the Doctor in a rather unusual situation. Amazingly Gomez was able to make me feel pity for the Master, and consider the fact for the first time ever that I may have misunderstood the character completely. I’m really looking forward to seeing where Moffat takes us next.
“I have no interest in being a celebrity. I wouldn’t go to anything that I wasn’t involved in just for the sake of wearing a nice frock and having my picture taken. That part of the business doesn’t make me feel very comfortable.” – Michelle Gomez
I was looking for quotes from Michelle Gomez to end the article when I stumbled upon this one and thought that it fitted perfectly. Michelle is very much involved in the Doctor Who fandom now, and it is wonderful to see her embrace that. I have noticed that she has been excellent with the fans so far, and I have thoroughly enjoyed some of her videos from on set. It’s an honour to have the opportunity to write this article to celebrate Michelle’s contribution so far. And hopefully there is a lot more to come!
