this is gonna be fun

Missy has, basically, killed herself over the Doctor, only to wake up, alone on that ship, left behind, and realising she’s been given up on. Realising the Doctor didn’t waste a second thought on whether she really left him behind, after all the time they spent together, all the tears she shed, all the rejection she got from him and still stuck around, all the attempts to become a better person, just for him.

What else would the Master do after that, than give up on himself, too? What else would he do, after the one person who’s always, always believed in the good in others, stopped believing in him, then go back to the one thing that has always been there for him, as made him feel empowered, made him feel safe…?

So he saved himself into being evil, but he’s broken, he’s traumatised, he’s suicidal. He’s lying on the floor, tears in his eyes, telling the Cyberman he’d be okay with all of this being over. Because he’s not enjoying it as much as he used to, anymore, being evil.

He just wants his friend back.

And his friend, what does she do? Has she given him a second of her time, listened to a second of his pain, showed compassion for a single moment? No. She’s showing him she’s given up on him every step of the way. The person who swore herself to never be cruel, to never be cowardly, is being openly cruel to him. Leaves him stranded with Nazis. Deactivating his perception filter (still. URGH.). Leaving him trapped in another dimension. Leaving him to be blown into pieces.

God, he needed her back so badly, he pretended to be her friend for years, all in the name of a plan he didn’t actually want to succeed in the first place, considering he had that whole Timeless Child plan already in motion.

He repeatedly tries to bring it up. Gallifrey, what he did, what he found out and she’s not listening. Not once. And so he keeps on lashing out, trying to protect himself, trying to hide that he actually feels, because that’s a weakness now, because she felt before and it did nothing but kill her, then have her be left behind.

He even looks her in the eyes and tells her, tells her “It’s like knowing I’m in the right place, doing what I was made for. “ Tells her that this is his true purpose, after having failed to grow, failed to change, he’s finally given up on himself.

I’m sorry. But if you think the Doctor can go from utterly whipped for the Master with puppy eyes, like Ten and Twelve were, to “absolute cruel and not giving a damn about the Master anymore”, then it shouldn’t be too hard to believe that Dhawan is post-Missy, either.

And I’m so tired of people saying this is erasing Missy’s character arc, because no! That’s not how it works. It wasn’t for nothing. She TRIED. She tried and she was left behind and she gave up and it happens. And it’s incredibly human. And it matters, please, for the love of God, it matters!

And it’s good to show, too? She has based her whole redemption, her whole attempt to change on ONE person’s approval, of course she would fail. Of course she would. Especially with a person as whimsical as the Doctor to guide her.

jack: yeah???