Uno

What I love about John Simm’s Master(s) is that they seem like three very different men depending on the season. His first Master has a very straightforward plan and he manages to accomplish his goals for an entire year, but he’s also very camp and I think he knows that he’s iconic because he has a lot of confidence (well, the Master’s always had confidence but whilst he was Saxon he was really living his best life with his music and his elderly Doctor that he pushed around in a wheelchair and summoned with a little dinner bell). The first Simm Master who I’ve taken to calling Sparky, however, will bite you - he’s feral, all instinct, his renewal was stopped by Lucy Saxon before he could reclaim all of his brain cells so he’s running on adrenaline and self-preservation (it really shows, but at least he helped the Doctor with stopping Rassilon because even in a manic state he can remember how to fight Lord Presidents - he reminds me a lot of the Decayed Master, insane and murderous). The second Simm Master with the goatee is a clear homage to Ainsley and Delgado, he’s a lot more calm and suave, but in my opinion he’s like a guy who listens to Alpha Male podcasts, in the sense that he’s a slightly misogynistic asshole (he always has been but it feels like more than usual). This is all common knowledge but I love a bit of analysis and John Simm deserves all the praise in the world for managing to portray the same character in entirely different ways every time he was brought back, I love his Master.

Doctor vs Master in terms of who I'd rather have as an enemy is Master all the fucking way. The thing about The Master is their number one priority is not their moral code or revenge or domination or being a villain no their number 1 priority no matter what is being high camp. If the master was after me I would just clap to lower the lights and make "masochism tango" start playing and then during the dance I'd cuff and collar them with some ridiculously strong stuff and at the end they'd be like "mon chéri...it seems you have foiled me for now, but we shall meet again" and then they'd kiss me hand and I probably would have at least a few years before they show up again. Whereas if you're not already in a deeply codependent situation ship and you piss off The Doctor their number one priority is Fucking Getting You. You can fuck off to the year 6 billion in the 13th dimension and they'll still find your ass and be like "I tripled your lifespan and also gave you anterograde amnesia so everyday you will wake up with fewer and fewer loved ones but the grief will be brand new" like jesus christ man i don't wanna deal with that