This episode alternates between Previously and Now as Bill (Pearl Mackie) goes on another date with Penny (Ronke Adekoleujo) talking about her lecturer and his dreams. How he's an alien, a space alien and also tells her about the Pope in her flat. Which they find hilarious, until this time she gets a visit from the UN Secretary General (Togo Igawa) who wants to see the President of the World. Who just happens to be the Doctor (Peter Capaldi). He plays guitar, as we get another narration from him about the end of the world. He's double locked the TARDIS so she can't get in but tells him the UN is here. He's told about Turmezistan and how there's a giant pyramid there that wasn't there before. The region being bordered by the three biggest armies of the world. The Doctor flies there in the plane, with the TARDIS within the plane.
When they they arrive he goes towards the pyramid and it opens with a Monk coming out. Telling them the earth is doomed and humanity will destroy itself. As the clocks on their phones reset to 11.57 all around the world. The Doctor mentioning it's the Doomsday clock and somewhere a disaster will lead to the earth being destroyed. Yes, but not on his watch. Oh sorry did that sound like an unintentional pun there?! They come up with a strategy and the Doctor agrees with the Chinese that they need to demonstrate a show of strength and unity, to avoid World War Three. Yeah it's the Doctor he doesn't approve such action, but says this time they must since the Monks are not here peacefully. Each time he tries to tell her about what's wrong with him, they're interrupted. As Bill asks Nardole (Matt Lucas)but Nardole tells her to speak with him which the Doctor surmizes as much. As the plane flies in and they're ready to bomb the pyramid, there's a beam of light that shines into the sky and the Monks take over the plane. Landing it safely and releasing the pilot and crew. As with the other crew. The Russian saying they tried that action before when they sent in a submarine.
Whilst all this is happening, in the UK, a woman, Erica (Rachel Denning) has her glasses broken after she leaves her bag in the door to pry it open and a man shuts it. She's a scientist and heads to work with a fellow scientist, Douglas (Tony Gardener) who is too tired to do much work. She tells him to go home but he can't leave here. They're developing some sort of a bio-organic enzyme. As she suits up and tells him to do the readings cos her reading glasses are broken. Well that was a mistake as we'll see later. As well as human error.
As they enter the pyramid to find out the Monk's intentions the Doctor knows that they've been watching them for an eternity practically and are also watching that particular lab. The Monks show them a strand of time a year into the future, where they see destruction of the earth and all of humanity has been wiped out. They tell them humanity ended itself in this way. Which comes as a shock to everyone, but the Doctor is still holding onto the strand. As he would!
They want them to consent, to power consent and invite them in. So that they can help them avoid this catastrophe as they've been doing so for years. With power comes consent and with consent comes love. They must show the Monks their love. The Secretary General is afraid and he gives them his consent. However the Monk notices it's not consent or love but he's consenting out of fear and destroys him. The Doctor takes them back out and tells them there must be some event somewhere they've got to find and stop it from taking place. Putting secret documents onto the Net and tells them to Google. However not everyone's willing to do this and the American, Col BRabbit (Eben Young) says he's ready to surrender to them, as is the Chinese, Xiaolian (Daphne Cheung.) Including the Russian, Ilya (Andrew Bryon). Even after the Doctor tells them it's a bad thing. In the lab, after they spray the plants, they all die. Douglas grabs a sample as they exit the chamber. Analysis shows an increase in bacteria which has destroyed the plants. It will be released into the air when the cycle for venting (as I call it) comes round. Douglas falls to the floor and is disintegrated.
They go to the pyramid again and the Doctor tells Bill to go with them to watch them. A bit of a bad idea cos what's she really going to do, when you know she's going to eb the only one left. As he tells Nardole to hack the feed and stop the Monks from watching the labs, which he narrowed down to 48. Adding that when the camera in one of the labs comes back online, that's the lab they've been watching. As they arrive in the TARDIS, he tells Nardole to leave since he won't be able to take the release of the bacteria. The TARDIS isn't able to leave and Nardole is affected by the vapour.
As the others surrender, they are all destroyed and Bill is left. But she refuses to consent since she's a nobody. The Doctor calling himself handsome, intelligent and clever finds the way to destroy bacteria is to burn it and so sets about doing this. Adding Erica may even ask him out after this. He's going to blow up the lab before the bacteria can be released into the air. However he finds he can't get out of the airlock chamber (Crystal Maze anyone?? ha) and needs to override it with a code. Which is a combination and he can't see to enter it. Nardole is out cold and Bill can't help him. He tells her to leave the pyramid and in the process has to tell her he's blind since Chasm Forge and she goes back to save the Doctor from dying. She asks if the Monks can restore his sight and he says yes, so she gives her consent after making an executive decision. Of course she was going to do this and she also has love for the Doctor in her heart, so the Monk makes him see again, as she saves him.
Next week's episode looks more exciting than this one. Couldn't help thinking it's been done before. As Missy finally gets in on some action and the Doctor turns evil-ish. The Monks demanding love, but why, saying how "fear is inefficient, we must be loved." Also what is the link they told Bill about when she agreed to giving her consent. Consent they require before they can conquer the human race. Obviously she wasn't going to be destroyed. But it wasn't really love for the Monks, it was more for the Doctor, in my opinion.
This ep also has the title of the 2005 episode The End of the World contained within it. The Doctor's role as President goes back to 2014 and UNIT needed a President of the Earth for such emergencies and the Doctor was the only one who could do this. Having also saved Earth on some many occasions. The Doctor also telling Bill that he's meditating, which past Doctors have done on numerous occasions too. Pyramids also feature heavily in Doctor Who, ranging from the episode with River, The Wedding of River Song which contained Area 52 within it. In The Dalek's Master Plan, the Doctor went up against the Monk at the Pyramid in Giza. Funny part was Bill saying they probably need to be invited in like vampires. But the Doctor dismisses that idea since he's already dealt with vampires before, in State of Decay.
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