Ascension of the Cybermen is the first part in the two-part finale of this current series. This episode is building up to the final episode next week.
This episode is full of cybermen from start to finish, we see new and old cybermen. We really feel the threat of the cybermen and fear for the Doctor and her friend's safety. Chibnall leaves us on a cliff-hanger and he does it really effectively that we want to know what is going to happen next. It has been said that this cliff-hanger is similar one we have previously encountered earlier on in the series, with the Doctor's friends in danger and the Doctor a long way away. The cliff-hanger in this episode is much more intense as we have so many questions left unanswered: Why is Gallifrey the dimension humans have been trying to get to?, How is the Master here?, What is this secret the Master has been hiding?, Will Yas and Graham survive? All these questions, Chibnall has left us with and now we are desperate to find the answer to them all.
Along with this, there is a biblical vibe in this episode with the character, Ko Sharmus (Ian McElhinney). Ko Sharmus is similar to Moses as he shows the Doctor how the waves divide to provide a route to safety. Yet the safe place he shows the Doctor and Ryan is the destroyed version of Gallifrey with the Master showing up right at the end to give her another warning - "Be afraid, Doctor. Everything is about to change. Forever."
In true Doctor Who style this episode isn’t as simple as just one storyline, we have two to deal with and we don't know what the other story has to do with the Cybermen and the Doctor. In the second story, far away from the Cybermen in what we guess is early 20th Century Ireland, we are shown the life of a baby who was abandoned but adapted by a couple. This mystery child who is named Brendan grows up and somehow survives being shot at and falling off a cliff. We see him retire but then at the end he is tortured by his boss and adoptive father. It is confusing at the moment how this story fits in with the future story and we question why Brendan is being tortured, for what purpose. With Brendan surviving being shot at it is similar to Captain Jack who can't die yet we don’t know why Brendan didn't die that time yet.
It is interesting to see in this episode as our main team is split up and we question who will survive the Cybermen. It would be a miracle if they all survived but going from past episodes with the Cybermen, the Doctor doesn’t have the best of luck with them as they always loose at least one person to them.
Ascension of the Cybermen is intense and fast paced, we left with many unanswered questions. Therefore, we are excited to for the final episode to get the answers we want and to see the outcome for the Doctor and her friends. We are intrigued to know how the Doctor in the far future and Brendan in the past are linked and what the Master has to tell the Doctor. It is almost time to find out the biggest plot secret that Chibnall has created in his run of Doctor Who so far. This episode was great, one of the best Cybermen stories we have seen for a while but this means the final episode has expectations to meet.
