If this three part arc had been as good as Extremis was, it would have been remembered as one of the best stories ever. Unfortunately, The Pyramid at the End of the World dropped the ball. Not a lot, but the writing just wasn't as good.
There were a few big things that prevented this episode from becoming really good in my opinion, involving the miscasting of the American, Russian, and Chinese officials, their rushed decisions that worked only to keep the narrative going, and how the ending when the timer was counting down they chose to have the Doctor tell Bill the truth, which took a lot longer than 1 minute and 40 seconds.
Now for the positives: Daniel Nettheim's direction was fantastic. He made the episode really entertaining from beginning to end, and I thought that just like "Extremis" before it, "The Pyramid at the End of the World" was particularly well filmed. The acting was good (apart from those miscast officials), and the ending was emotional, even if we haven't seen very much character development from Bill.
I also liked how the end of the world was shown through a chain of events that started with something really simple- Erica's glasses getting crushed.
Nardole was once again a joy to have on board the Tardis ("I'm not just sexy"), and I hope that Matt Lucas gets to stay on for series 11. Nardole has become one of my favorite characters in a long time and Matt Lucas is genuinely a great addition to the show. I don't say that lightly. He was the best part of this entire episode. I was a bit disappointed that Nardole didn't play a big role in the first few episodes, so I am glad to see that he is getting a bigger role this series. I also really liked Erica. Rachel Denning was very good and in her one episode established herself as a character and an actor who I would love to see become a companion in the future. She was really funny and had great chemistry with Capaldi's Doctor, who did suggest that she could travel with him.
The ending was a mix of good and not so good. The Doctor telling Bill the truth played out well and was acted well, but unfortunately it felt really contrived and took a lot longer than the 1 minute and 40 second countdown (around 4 minutes, I think?).
Togo Igawa was good as the Secretary General of the UN, but the rest of the government officials were miscast and their parts were not well written. They are supposed to be military geniuses, but here they surrender to the Monks in seemingly seconds just to keep the story going.
Overall, The Pyramid at the End of the World was an episode that really should have been great, but it was brought down by too many plot conveniences, flawed writing, and miscasting issues. To add to that, the monks weren't developed at all either. Otherwise, I found it genuinely fun to watch and really enjoyed it due to the fantastic performances from every main cast member (and by Rachel Denning) and thanks to the engaging direction by Daniel Nettheim.
On another note, Extremis and the Pyramid at the End of the World have all been a welcome balance of humor and seriousness and I think both are very well directed just for how fun they are to watch. It's no surprise considering Nettheim also directed last series' acclaimed Zygon two-parter, but I think these two have much more re-watch value
7 out of 10. I would have rated it much higher if the writing hadn't seemed so contrived.
There were a few big things that prevented this episode from becoming really good in my opinion, involving the miscasting of the American, Russian, and Chinese officials, their rushed decisions that worked only to keep the narrative going, and how the ending when the timer was counting down they chose to have the Doctor tell Bill the truth, which took a lot longer than 1 minute and 40 seconds.
Now for the positives: Daniel Nettheim's direction was fantastic. He made the episode really entertaining from beginning to end, and I thought that just like "Extremis" before it, "The Pyramid at the End of the World" was particularly well filmed. The acting was good (apart from those miscast officials), and the ending was emotional, even if we haven't seen very much character development from Bill.
I also liked how the end of the world was shown through a chain of events that started with something really simple- Erica's glasses getting crushed.
Nardole was once again a joy to have on board the Tardis ("I'm not just sexy"), and I hope that Matt Lucas gets to stay on for series 11. Nardole has become one of my favorite characters in a long time and Matt Lucas is genuinely a great addition to the show. I don't say that lightly. He was the best part of this entire episode. I was a bit disappointed that Nardole didn't play a big role in the first few episodes, so I am glad to see that he is getting a bigger role this series. I also really liked Erica. Rachel Denning was very good and in her one episode established herself as a character and an actor who I would love to see become a companion in the future. She was really funny and had great chemistry with Capaldi's Doctor, who did suggest that she could travel with him.
The ending was a mix of good and not so good. The Doctor telling Bill the truth played out well and was acted well, but unfortunately it felt really contrived and took a lot longer than the 1 minute and 40 second countdown (around 4 minutes, I think?).
Togo Igawa was good as the Secretary General of the UN, but the rest of the government officials were miscast and their parts were not well written. They are supposed to be military geniuses, but here they surrender to the Monks in seemingly seconds just to keep the story going.
Overall, The Pyramid at the End of the World was an episode that really should have been great, but it was brought down by too many plot conveniences, flawed writing, and miscasting issues. To add to that, the monks weren't developed at all either. Otherwise, I found it genuinely fun to watch and really enjoyed it due to the fantastic performances from every main cast member (and by Rachel Denning) and thanks to the engaging direction by Daniel Nettheim.
On another note, Extremis and the Pyramid at the End of the World have all been a welcome balance of humor and seriousness and I think both are very well directed just for how fun they are to watch. It's no surprise considering Nettheim also directed last series' acclaimed Zygon two-parter, but I think these two have much more re-watch value
7 out of 10. I would have rated it much higher if the writing hadn't seemed so contrived.