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Series Eight has signalled a return to form for a show that periodically reinvents itself, at no small risk to its survival. Following The Day Of The Doctor and The Time Of The Doctor, we might have expected the search for Gallifrey to have been a recurrent motif – indeed the ending of The Day Of The Doctor seemed to promise a new direction completely. However, the fate and quest for Gallifrey only features with any prominence in the finale. The arc instead has been a character driven one. A non prescriptive exploration into ethical questions such as truth, morality, trust, power and control, has reinvigorated the show with a new depth and maturity that will appeal to the children as much if not more so than the adults. Tonight after hysterically laughing at the appearance of Father Christmas, my children wanted a hug. I made sure that it was followed by a reassuring smile with eye contact. And as they went to bed, before writing up this review I was moved to step outside into the back garden, look up at the stars and remember that love is a promise and not a feeling, a commitment to stand alongside those whom we care about and care for. That’s precisely what my grandfather did – in war and peace, before he joined the stars. The departed really do keep us alive in life.

The Independent

‘Death in Heaven’ is unlikely to leave a dry eye in the house. It’s a fantastic emotionally-charged, action-packed close to Peter Capaldi’s first series as the Time Lord. Yes, the Doctor still can’t find Gallifrey but at least he’s stopped suffering from an identity crisis.

“You know what I am? I am an idiot with a box and a screwdriver, passing through, helping out, learning.”

Just so.

The Telegraph

Doctor Who has always had a nerdily keen sense of its own history, demonstrated here by two lovely little tributes to the late Nicholas Courtney - a stalwart throughout the Seventies as the much-loved Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart. There was a statesmanlike portrait of him aboard Earth Force One and, in a touching twist, he was also one of the Cybermen - managing to catch his daughter, UN bigwig Kate (the terrific Jemma Redgrave), as she fell to earth. The Brigadier had always wanted the Doctor to salute him, just once. After 25 years, he finally got his wish.

In turn, I’ll salute the Doctor. This has been a cracking series, with the show back to its darkly compelling best and Capaldi - clever, complex and unpredictably otherworldly - making the role truly his own. Roll on Christmas Day.

Radio Times

Death in Heaven exudes gloom. Almost half is set in a graveyard. All the dead of planet Earth rise up as tottering Cybermen in a majestic danse macabre. Yet nothing in this episode strikes me as in dubious taste, unlike its set-up episode Dark Water. Director Rachel Talalay renders each moment, each mood with precision – protracted talky scenes are riveting and action sequences (notably the Bond-like plane destruction and the Doctor’s skyfall) are exhilarating.

Many expert hands have put this outstanding piece of television on screen. It caps off a season that has taken risks, recharged the franchise and given us the finest Doctor and companion partnership. Death in Heaven is a deeply satisfying season finale, certainly one of Moffat’s most audacious and most peculiarly moving scripts.
Time to salute Steven.

Den of Geek

It feels like Doctor Who has undergone a real resurgence of sorts with him in the TARDIS, and his Doctor remains one you can barely keep your eyes off. When Danny was coldly telling him what he was going to do, the mixture of hurt and recognition in Capaldi’s eyes was quite brilliant. He gave a look of a man almost destroyed by the choices he had to make. As it would turn out, he managed to find some kind of peace with himself in Death In Heaven, working out just what kind of man he is and isn’t. It wasn’t much of a surprise, granted, but it was nicely played, as always. And we still suspect outright ‘warmth’ won’t become a prevalent quality in Twelve.

“That’s your answer for everyhting isn’t it? Vote for an idiot”

It would be fair to say, then, that Death In Heaven got an awful lot of things right. We argued in our spoiler-free review that it rounds off the most satisfying Who finale since 2005, and we stick by that. It’s helped enormously that this particular story has developed and been explored over 100 minutes of screen time. The two parts allowed things to unfold at a steady pace, and director Rachel Talalay’s decision to hold things as still as possible, with quick cuts at a minimum, meant that the intensity dial could be turned up.

SFX

Just when you think there’s the possibility that Danny didn’t press DELETE last week may have had some bearing (grasping at straws, yeah), what happens next makes that (and the faulty chip theory) impossible – the Cyber-Brigadier nonsense. Maybe we’re supposed to think the military mind combined with love is the killer combination, but in reality, the real key to Cyber-resistance seems to be “usefulness to the plot”.

It’s a shame, because there’s so much clever scriptwriting going on display in “Death In Heaven” you feel you deserve a cleverer ending too. Series eight has been really strong and inventive in so many ways, but easy fix solutions have been a recurrent jinx (“Robot Of Sherwood”, “The Caretaker”, “Kill The Moon”, “Flatline” and “In The Forest Of The Night”). This doesn’t mean the show should be all about sci-fi technobabble with its denouements, but it would be great to have a few more resolutions where you’re just damned impressed at the Doctor’s ingenuity. Keep the big emotional moments, sure, just steer clear of “love as an energy” pseudo-science.

Overall, though, “Death In Heaven” is an immensely enjoyable series finale, and – in best Doctor Who tradition – a rollicking spectacle the like of which you won’t see anywhere else on TV this week.

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