#'but they mustve worked that out theyve been doing this for millennia'

[rearranging-deck-chairs]

okay i must really be running out of things to overanalyse now that this catches my eye while im skipping through the episode on mute but this exchange:

MISSY: It's passed on through the bloodline. Usually the lynchpin goes on to lead a normal life, have their own family, and the link is passed down through the generations. DOCTOR: But the Monks must have worked that out. They've been doing this for millennia. MISSY: Why? If the link is passed on, the Monks stay in charge, through, they think, their ruthlessness and efficiency. But if the lynchpin dies and the link isn't passed on, and the Monks get booted off the planet, well, they just chalk it up to experience.

not sure why but i think it's interesting. how this sort of... accidental success? is so self-evident to the master and it seems almost entirely invisible to the doctor. feels a little like survivorship bias?

idk something something the doctor "basically the definition of impossible" & "lost causes are my speciality" full of survivorship bias vs the master who ends almost all of their altercations in death

the doctor "but i do it brilliantly" vs the master who spends half a century planning and preparing for every time they meet

#the master dying and being reborn for the millionth time: well THAT didnt work. back to the drawing board #vs the doctor 'i dont die i regenerate' #like i said running out of things to overanalyse #'but they mustve worked that out theyve been doing this for millennia' #<- has blind spots the size of the sun #the master mustve watched people make this mistake so many times like from individuals to civilisations and everything in between #'why?!' why would you figure out a fatal flaw like that when what youve been doing works #at this point i just want them on the same side to see what happens #we've seen now what it looks like when you throw their different views abt their relationship at each other #now lets see what it looks like when you put all that aside and throw their different views about How To Do Things at each other