History YMMV / DoctorWhoS35E1TheMagiciansApprentice

* ContinuityLockout: If you hadn't seen the online minisode "The Night of the Doctor" you'll probably have no clue who Ohila is.

** Narrowly Averted With "Did You Miss Our Little Chats?" As Davros Shows The Receipts (Never mind how he got the footage in-universe)

* {{Padding}}: This episode spends up to 35 minutes of getting the characters to the place to see Davros. Scenes such as Colony Sarff going around asking where the Doctor is, Missy stopping the planes & conversation with Clara, The Doctor playing the guitar in medieval times were seen as drawn out and unnecessary by some viewers.

* AuthorsSavingThrow:
** A lot of people thought that Clara kissing Jane Austen (and being very happy about it) is a way to make up for the "Nina was just a phase" joke in "Asylum of the Daleks", after the [[ScrewYourself equally questionable]] attempt at a save in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS33ShortClaraAndTheTardis Clara and the TARDIS]]".
** The "New Paradigm" Daleks are conspicuous by their total absence, with only "Classic" and RTD-era models showing up.
** The Special Weapons Dalek is not just brought back as a piece of background scenery this time, but totally functional. Not only that, but we get to see it talking and lighting up for the first time ever (many fans correctly guesses that the little ventilation slots on the sides of its doom were actually its version of the Dalek ear lamp lights), and Nick Briggs even went to the trouble of giving it a "[[EvilSoundsDeep big, beefy voice]]".
** The episode is also the beginning of sanding off the rougher edges of the Twelfth Doctor, as making him more grumpy and unlikable in Series 8 didn't really work out. First time we see The Doctor in this episode he's trying to save a child from death, and second time we see him he's playing a guitar (on top of a Chieftain tank, no less), cracking jokes, and being affectionate with Clara. Much better!

** The Doctor willingly murdering a child, even if it's Davros? Nope. Putting aside the huge paradoxical mess that would be, the Doctor can't stand to see children die, much less be a reason for their death, as the Time War's ultimate resolution proved -- and the reason he's ready to die now is because of his guilt over abandoning Davros to begin with and the resultant tragedy of the Daleks. There's also the meta issue of the fate of a multi-million dollar family-friendly franchise about to appear in ''VideoGame/LEGODimensions'': As [[http://blogtorwho.blogspot.com/2015/09/doctor-who-series-9-spoilery-look-at.html Blogtor Who put it]], "Join us next week, by which time we'll have found out if the Doctor really is about to murder a child in cold blood on primetime [=BBC1=], for more in-depth analysis." Again, the real cliffhanger is ''how'' he will remain on the side of good. (Also: He says he's saving a "friend", not "friends". The prequel shorts reveal that he actually regards Davros, at least that scared boy Davros, as such.)

* StockFootageFailure: A subtle one -- People from the West Coast of the US know right off that the shot of La Cienega Blvd (near LAX) as shown in the faux news report segment is from almost a decade ago. The sign in the lower right-hand corner (shared with a Ralph's supermarket) advertises Long's Drugs, a pharmacy chain that was bought by CVS circa 2008.

** A lot of people thought that Clara kissing Jane Austen (and being very happy about it) is a way to make up for the "Nina was just a phase" joke in "Asylum of the Daleks", after the [[ScrewYourself equally questionable]] [[RelationshipWritingFumble attempt at a save]] in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS33ShortClaraAndTheTardis Clara and the TARDIS]]".

* IdiotPlot: The Doctor believing Clara is killed by the Daleks. Except he saw her on the screen vanish into thin air when she was shot & he should already know that when a Dalek exterminates someone they fall dead on the floor. So the story just has the Doctor just forget events & knowledge of Daleks from prior episodes.

* FoeYay: As if the Doctor/Master relationship wasn't already rife with tension, we now have Missy sent a "last will" of the Doctor's that is meant for "his best friend" and openly talking about how great they are together. Missy even looks rather put out when the Doctor calls Davros his greatest enemy, threatening to scratch Davros's eye out. That said, she also seems to rule out the human version of romance, considering a Time Lord friendship to be above such "animal" unpleasantness.

* {{Padding}}: This episode spends up to 35 minutes of getting the characters to the place to see Davros. Scenes such as Colony Sarff going around asking where the Doctor is, Missy stopping the planes & conversation with Clara, The Doctor playing the guitar in medieval times will be seen as drawn out & unnecessary to some viewers.

* ShockingMoments: Tons of it. The child tells us his name. Missy's grand return, [[JokerImmunity even if it's not like we didn't know she wouldn't stay dead]]. Missy casually vaporizing people, still clearly holding all the cards even if eight snipers are trained on her. Davros's return. The reveal of just where they are. The possibility that the Doctor will willingly kill a child. Even the fact the Doctor is now prone to making bad jokes, hugs and flirting with Clara. This has ''many'' moments of the caliber of the ''single'' moment that puts the wham into most {{Wham Episode}}s.

* {{Padding}}: We spend rather longer watching Colony Sarff trying to find the Doctor than we really needed. Makes for some nice ContinuityPorn, though. (In fact, there is so much to the Sarff tangent that one entire segment was cut from the episode and released separately as a prologue.)
** The Doctor's medieval concert also lasts a bit longer than it probably should, though this is probably more due to the TheCastShowoff factor.

* HolyShitQuotient: Tons of it. The child tells us his name. Missy's grand return, [[JokerImmunity even if it's not like we didn't know she wouldn't stay dead]]. Missy casually vaporizing people, still clearly holding all the cards even if eight snipers are trained on her. Davros's return. The reveal of just where they are. The possibility that the Doctor will willingly kill a child. Even the fact the Doctor is now prone to making bad jokes, hugs and flirting with Clara. This has ''many'' moments of the caliber of the ''single'' moment that puts the wham into most {{Wham Episode}}s.