YMMV / Doctor Who 50th Prequel "The Night of the Doctor"

• Broken Base: Over the nature of the Eighth Doctor's involvement in the Time War and Moffat's retcon of a War Doctor incarnation, stealing arguably Eight's most important action of his entire incarnation. It was originally believed by most that the Eighth Doctor had been the one to fight in the Time War to the very end and push the button, and his Big Finish audios had steadily been transforming his character into the man who would one day destroy Time Lords and Daleks alike, with comics over the years backing this character development up. Russell T. Davies himself, the creator of the Time War and Ninth Doctor, even wrote a story around the time of the 50th Anniversary involving the Eighth Doctor using the Moment to end the Time War and his subsequent regeneration into the Ninth Doctor directly. Only for Moffat to overrule the idea on the show in favor of his own, claiming he "had a hard time seeing" the Eighth Doctor as the one who ended the Time War, despite his character development beyond his original innocent portrayal in the TV movie. Though since then he revealed in an interview the BBC forbade him from using Classic Doctors in the special, preferring John Hurt's star power for casual viewers over Paul McGann. Whichever version of these events of how the Time War unfolded comes back to personal preference of the fan, as there are still many fans who are fond of the War Doctor and Hurt's performance.
• Continuity Lockout: The Sisterhood of Karn had never been referenced or seen in New Who before this, so if you've never seen The Brain of Morbius you really have no idea what their relationship with the Time Lords or the Doctor is. Moreover, the Eighth Doctor personally returned to Karn in the audio adventure The Vengeance of Morbius, so when he questions, "Am I back on Karn?", it becomes unclear if he is referring to his visit in his fourth incarnation or his current incarnation.
• Shocking Moments: Paul McGann returns?! And there was a secret incarnation between his and Christopher Eccleston's Doctors?!
• Tear Jerker: Quite possibly the entire thing, with the exception of the first minute. This minisode could quite possibly be the darkest hour of the Doctor, as he reaches the Despair Event Horizon. And it's revealed that it wasn't the War Doctor who gave up the name of the Doctor, but rather the Eighth Doctor. Y'know, the jovial, upbeat, and merry man who was ecstatic about how his shoes fit perfectly and snogged the surgeon who was responsible for his seventh regeneration the last time we saw him onscreen? This guy had to be part of the Time War, and he had to take the most drastic of actions in order to prevent more chaos and destruction. He spends his last few minutes alone, afraid, and in regret over what he is about to do, over what will happen, all by his own choice. His last words, "Physician, heal thyself", are the cherry on top.
• Unexpected Character: The Eighth Doctor returns to the screen after 17 years.
• Unintentionally Unsympathetic: Cass basically causes the Eighth Doctor's death by refusing to go with him, even though it's plainly obvious he's the Doctor as opposed to pretty much any other Time Lord and that he refuses to leave without her. She stays put and refuses to leave despite obviously being terrified of dying, but almost seems to consider taking one more Time Lord with her to be Worth It.