Just finished watching "The Lie of the Land" and (spoilers ahead obviously. No, really, major spoilers)...
This was very much Bill's episode. She dominated and quite simply, had a brilliant performance. Her confrontation with the Doctor on the prison ship was breath-taking and heart-breaking. I think she would have been quite right to punch him after his revelation. (Incidentally that was the regeneration scene teased in the Series 10 trailer.) In a way that was a death scene, not of a character, but of a character's innocence and belief in another. Personally, I found that much more affecting and painful than the "death" scenes of Rose, Amy, or Clara. It was the loss not just of a life, but something more: the meaning of a life.
That was the high point of the writing of this episode. The rest just didn't quite fit. There were a few really good moments, broken by others that felt flat. It was a very tone deaf episode. There was a forced levity, a "don't worry folks, everyone lives!" current that made all of the drama and danger and sacrifice of the episode seem pointless. The Doctor's "Haha, see I tricked you" at the the conclusion of the aforementioned scene. The way the script glossed over a character's self-sacrifice at the end by having said character inexplicably surviving what just moments before we were told would be certain death. If the writers truly wish to pluck these emotional chords, then they have to be willing to follow through. It would be an immense risk to kill off a central character mid-season, but without taking that risk, the end result feels cheap and manipulative.
Also, the pacing of the last three episodes has felt rather...brisk. Instead of lingering to enjoy a scene, the brilliance of an idea or the way a character shines, writers are a step behind us, herding, rushing us on to the next scene. If there is some crisis, that briskness can work in the writers favor, giving us the feeling of breathlessly following the characters as they race against the clock. For instance, last episode and the Doomsday clock, there was a definite crisis to advert. This story didn't have that, the Monks had already won. It felt, in all honesty, like the writer was hurrying us along, solely to be done with this adventure and on to the next one.
In the end, this episode will have one (maybe two) really memorable scenes. Which are unfortunately let down by the rest of the script. It was a very tonally inconsistent script. One that everyone involved tried their best to make work. Capaldi was fantastic as usual (even if his levity at certain moments felt off-key). And Pearl Mackie brought her A-game for an All-Star performance.
Miscellaneous observations: 1) Well, we finally get to see Missy. Does anyone really, truly, believes she's trying to turn a new page? 2) The Doctor's wardrobe has been just absolutely fantastic this season. Each episode he's wearing something different, and yet each one is undeniably him. (Seriously, I just love that jacket from this episode!) 3) Nardole has actually been growing on me, in "The Many Husbands of River Song" and "The Return of Doctor Mysterio" and the first couple of this series, he was just annoying. But the last few episodes he's actually becoming an interesting character and not just a walking joke.
Oh and next week...the Ice Warriors return!! Yay!!!!
