Acknowledging history - what worked and what didn't
Ah yes, the finale. In some ways, this is the one significant anomaly of the season. One thing that’s been common about all the episodes of Season One so far – including the Christmas special – is that all the episodes have focused on new villains and new adventures. Even Maestro, who’s explicitly connected to the same pantheon of godlike beings as the Toymaker, is a completely new villain for the series.
Of course, there are still nods to the past. We have the return of UNIT, as usual led by Kate Stewart, who meets Ruby in 73 Yards. More significantly, the Doctor talks to Ruby about his granddaughter Susan in The Devil’s Chord. Not only is this a nice connection to the very origins of the series, but it’s also one of the first direct on-screen mentions of her in years.
And for most of the season, these little nods to the past worked well. Not just because they were all carefully explained to the viewer, but they also felt like they were exploring a key theme: family. Considering the central arc of the season was the mystery of Ruby's mother, moments that acknowledged the Doctor's or even Kate's family felt like a natural part of it.
Where the continuity might not have worked, at least in terms of being accessible for newcomers, was the season’s major villain. After seven episodes of brand new villains, the two-part finale The Legend of Ruby Sunday and Empire of Death relied on a villain that hadn’t been seen in decades. And more than that - the major reveal expected the viewer to know exactly who this villain was. (And just in case you haven't seen it yet, this is where major spoilers for the finale follow.)