Making Byron a physical coward is kinda gross tbh. It’s one thing we are certain he definitely wasn’t. He swam the Hellespont. He volunteered to fight in a war, and died in it.
But you knew I’d say that.
That’s not the main problem, though. That’s that Patrick O’Kane’s performance is so wretched that I can only assume the Lonely Cyberman is lonely because no one can bear to be around him.
Two of my main thoughts on watching it exactly echoed yours:
"this guy playing the valet is doing a brilliant job in a tiny part"*
and
"that quadrille scene was the liveliest and most elegant exposition since Moffat left the show"
*re: the thing about how Great Lives of History make a difference but Little Ones don't (yuck), this one is especially galling because Fletcher (the valet) and Elise (the maid) are actually real attested people from history as well, although Fletcher didn't die until 1839 in the real world.
I believe Alderton has said she was deliberately calling back to Bill, yep.
Making Byron a physical coward is kinda gross tbh. It’s one thing we are certain he definitely wasn’t. He swam the Hellespont. He volunteered to fight in a war, and died in it.
But you knew I’d say that.
That’s not the main problem, though. That’s that Patrick O’Kane’s performance is so wretched that I can only assume the Lonely Cyberman is lonely because no one can bear to be around him.
And you knew I’d say that too.
Two of my main thoughts on watching it exactly echoed yours:
"this guy playing the valet is doing a brilliant job in a tiny part"*
and
"that quadrille scene was the liveliest and most elegant exposition since Moffat left the show"
*re: the thing about how Great Lives of History make a difference but Little Ones don't (yuck), this one is especially galling because Fletcher (the valet) and Elise (the maid) are actually real attested people from history as well, although Fletcher didn't die until 1839 in the real world.
I believe Alderton has said she was deliberately calling back to Bill, yep.