As far as attempts to tie a bow on the entire new series to date go, I doubt they could have done much better. It was quite possibly the best episode of the past two years. It had me smiling throughout.

It felt like an effort to heal the Doctor's darkness. By retroactively undoing the destruction of the Time Lords and making it be a conscious effort of genius and problem-solving on the Doctors' part, it gives the character a whole new facet going forward. In combination with Matt Smith regenerating in the upcoming Christmas episode, it feels like the end of an era.

There's plenty that doesn't make sense when you scrutinize it, but that's always the case with this show. For example, if Gallifrey wasn't truly time locked after all, things like the events in The End of Time don't work anymore. And there's no real explanation for how the Doctor coordinated all of his incarnations to show up at Gallifrey (even though it was a super cool moment).

I wonder if they're really going to go through with an attempt to find and restore Gallifrey, and what that might mean to the series as a whole. The entire new run of Doctor Who has been about the Doctor as a lone wanderer, but of course that doesn't mean that's how it always has to be.

And if this really was an attempt to heal the Doctor's darkness, I wonder if that means anything for the concept of the Valeyard and whether or not they'll use it during the next Doctor's run.

Totally fun episode, though. This show is at its best when it's doing big, fun, galloping, complicated stuff with lots of emotional investment. Bring on the future.