I enjoyed this two-parter greatly. I agree, lots of room for a follow-up. I'd forgotten that Chibnall wrote it. Fingers crossed! It doesn't have to be a direct sequel but perhaps the events of this story put in motion something that will come into play on a future Earth story. Maybe the "Silurians" can finally come home?
True, it doesn't need to be a direct sequel, but it would be nice to see Nasreen, Tony and Eldane again. We already have an established relationship with those three and their trust issues between them can be extended to whether or not they can trust The Twelfth (or Thirteenth) Doctor is the same person as The Eleventh Doctor.
We've kind of had tacit suggestions that the peace worked out - Silurians come to assist the Doctor in rescuing Amy and baby Melody,
Except those homo-reptilians were responding to The Eleventh Doctor's call to arms as a favor to some past deed he did. That doesn't necessarily mean good relations with humans. Hell, we don't even know if they're from the same time period as Demon's Run (52nd century) considering Madame Vastra and Jenny came from 1888 and Strax came from 4037.
...and haven't we seen some in the background on future Earth stories?
Have we? I don't recall that.
I thought it was dreadful myself. The Doctor saying 'I love you' to a man who was vivisecting a child only minutes earlier,
Except Malohkeh didn't. He specifically said to Mo that Elliot wasn't harmed in any way and Malohkeh merely put Elliot stasis where his aging was slowed down considerably so Malohkeh could how humans grew.
That being said, Malohkeh did partially dissect Mo while apparently conscious (we didn't actually see it). Unfortunately, the implications of that situation wasn't addressed and I agree that's an issue.
but haranguing a grieving mother for trying to save that same child.
The Eleventh Doctor harangued her because she committed murder in an act of racial fear which nearly helped ignite war between homo-reptilians and humans. I think he was within his right to express his disgust at her.
I was disgusted at her.
An entire race saying 'oh never mind' and going back to sleep after only having woken up ten minutes earlier. People randomly deciding to hibernate for millennia just 'cause.
Except they were doing this under the orders and wisdom of Eldane, their leader. Only Restac's faction went against that and they were summarily dealt with through the actions of The Eleventh Doctor and Eldane.
The redesign of the Silurians certainly made them more viewer-friendly but looked nothing like the original series version (unlike most of the alien redesigns which have been very faithful to the original).
I originally didn't like the redesign either, particularly the masks not being their actual faces. However, over the subsequent appearances by Madame Vastra, I've grown accustomed to the design and generally like it. That being said, their beady ape eyes still bother me although I understand the cosmetic choice: It's easier to emphasize with a character when you can see their real eyes.
It would certainly explain her insight into knowing the doctor well if she started off with his latest regeneration then had to deal allot with 11 later on.
Except the Eleventh Doctor had memories of the first time he and Vastra met, so from the Doctor's perspective, it was sometime before A Good Man Goes to War.
Right and their first encounter was the reason why she was in debt to him and responded to his call to fight at Demon's Run. She mentioned on at least two occasions that they met when humans were building the London Underground and accidentally woke up her tribe. The Eleventh Doctor intervened and helped her see the error of her ways. I don't expect to see this meeting on the show, but I could see it being explored in another medium, particularly Big Finish if Matt Smith decides to start making them some time in the future.
