The Obligatory "End of Time, part 2" reaction post.
Well, first up, my main thought: "Not a reset button, thank goodness!" A little lumpy and herky-jerky, but far less of a train wreck than I'd feared, with a lot to like.
Other reactions, in no particular order:
* Doctor/Master, FTW. I loved that they were protective of one another in turn and that the Master got something approaching a heroic moment. Also, DT and JS were brilliant in their scenes together, all slashy subtext aside.
* So, no resolution on the identity of the Woman in White (well, except that she wasn't a Guardian). Probably smart of RTD, since now everyone can be convinced their fave choice (Susan, the Doctor's mum, Romana, etc.) is correct. Though I'd say the subtle touches in the scene favor an actual relative. I'm laying bets that there will be some connections to the Weeping Angel ep promised for Moffat's first season, since Rassilon as good as made the connection for us . . .
* Speaking of Rassilon, I'm wondering how he ended up as President . . . although, if the TLs were getting desperate and resurrecting people (e.g. the Master) to help with the War, it makes a certain sense. Why not go back to one of the ultimate culture heroes in a time of great need?
* Donna's story was certainly left hanging, wasn't it? Not necessarily a terrible thing (and she finally got her happy wedding after all), but I can't help wondering if a future writer won't come back to it. If nothing else, will there be little one-quarter TL children running around at some point? That could be interesting.
* While on the subject of weddings, I'd been one of those who initially hated the idea of Martha and Mickey being married off, as if to conveniently tie off a few loose ends . . . but when they were actually *shown,* instead of just mentioned off-screen, they were so cute together that they sold me on the idea. *So* good to see Freema and Noel back again, no matter how briefly. :D
* As Companionfests went, I didn't think the ending did a bad job, really. At least Ten got to feel some sort of closure and give one last gift to each character he'd cared about in his time. No Ten/Jack kiss (*SIGH*), but at least an oblique bit of healing after CoE, aided by the Doctor.
* Heh, my music mix just turned up Oingo Boingo's "No One Lives Forever," so it seems appropriate to mention Ten's Big Death Scene (or Death Sequence) in more detail. Yeah, it was heartbreaking that Wilf was the final reason for Ten's regeneration, but in a way by saving Wilf, Ten was saving himself, remembering what's truly important and realizing that even his amazing Time Lord self wasn't better than a single, ordinary human -- aka one of the Little People he was rather dismissive of during his moment of insanity at the end of WoM.
* I did get a little weepy over the way that the Ood were there for Ten at the end. At least he didn't go out truly alone.
* RE: Matt Smith, well, he didn't exactly have a lot of time to make an impression. He did come across as rather hyper-Ten-like at first; I hope he develops a more distinctive personality over time. He did do a cute job of inventorying new features. His horrified, squeaked, "I'm a girl!" was perfect. Also, having noted MS's tendency to do a lot of "talking" with his hands in interviews, including finger-fluttering for emphasis, the comment about having "lots of fingers" made me laugh out loud. I'm guessing that's a bit of the actor's RL body language that will make it into his interpretation of the Doctor.
* As always, total science!fail and a lot of plot points one shouldn't look at too closely (what *did* cause the Ood to develop more quickly than normal?), but what the heck. I'm gonna call it a good ending for a fave Doctor (and, if John Simm's insistence that he's the Tenth Doctor's Master holds good, to an incarnation of that other Time Lord as well).
And that's where I'm gonna end the reactions for now.