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(No, really.)
1. The first ten minutes of Doctor Who rom-com reminded me of my biggest gripes with the Eleventh Doctor and Moffat's showrunning. It (mostly) got better from there, but the Christmas / Turkey / Boyfriend / Clothing / Family thing just put me off my feed.
2. While I understand the desire for this particular ep, I just don't think Moffat has the discipline for Grand Epics. Fairy Tales, sure, so a mysterious Town Named Christmas (which should be very annoying in its mysterious origins, but simply wasn't amidst all the other fantasy) makes "sense," but turning that into a multi-century Legend of the Doctor just felt like "I can't be bothered with all the details, let me just cut to the good bits" from Moffat.
3. All that said, the Aging of the Doctor, in both make-up and Matt Smith's acting, was very, very nicely done, with some neat little Hartnell influences to go with it.
4. Handwaving Most Epic Battle Time War Redux Doctor Vs. Dalek Action. Honestly, I hope we don't see Daleks again (or Cybermen), for three years. Really. They've been overdone to the point of becoming generic bad guys, which is not what they should be.
5. Though I did like Handles.
6. So is the whole Trenzilore / Death / Destruction / Graves thing now something that's not happening? Or … not happening the same way? Or … um, I missed that. And/or stopped caring.
7. I did figure out (probably after 90% of the studio audience) the Way Around the Regeneration Limit thing they were going to do. Which was (sloppy writing implementation aside) a nice bow to canon.
8. I find it interesting / amusing that everyone was going on after the 50th Anniversary Special about how Finding Gallifrey was going to be the Twelfth Doctor's Big Thing — and we end up with the next story being about that and how it would be a Bad Thing and (maybe?) writing it off. Okay.
9. Is it written into Doctor Who's series bible that Mothers of Companions Are Always Really Annoying? Because, damn …
10. Is it my fevered imagination, or is Tasha Lem, the Mother Superious, actually a regeneration (re-incarnation?) of River Song? Start with the massive computers in common, and a couple of interlocking comments about psychopathy, ability to access and pilot the TARDIS, and throw in a past torrid romance, and a present fierce loyalty …
(Not surprisingly, I'm not the only one who picked up on this. Apparently it's quite the hot debate in some circles.)
11. The final regeneration sequence was quite nice, though I'm sorry Old Eleven got a factory reset beforehand, and I'm not thrilled with using Regeneration Energy as bolts of Power Cosmic. Just saying. But the memories, the bow tie, the not-quite-gratuitous return of You-Know-Who (in memory), and the unexpectedly snap-crack regen was well handled.
12. I already like Peter Capaldi / Twelve. Though he keeps looking like Hugh Laurie to me for some reason. The ironic-given-the-soliloquy memory lapse may be indicative of a long-term difference in this regeneration, and, if handled properly, could be a plus. I'd like a Doctor who doesn't immediately know everything in an irksomely-plot-manipulative fashion (or, when faced with something he doesn't know, having it feel irksomely manipulative as well). We'll see.
In sum, it was a grand wrap-up, with enough really cool bits to overcome the parts that rubbed me (long-standingly) the wrong way. I'm willing to forego some internal logic in order to enjoy a wrap-up of Eleven and His Greatest Foes. I'm pleased with what's been laid to rest, and am looking forward to what comes next.
Wasn't overly thrilled with the episode, mainly because of how regeneration energy was used to save the day. Hoping Moffat NEVER pulls that crap again. Wish Handles had stuck around for a while longer. He (It?) really deserved more than one episode.
I really didn't get a connection between Tasha Lem and River Song, unless the Doctor was unaware of her true identity. Reason? Because during their conversation explaining how everything from the past seasons is linked (sigh), a comment was made about the Church creating an assassin to get rid of the Doctor, to which he replied that he married her. Why mention that if the two are the same?
+Marty Shaw The sloppy use of regeneration energy is exactly what I'd expect from Moffat. Timey-wimey.
As to the other, she's clearly in a new incarnation, but it may not be known to the church at large that she's the previous assassin. So, obfuscated speech, which also comes across as strangely intimate.
+Marty Shaw http://www.littleredumbrella.com/2013/12/a-doctor-who-mystery-is-tasha-lem-river.html has a decent summary of the clues.
I give it an 80%, +/- 40% (Moffat!).