The Lie of the Land

Those who hold this view are imprisoned for "memory crimes" (manufacturing and distributing propaganda that details the truth) and sentenced to labour camps.

Nardole, who survived the bacteria due to his alien physiology and is also aware of the truth, locates Bill and helps her to find the prison hulk where the Doctor is thought to be a captive.

She confirms the Monks maintain control by broadcasting a signal containing the false history to their subjugated victims via the numerous statues they have built across Earth, enabled by a psychic link established through the person who originally gave "consent"; Missy claims she defeated them during her own encounter by killing that individual.

In images showing the Monks' aid to humanity, clips from the stories "Blink", "Nightmare in Silver" and "Into the Dalek" are shown.

[2] Magpie Electrical, which debuted in "The Idiot's Lantern" and recurs throughout the revival series, is shown as the shop where Bill watches one of the Doctor's broadcasts.

This specially filmed scene included Casualty's Connie Beauchamp and Noel Garcia interacting with the Monks as part of the story line.

[7][8] Press reaction to "The Lie of the Land" was "mixed, with a number of reviewers finding it the weakest story in the season so far".

[18] The episode holds a score of 83% on Rotten Tomatoes, and the website's consensus states, "'The Lie of the Land' closes a significant chapter for Doctor Who's tenth season—yet leaves some major characters' fates tantalizingly open.

[10] Zoe Delahunty-Light of SFX Magazine gave "The Lie of the Land" a perfect score of 5 stars out of 5, calling the episode "chilling", and complimenting the idea of the Monks taking over the human race and its development.

She commented especially upon Pearl Mackie, complimenting her on her role in leading the episode, and her "uncanny ability to transition between emotions flawlessly", especially concerning her scenes with the Doctor and his apparent betrayal.

He felt that the worst part of the episode was the poor decision to have a companion fire a gun at the Doctor; the viewers saw "nothing that would push her to such an extreme act", and this could not be "rationalised or condoned".