Imagining what it would have been like to watch this without the BBC spoiling it

I really want to know whether I would have realised it was John under the mask. Or am I not as clever as I think I am?

As a 14 year old with no access to magazines/fandom talk back then: It was amazing and also hilarious to watch him pull off the mask like a Scooby Doo reveal

I watched it without knowing it was the master, it was insane. Looking back it’s incredibly obvious, but I was too focused on everything else to notice the first time

Had the BBC spoiled it? I saw it not knowing that was John Simm beforehand

I watched it without spoilers because I have to pirate it. It was a good twist, didn't see it coming

as someone who didn't see this one until very recently I was spoiled by the Magic the Gathering card of it

Was spoiled long before the episode aired but I didn’t get spoiled on Bill’s upgrade. THAT was the best moment for me. But agree. My face would have melted off seeing both things at once without being spoiled.

Well, you get this:

Unspoiled, I clocked it at the very start of him talking to Missy; even his body language as he entered the room gave a sense of some basic familiarity. When he said "it took me a while to work out who you were" I shouted "no way!"

Since I was into Doctor Who late, the surprise got me good