an icepick through the keyhole

I haven't seen the Second Coming so can't comment on it. I've always regarded CoFD as worthy of being at least AU canon (I'm sure Jim Broadbent's Doctor would have sorted himself out given a bit more time), so while it didn't occur to me while watching, I can see the likeness now.

The Sycorax were here bcause something was going down. They're basically the biker gang from the beginning of season six of Buffy ("Sycorax strong! Sycorax mighty! Sycorax ROCK!") and as such I think they were just winging it. No cunning master plan, no organisation as such, just start a rumble and see what happens. Not your usual DW style of baddie, but all the more refreshing for that. And of course the cure for practically everything (or at least a very good way of hastening the healing process) is a nice hot cup of tea.

Poor Harriet crossed a line, I'm afraid, and yes, I think there will be consequences. It's entirely possible that Interim!Doc was talking about the timeline as it appeared from when he was, in which she went the sane way and stood Torchwood down. As it is, we now know that the Earth is getting noticed, and what will have been noticed on this occasion is that we shoot our enemies in the back after they have surrendered and are leaving peacefully. There is an unfortunate precedent in our recent history...

Scene setting? More than that, I think. This was getting the Doctor back on track after an unfortunate aberration. This Doctor has shown that he's both nicer and nastier than Placeholder!Doc: he's fully in touch with all his feelings and able to cope with "domestic," but he's also pretty much over his survivor guilt, and he's not going to let us get away with being "stupid apes."