As usual you sum it up succinctly. The Master is and should always be a force to be reckoned with, not a comedy charcter having a good old laugh about a stick. That's just not the character. As Joe said, it's not true to the character. I don't mind an episode I don't like- unless your Breaking Bad, there's always going to be stories you don't like, and with 52 years nearly of stories, it's inevitable that you won't like every story. But I have a problem with writers trying to completely change a character and turn them into a completely different character. That's why I have such a strong problem with this story.