Steven Moffat, erstwhile trickster and Doctor Who showrunner, led us to believe we were in for our schmaltziest, least-believable Doctor Who Christmas special yet. Instead, we were treated to a ghost story, to Inception meets Alien — full of genuine chills and perfectly-timed emotional beats. It had something unique to say, both about the show and about the holiday season itself.

That was hardly to be expected. After a decade of killer Christmas trees, several Christmas-themed invasions, Christmas Cybermen and Christmas-themed time-traveling takes on A Christmas Carol and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, not to mention the 300-year long defense of the town of Christmas that ended the 11th Doctor’s reign, it seemed Doctor Who’s yuletide obsession — an obsession dictated by the BBC’s need to put its best shows on the December 25 schedule — had finally reached the bottom of the silly barrel. The show had finally enlisted Santa Claus.

At the end of Death in Heaven nearly two months ago, Santa walked into the TARDIS after the Doctor and Clara had just parted ways, a giant red blot of bathos after the high drama of Danny Pink’s death. “It can’t end like that,” he said, apparently referring to the fact that the Doctor and Clara had let each other go by telling a lie. “She’s not alright, you know, and neither are you … tell me, what do you want for Christmas?”