In interviews Moffat kept saying the special was meant for an audience already half-gone from celebrating, so we're not supposed to think about it. I think he got that right. But seriously, ITA with you. I found this special...too manipulative? Too in love with its conceit? Too self-aware? I don't know.

Illnesses don't come with a countdown, and if you're ill and close to death, you usually don't look quite that perky.

They didn't need to use an illness: a better argument for Abigail's impending death would have been that multiple freeze-thaw cycles denature and eventually destroy proteins. (After all, you can't refreeze defrosted food without breaking it down further.) That's depressing because the implication makes things a lot worse than they already were for Abigail. *quietly seethes*