Can Anya and Mark trust the Doctor after all that’s just happened?

It’s hard to keep this particular review spoiler-free, given the nature of the resolution of the rather drastic cliffhanger to the first episode – and this is quite definitely one story told over two discs by John Dorney – and the nature of the newcomer has already been revealed in multiple places. For those who don’t go searching for spoilers, suffice it to say that Dorney taps into one particular area of Doctor Who history for this episode and Gemma Whelan does a great job as the newcomer.

Spoilers follow.

In part 1, visions of Tennant’s Doctor hinted to Anya that time could be rewritten, so we know going into this episode that things can be walked back. That did potentially give the opportunity for another regeneration that somehow was wiped out but it seemed more likely that it was a fake-out – and to hear Whelan’s new incarnation of the Time Meddler realising quite how far out of her depth she is after lauding it over Tennant’s Doctor was well worth the wait. Her behaviour when posing as the Doctor reminded me a little of The Twelve and I hope we may get to hear that side of her character again. (Whelan posing as Tennant’s Doctor to that Doctor also leads to some laughaloud moments as Dorney deconstructs the 10th Doctor in a tongue in cheek way.)

Anya and Mark are separated for quite a bit of this story, and we get some development for both in their new pairings; we also spend a bit of time with Mark Gatiss’ Sheldrake, whom I’m also hoping we’ll get to know more about as the story progresses.

I’d have loved to see Howard Carter’s reaction to being asked to create the scenes once the machines are activated – Dorney’s asked for pretty much everything bar the kitchen sink in there – but the sound design never becomes overbearing, and Ken Bentley balances the humour and the drama well.

Verdict: Living up to its predecessor, this makes the stakes clear. 9/10

Paul Simpson

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