The Master and Captain John are trapped. They’ve lost. The Master couldn’t be happier

Given how little we still know about Dark Gallifrey as a concept, writer James Goss and the team have done a fantastic job creating a story that’s a character study, a conclusion to a nicely handled trilogy and an epilogue to a story that hasn’t actually finished yet. A big part of that is Rob Harvey, whose sound design tips us off to the nature of the world, and the mutable, dream like qualities of it very successfully.

Director Scott Handcock and the cast find some interesting spaces inside that unusual landscape. Lisa Bowerman and Jonathon Carley, are, for the most part, cameos here and it works surprisingly well. Benny and the War Doctor as semantic ghosts, living embodiments of either the ideas they represent or what the Imbomination wants to torture their new playmates with is a smart idea and gives them both a chance to play surprisingly pure archetypes of their usual characters. Chris Lew Kum Hoi, Jason Forbes and Homer Todiwala also impress, especially Todiwala as a wonderfully uncertain, slightly grumpy TARDIS who plays an important role in the story. Tariyé Peterside impresses too but this is the least the Imbomination has had to do this story and honestly, it suffers a little for it. They’re a Monster here, for the most part when they’re far more interesting as a Villain. Hopefully we’ll hear them again.

But a story like this needs to be about its leads and Derek Jacobi and James Marsters do fantastic work. Jacobi finds a light-hearted calm in the Master, a sense of calm in the eye of chaos which fits the character like a murderous velvet glove. He has no chance, no hope and as a result is free to do whatever he wants. The plan he hatches is one of his best too.

Marsters too finds some new ground with John and again it’s honestly rather sweet. He’s still a libidinous murder enthusiast but John undergoes major changes this story, changes which I sense may be the reason other folks didn’t get on with it. I loved it, and I think it’s a fascinating way to tie him more closely to core Doctor Who. Doors open for John here and I’m looking forward to seeing him go through them, especially as he seems set to do so in company.

Verdict: This is a great signoff for the trilogy, and oddly, for all the leads. Doctor Who always does its best work when it puts the toys back in the box and Bernice, John and the War Master could all be parked for a while after this story because of how rich the experience has been for them and us. They won’t be, I suspect, but this is still a great wrap up to the trilogy. It could, so easily have fallen apart but instead this is a playful, hopeful, and still pleasingly dark, conclusion. 8/10

Alasdair Stuart

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