How far is too far? Romana, Narvin and Livia are all faced with difficult choices as Rassilon’s dictatorship continues to tighten its grip…

We’re back into the politics of Gallifrey for Matt Fitton’s final story in this set, which answers questions some listeners may have been posing ever since the resurrection of the Time Lord president at the end of the previous collection. How much can Romana take and stay true to herself, and the way in which she has protected Gallifrey over the past years? And where will Narvin stand – with his friend, or will he follow in the footsteps of Castellan Kellner all those years ago, and start to work with the “enemy”? After all, we know from The End of Time that Rassilon is still in command of Gallifrey and the Time Lords at the end of the Time War…

To an extent this feels as if it could have been the end of this strand of chronicles of the Time War, given where the principal characters finish up, but it’s good to know that there’s at least two more sets to go. As this point, the Doctor hasn’t got involved, and certainly hasn’t regenerated into the War Doctor – and that incarnation lasted long enough for its outward appearance to age considerably – so there’s huge swathes of the War left to recount, and while it feels as if the Time Lords have gone a long way down the dark path in this set, there’s far more to come!

There’s some powerful work from Lalla Ward, Seán Carlsen and Terrence Hardiman throughout this set, but particularly here. Roll on set three…

Verdict: The Gallifrey saga continues to exert its grip. 9/10

Paul Simpson

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