Missy’s plans are foiled by a female Time Lord… but can she really be who Missy thinks she is?

Lisa McMullin kicks off this second box set of adventures for what had previously seemed wackiest possible incarnation of the Master (until the end of Spyfall Part 1 and The Timeless Children passed the crown to Sacha Dhawan!) and throws an interesting wrinkle into the mix. It can only be the Doctor who keeps turning up to foil Missy’s plans, but this Lumiat maintains that a) she’s a Time Lady and b) she isn’t the Doctor. Her referencing the Doctor in the female may explain why Dhawan’s Master isn’t so surprised by the change in gender in Spyfall – and there’s also some other hints about unseen events on screen.

Missy is in total batshit mode – forget delaying an execution to pull the wings off a fly, she’s basically completely out of control, as various people around her find out to their cost. Michelle Gomez sounds as if she’s having a whale of a time (Once you’ve heard the episode, check out McMullin’s story notes on the Big Finish site – but no peeking before you have.) Matthew Jacobs-Morgan and the rest of the cast play multiple roles as the Lumiat and Missy traverse space and time – and Gina McKee, as the Lumiat, makes a strong impression from the start.

Iain Meadows’ sound design and Joe Kraemer’s score mesh well together, and director Ken Bentley allows those elements to tell the story as required.

Verdict: Mad as a box of flesh-eating rats indeed – welcome back, Missy. 9/10

Paul Simpson

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