An old friend of the Doctor needs rescuing – but will the Time Lord be able to do what is necessary…

Proving – if there was a shadow of a doubt – that the first episode was no flash in the pan, this second instalment of the early days of the War Doctor throws the “missing” incarnation into the heart of the Time War. The differences between the man he was and the Warrior he has become are starting to be clearer to others, and even, to an extent himself, in Lou Morgan’s nicely plotted tale.

The lion hearts refer to the Tharils as seen in Warriors’ Gate (and the recent Beyond the TARDIS BBC release), specifically Biroc – a chance for John Dorney to exercise his gruff voice. Jonathon Carley’s scenes with the Tharils are very effective, building on the trust that existed while accepting the exigencies of war. Amy Downham’s Lorinus finds herself caught in the middle between Marilyn Nnadebe’s Valetta and her instructions from Adele Anderson’s Commodore Tamasan – with the latter perhaps making assumptions that are worrying for the audience in terms of their connotations for the future.

Between the first two stories, we’re getting a clearer idea of who the War Doctor is at this stage of his life, and it’s not the grizzled warrior we meet in The Day of the Doctor – you can see hints of the throughline there, but it’s important to realise that a very long time elapses, and based on The Night of the Doctor, this Time Lord is presenting as quite a young man. Think how different the fourth Doctor was from Robot to, say, Warriors’ Gate…

Verdict: A welcome return for old allies and more insight into this Doctor. 9/10

Paul Simpson

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