Avon and Vila head to a meeting in a stolen ship – not realising they’re about to encounter the Galactic President once more…

Iain McLaughlin provides a strong script for this second adventure as the crew try to recover from the losses they suffered in the opener. There’s a few moments for the other members of the ensemble, but this focuses strongly on Avon and Vila, with both Paul Darrow and Michael Keating delivering excellent performances. They’re opposed by Hugh Fraser’s President and John Green’s Mordekain, and a deadly game of cat and mouse ensues (with both sides playing the feline at appropriate moments).

Apart from an oddly irritating (and unnecessary, save for pure dramatic purposes) “I’ll explain later” from the President not once but twice, this flows really well, and even though you know that certain characters are going to survive, you do wonder how – and, given the long game that Big Finish is playing with Season C, whether we could see the crew separated for a period of time. It adds an air of uncertainty to the stories, which always helps with a series which is predicated around filling in the gaps in the established timeline.

Verdict: A tense battle of wits. 9/10

Paul Simpson