This is part of a series of reviews of Doctor Who in chronological timeline order.

Previous Story: Project: Lazarus

This is the perfect culmination to everything that's been building up in the past few stories. As much as I despised Project: Lazarus that definitely provided the status quo for the beginning of the story; Evelyn has stormed out of the TARDIS because she's upset at the way the Doctor regards death. This is such an obvious angle to explore for a companion that I'm surprised it doesn't seem to be brought up often. The only other character I can think of who left (or attempted to leave, in this case) because of the constant death and tragedy around them was Tegan but even then she didn't seem particularly fussed about how to Doctor coped with it.

It also builds on the revelation that Evelyn is dying of a heart condition from the last story. It's a central theme of this story, accepting mortality of both yourself and those around you. Not only is this story a brilliant tragedy akin to Romeo and Juliet, it's also an exciting political thriller. I especially love how the Doctor and Evelyn visit purely to observe but end up both seperately being appointed in government. The first half of this story is a bit slow-paced, but not by any means in a bad way. It really builds up the relationships between the characters and there's always that looming sense that it's all going to go wrong which keeps you on the edge of your seat throughout.

I think the real tragedy of this story is that the Doctor, in trying to help two people in love ends up getting them killed. It leads to what I think is the best piece of acting Colin Baker has done for Doctor Who (from what I've listened to so far). In fact, the entire cast were outstanding here. Maggie Stables has absolutely proved herself as one of the all-time great companions, her slow acceptance of her mortality was possibly my favourite part of this story. I think it was the conversation at the end,between the Doctor and Evelyn that cemented this story as one of my favourites though, one of the most sincere and touching moments in all of Who.

Next Story: Medicinal Purposes