This is a fantastic script by Timothy X Atack, and has very strong direction from Nick Briggs. To be honest, this may be my favorite Doctor Who episode set on Gallifrey. It’s that good. It brings a lot of mystery back to the Time Lords in a way that feels authentic to the Hinchcliff era, including gothic imagery, high concepts, and absurd characters.

I think that retcon about the Doctor and Master‘s names is pretty smart to be honest, and this version of the Master, though played by a problematic actor, is very well written here, and it’s by far the best way I’ve seen this incarnation utilized. I loved it, especially his interactions with Tom. A weak resolution unfortunately brings the episode down. Unfortunately this is common with Big Finish, where, rather than own their deus ex machina ending like the show does, they make it a blink and you’ll miss it monologue full of technobabble and before you know it the Master is defeated. I feel like I have this frustration a lot, but here it’s especially egregious because the episode is otherwise very very good.