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“BROKEN HEARTS: WHEN TRUST IS SHATTERED”

Broken Hearts is a unique entry in The Eleventh Doctor Chronicles, an additional story inserted between volumes 4 and 5 at Safiyya Ingar’s insistence. She rightly argued that Valarie wouldn’t simply forgive Eleven for what happened in Curiosity Shop—and this story makes good on that promise.

It also marks Jacob Dudman’s final performance as the Eleventh Doctor for Big Finish, making this a particularly poignant farewell. Rather than going out on a triumphant high, the Doctor is at one of his lowest points, facing the devastating consequences of his actions and the realisation that, this time, a simple apology won’t fix things.

From the very start, the atmosphere is thick with tension. Valarie is still bitter, still furious, and still deeply hurt after the Doctor stripped away parts of her cybernetic body without her consent. The Doctor, in his usual way, tries to defuse the situation with jokes and forced cheerfulness, but Valarie isn’t playing along. Their interactions are painful to witness, filled with raw emotion and unresolved anger. Rarely has a Doctor-companion relationship felt this fractured and intense.

A WORLD IN RUINS, A RELATIONSHIP IN SHAMBLES

In an attempt to make amends, the Doctor brings Valarie to a war-torn world. But his plan backfires spectacularly. Not only does Valarie remain cold and distant, but she is horrified to discover that the Doctor has been here before—though he has no memory of it. A statue of one of his past incarnations stands in tribute to the great things he once did to save the planet. But whatever victory he achieved then, it was only temporary. The world needed him again, and he never returned. Now, it lies in ruins.

For Valarie, this is a deeply unsettling revelation. She realises how little she truly knows about the Doctor—his past selves, his forgotten deeds, the worlds he’s saved and the ones he’s left behind. And when he once again asks to use her cybernetic components to help this dying planet, the wound between them deepens. How can she trust him not to take advantage of her again?

The world itself is an eerie, devastated place, stalked by strange, living rain—an ancient Time Lord weapon that has reduced the planet to rubble. This revelation only worsens Valarie’s already crumbling perception of the Doctor. She sees, perhaps for the first time, the full scale of what he has done. The billions he has killed. The horrors left in the wake of the Time War. And for the first time, she is afraid of him.

TWO BROKEN ROBOTS, TWO BROKEN HEARTS

Interwoven with the Doctor and Valarie’s story is the tale of two recovery bots, wandering the ruined world in an endless search for survivors. Over time, they have evolved—developing personalities, emotions, even love. The male robot is cynical; the female, hopeful. As the Doctor and Valarie’s relationship falls apart, the robots, ironically, are falling in love.

Voiced by Dudman and Ingar, the robots provide a fascinating counterpoint to the main drama. Their transformation—from emotionless machines to individuals with meaning and purpose—mirrors the journey of the Doctor and Valarie in reverse. The scene in which one of them finally deactivates, leaving the other to continue the search alone, is quietly devastating. It’s a small, beautiful tragedy in a story already overflowing with heartbreak.

A POETIC FAREWELL

The title Broken Hearts carries layers of meaning. It speaks to Valarie’s betrayal, to the Doctor’s unspoken guilt, to the robots’ tragic fate, and to the world itself—another shattered place the Doctor couldn’t save.

But even in the midst of all this loss, there is hope. The planet begins to heal. The surviving robot is given a new mission, a new purpose. And, in their own way, so are the Doctor and Valarie. Their relationship will never be the same, but perhaps, just perhaps, they can move forward.

Jacob Dudman delivers a powerhouse performance in his final outing as Eleven, particularly in the moments where the Doctor’s carefully maintained façade finally crumbles under the weight of his past. Safiyya Ingar, meanwhile, is phenomenal as Valarie, making her pain and anger feel utterly real. Their performances elevate an already excellent script into something truly special.

📝VERDICT: 10/10

Broken Hearts is a beautifully painful story, exploring the darker, more complicated side of the Doctor-companion dynamic. It’s not about grand adventures or alien battles—it’s about betrayal, trust, and the wounds that may never fully heal.

As Dudman’s swan song as Eleven, it’s a fittingly bittersweet farewell. Not with a grand, heroic moment, but with a quiet, deeply human reckoning.