Death to the Daleks! marks a striking tonal shift in the Dalek Empire saga. Where The Human Factor focused on private tensions and moral compromise, this third entry widens the lens to show us what those compromises have created. The revolution is here—or at least, something that looks like it. But this isn’t a triumphant uprising. This is a revolution that feels strangely off, stylised, almost performative. And that’s where the episode gets its bite.

Susan Mendes is no longer just a character—she’s become an icon. She’s mythologised, worshipped, misquoted. And she knows it. Sarah Mowat gives a subtly devastating performance: Susan is brittle and wary, painfully aware that the rebellion she’s helped build may be spiralling out of her control. Her speeches are echoed back to her in chants and slogans, her intentions warped by those desperate for hope. Gareth Thomas’s Kalendorf, meanwhile, grows colder.He’s not the architect of this new movement, but he might be its most skilled manipulator. The Daleks themselves fade slightly into the background here, but that’s the point—they’ve successfully driven their enemies to create a new orthodoxy in their image.

Briggs’ script leans into allegory and ambiguity. This is a story about belief as much as it is about power. The production style follows suit, with crowd scenes, echoing speeches, and theatrical flair dominating the soundscape. It won’t be for everyone, and structurally the episode does wobble—particularly as it pivots hard into setting up Project Infinity, a previously unmentioned MacGuffin that suddenly matters a lot. But what lingers is the mood: a creeping unease, the realisation that something vital has already been lost. The rebellion has become ritual. The leaders don’t believe anymore, but they can’t stop. And that’s where Death to the Daleks! really lands: in its portrait of people trapped inside the stories others have built around them.