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"Downtime: A Black Market Brawl and Familiar Beats"

Downtime takes the Eleventh Doctor and his companions to a backwater black-market planet for a supposed moment of respite. Naturally, things unravel quickly. Abslom Daak gets into a brawl, while the rest of the group attempts to piece together the larger mystery surrounding "Exterminhate."

This issue highlights some of the challenges of juggling a crowded TARDIS team. Alice feels particularly sidelined, and her interactions with the Doctor and River are disappointingly off-key. The Doctor’s unusually harsh treatment of Alice, coupled with River's out-of-character coldness, detracts from their otherwise dynamic relationships.

Bonaparte Devizes, a dealer in Dalek artifacts, is a standout addition to the story. His opportunistic yet hapless nature makes him a memorable pawn in the Doctor’s plans, as he unwittingly helps connect Daak to the elusive mystery of "Exterminhate."

While the setting and characters offer potential, the issue suffers from feeling formulaic. The narrative treads familiar ground: arrive at a new location, uncover part of the mystery, and flee when the Then and the Now inevitably appears. The repetition makes this arc feel overstretched and lacking in fresh momentum.

📝Verdict: 5/10

Though Downtime has its moments, it ultimately feels like a filler chapter in a series that’s beginning to lose its sense of urgency. Hopefully, future issues will break the cycle and push the story forward in more surprising directions.