📝5/10

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"A Festive Feast with Davros and Daleks"

The second story in The Wintertime Paradox takes a strange and ambitious turn, exploring the Doctor’s complex relationship with his greatest foe, Davros. The premise—a Christmas dinner tradition where the two meet in stunning locations across the universe to simply talk—has the potential for sharp, intriguing dialogue, but the execution leaves much to be desired.

A Case of Offbeat Characterisation:

Rudden’s portrayal of both leads feels oddly out of step. Davros, usually cold and menacing, comes across as too polite and composed, lacking his usual venom. Similarly, the Eleventh Doctor feels uncharacteristically flat. There’s even a baffling moment where Eleven drinks wine, directly contradicting Steven Moffat’s established trait that he doesn’t like it. These inconsistencies sap much of the energy and fun from the story.

Themes of Christmas and Creation:

The dialogue largely focuses on the Doctor’s and Davros’s contrasting philosophies, with reflections on Christmas and Davros’s twisted role as the “father” of the Daleks. While this could have been a fascinating clash of ideologies, the conversations feel somewhat pedestrian and fail to deliver the tension or insight one might expect from such an encounter.

A War Overshadowed:

Meanwhile, a Dalek-Krillitane war rages in the background, but it’s treated as an afterthought. Instead, the story shifts to Davros’s inevitable attempt to kill the Doctor, only for the Daleks to once again betray their creator—exactly as the Doctor predicted. This overused plot device makes for an anticlimactic ending that feels disappointingly familiar.

Final Thoughts:

Though the premise of a holiday meeting between the Doctor and Davros is intriguing, the mischaracterisation and lacklustre plot ultimately undermine the story. The potential for a truly unique exploration of these iconic characters is left unrealised, making this a forgettable entry in The Wintertime Paradox.

A promising idea fizzles out, leaving behind an uneven tale that’s neither festive nor particularly engaging.