Now this is the deep, interesting characterisation that I was expecting from Arc of Infinity... after so many inventive and powerful moments from Omega in the Three Doctors, I was so disappointed by the sequel, but this acts as a sort of coda to give us what the Season 20 opener was missing. Also, we get our first Zagreus reference, and I can't wait to see more of them peppered throughout the next four Doctors' stories!

I think this is the first episode where the Fifth Doctor is on his own, and it's so radically different than what's come before - as a character who often revels in having lots of people around him (extrovert much?), it feels so bizarre for him to be isolated from his friends and have to get through these struggles on his own. Because of this, the impact is so much greater when he underestimates the challenge. Leading on from the end of The Waters of Amsterdam, I was constantly wondering "Why did the Doctor abandon Tegan and Nyssa?" It's never explained until the end of Part 3, when we realise - the Doctor hasn't been in it at all! When he finally shows up, the conflict between what Omega believes is true and what is actually true is so interesting, as the Doctor comes to expose the real truth, and his inner morality is shown in a mature and really different way than we've ever seen before.

The duality between the Doctor and Omega is built up so well and one of the most effective cliffhangers of the Fifth Doctor era! The way that the distinction between legend and truth is explored in this story is so interesting, with Omega obsessing over the way his story is told, obviously still broken by the fact that his true destiny was taken away from him. In hindsight, there's plenty of clues to indicate that the Doctor isn't who he believes himself to be, lulling himself into a false sense of identity and it ties into the main character arc so well, considering Omega to be the Doctor's hero, despite knowing that he is a rebel and often flaunts the ideologies of his people. There's such an interesting dynamic built up between Omega's perception of the Doctor and his perception of himself, trying to expose the truth rather than believing the lies that the stories tell you, until the truth is flipped and he realises another perspective of events. The ideas presented in this episode are so fascinating, and weave both the protagonist and the antagonist into the narrative so well.

This setting reminded me quite a bit of Mummy on the Orient Express with the tours around history. While the "actors" subplot is probably the least interesting part of the story, it still links to the main narrative, with a subjective, biased recount of events to the masses, presenting Omega as a hero, dismissing the claims of the atrocities he committed to become a hero (possibly making links to other historical figures, maybe British prime ministers...) However, I liked the setting of an entertainment centre, and the eerie atmosphere that the story has, and the idea of these historical tours being interesting in concept, but practically have no value, again striking the balance between possibility and truth.

Those two women complain about everything, don't they? In quite a serious and dark story, these two bring a lot of humour and light-heartedness to stop the story from going too far, which is always appreciated. Even they contribute to the main idea of the story - nothing lives up to their expectations, and all the stories they've been told are underwhelming. Like I said, the subplot with the actors wasn't too interesting, but I enjoyed seeing unique and quirky side characters, and their performances are brilliant!

The music from this story reminded me quite a bit of the Spare Parts soundtrack. Creepy and fantastically evocative of the 80s, very unique and fits this story perfectly.

The dialogue from this episode is on-point, always witty and clever, so it was difficult to choose my favourite line, there were so many amazing ones, but I decided to go with
Favourite Line: "So you've gone from being a power crazed tyrant to talking like an American! I'm not sure which is better."

Brilliant story with so many innovative and amazing ideas, fun cast and a deep, profound meaning behind it. Aside from a few flaws, this was such a strong performance, backed up by an even stronger script!