This is part of a series of reviews of Doctor Who in chronological timeline order.

Previous Story: Snakedance

While this is a fantastic story, it might be a bit overhyped. I definitely enjoyed it, and there were some all-time great moments, like Tegan's monologue in space. I really enjoyed the insight into the Doctor's past, how the story of the Nightjar was the first story he heard after leaving Gallifrey. The soundtrack is phenomenal and the cast are all really great. As mentioned before Janet Fielding as Tegan delivers a beautiful monologue, her characterisation is really on-point throughot this story and a vast improvement of the character she had on TV.

This story is an example of why I love Peter Davison's Fifth Doctor. He's selfless and kind, without hesitation to do the right thing. Davison always puts a great amount of effort into his performances and is especially good in stories like these that let the Doctor show a more emotional side that they wouldn't have done on TV. It was bittersweet to see the Doctor witness the tragedy of the Nightjar unfold whilst desperately trying to save it. Nyssa is probably the least interesting character here, a fault of how she was written originally mainly, but even in this story she gets a chance to shine, she gets to sympathise with Goben's family, a really sad but heartfelt moment.

I'd say there were two major twists in this story, the first one was very easy to predict as soon as the captain died and this led it to not be very shocking. I'll admit though, the second twist regarding the mystery of the identity of the visitors stumped me. I think that second twist added a profound sense of tragedy on top of an already tragic story. It really got me when I realised the full implications of that. I think the ending was as similarly bittersweet as the rest of the story. It was hard to imagine Captain Eslo doing that, atleast on the Doctor's advice given how spiteful she was the whole story. Still, it was on the whole set up really well.

Overall, this is a great story. The tragedy of the Doctor's desperation to keep events as they were, as he was first told them after he left Gallifrey was a highlight of this story. 5 always gets the awful stuff happen to him which feels unfair given how kind he is but I suppose that's the beauty of his character, how kind he is despite the tragic events in his life. While this story maybe didn't resonate with me as much as it did others, I can't deny how solid this adventure  is. Every performer brings their best and it's got a fantastic soundtrack to boot.

Next Story: Resistor