Seeking a means to stay hidden from the Time Lords, the Doctor arrives in 17th century Russia, to meet Baba Yaga, a terrifying witch from Slavic folklore. Before she knows it, the Doctor is wrapped up in the story of Vasilisa the Beautiful, sent by her wicked stepmother to retrieve a flame from Baba Yaga.

Rochana Patel knocks it out of the park with this one, it's always nice when a light is shone on cultures that Doctor Who rarely visits and the story of Baba Yaga is a great example, a folktale completely unknown to me at the time of listening, but this adaption of it has opened up an interest in the folklore behind it. The mythology is really given air here, with the story leaning much further into fantasy than conventional sci-fi and it is executed incredibly well. While handled a little directly with the Doctor plainly describing things early on, such evokative imagery is captured and the story is able to effectively hold on to its atmosphere from there, aided in no small part by Howard Carter's score. To this reviewer's less cultured mind, the chicken-legged hut called to mind Howl's Moving Castle, and the story did have an atmosphere not too dissimilar to what you might get from a Studio Ghibli classic, be that intentional or totally coincidental.

In ways we get a very different characterisation of the Doctor compared to the previous story, rather than being reluctant to get involved she's excited about being a part of this legend and meeting the figures from it. She's also a bit worse at the time travel thing, dropping way too many future references in front of Vasilisa, reflecting her placement in the timeline being before the Doctor was a seasoned traveller and more accustomed to Earth. There is also a darker side referenced through the latter half of the story by Baba Yaga, reaching into the Doctor's mind.

Jacqueline King (who listeners may know better as Sylvia Noble) is the standout guest actress and is great in portraying Baba Yaga, it is a very hammed-up performance but not to the extent where it feels out of place, she makes the character a delightful antagonist throughout and leaves you wanting more of her after every scene.

Through this story the Doctor is reflected through both Vasilis and Baba Yaga, in the case of the former it's through her harsh relationship with the people back home and desire to save them regardless (a course of action we'll see and hear the Doctor take many a time through her future lives) and in the latter it's the harsh exterior and the terrible decisions made to survive, yet with a track record of helping those in need regardless. This ties the central cast together in a satisfying way and makes their interactions all the more interesting.

The breadcrumbs laid out by the previous story continue with the Doctor making reference to memories stolen from her, and seeing where this goes will doubtlessly be interesting, perhaps it's simply the history of the Timeless Child as explored on-screen, or perhaps it's something more.

Patel is relatively new blood at Big Finish - with her first stories for them being in 2022 - and if The Legend of Baba Yaga is anything to go by this will be a name to look out for.