I went into this not being sure what to expect, its my first experience of Noonan outside special releases, and also my first non-narrated 1st Doctor audio. As I finished the Savages today, I remembered this existed and thought it'd be lovely to find out what happened to Steven. I had no idea the nature of the story, so was quite surprised at the somber, reflective aspect of it all.

I can't say Steven is a favourite of mine, but this story really touched me in a lot of ways. I've lost a lot of close relatives in a very quick succession, so when I realised this story was going to touch upon grief I really felt it. I'm glad this was just a one-off return for Steven, and it works well in the context really. Unlike a lot of the 'Doctor meets companion but older' tropes, this one doesn't result in travelling together which I loved.

One thing which at first I thought would hinder my enjoyment, and didn't, was the references to Daleks Master Plan. I haven't seen this serial, however I felt the weight of what happened in it and the references must've been lovely to those who had heard it. Generally the emotional aspects of this story really resonated with me and I liked it a lot for that amongst other reasons. As always with classic releases, I wish they were shorter and snappier. This flew by, granted, but if it had been a 4 parter I reckon it would've hit even harder.

I do wish they leaned even more into the grief aspect of the story. That being said, the discussion at the end between the Doctor and Steven surrounding grief was just lovely. I loved the characterisation of the Doctor throughout this, Noonan was fab. I kinda thought Dodo's inclusion was pointless really, until the final scene which gave her a proper exit! Timey wimey exit at that! It makes a lot of sense and I really like how it was done. That being said, this was my first experience of the actor playing Dodo, and I didn't think she sounded like her at all. That being said, I still thought she was fab in the one part she featured in.