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“THE SHADOW IN THE MIRROR – A FINAL GLIMPSE, A FINAL MERCY”

Paul Cornell concludes his Lockdown trilogy with The Shadow in the Mirror, a direct follow-up to both Shadow of a Doubt and his acclaimed TV story The Family of Blood. This time, it’s the Thirteenth Doctor who comes calling—quietly, gently, and with finality.

After centuries of imprisonment, the girl once known as Daughter of Mine is finally granted release. The Doctor arrives not to lecture or punish, but to offer a rare kindness: she returns the girl to her now-dead homeworld, giving her the freedom to walk among the ruins of her past.

It’s a quietly poetic image. And yet…

MERCY OR MISTAKE?

Cornell’s prose remains elegant, his economy of language effective—but this very brief story stirs a sense of ambivalence. The entire narrative weight of The Family of Blood rested on the unrelenting nature of the Doctor’s punishments. They were terrifying precisely because they were absolute. Daughter of Mine was to remain trapped in the mirror forever, a living shadow frozen in time.

To see that punishment undone—even gently—feels like a retcon that saps some of the story’s power. Yes, people change. Yes, eternity is long. But was this redemption earned, or simply granted?

The story doesn’t offer an answer. Instead, it lingers in a moment of atmosphere and quiet ambiguity. The girl has changed—or says she has. And the Doctor, older now, perhaps softer, chooses forgiveness over finality.

A BOOKEND TO A CURSE

This story essentially acts as the epilogue to an epilogue. As the final piece in Cornell’s mirror trilogy, it closes the book on Daughter of Mine with a gentle sigh rather than a dramatic flourish. There’s no great twist or revelation—just a quiet release.

Whether that’s satisfying or not may depend on how strongly you felt about her original fate. For some, this will be a welcome moment of grace; for others, it slightly dulls the poetic sting of The Family of Blood’s conclusion.

📝THE BOTTOM LINE: 5/10

The Shadow in the Mirror offers a soft and sombre end to the tale of Daughter of Mine, but in doing so, undercuts the eternal punishment that once defined her story. Thoughtful and bittersweet, it serves as a quiet coda to Paul Cornell’s trilogy—but one that may not sit well with fans who preferred the original, unyielding conclusion.