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

Previous Story: The Wrong Doctors

Now I might be a bit biased as I absolutely love Season 23, so I'd naturally enjoy this. It feels like an epilogue to Season 23, in some ways I even think it's better. Michael Jayston is just as incredible here as he was in the 80s, his back and forth with the Doctor and the Inquisitor absolutely makes this story. I love how he slowly manipulates the Doctor into being on his side, using the Doctor's urge to battle corruption and injustice. I'm actually fairly surprised by how much Time Lord lore this touched on, especially the implications of some of it. I especially like how it explored the character of the Doctor and his reaction to the Valeyard more than we were able to see on TV, very interesting stuff.

The second part of this story, after they leave the courtroom, did get a bit messy admittedly, but I think the reveal that the Valeyard had been orchestrating it all along and even faked his own death tied it up nicely. I did enjoy the inclusion of the mud planet which was definitely a direct reference to the weird muddy/quarry landscape that they ended up in in The Ultimate Foe. Overall, really great story but if you didn't care for the trial elements of Season 23 you probably won't like it as it leans into that aspect heavily.

Next Story: Judoon in Chains