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“YESTERDAY IS TOMORROW AND TOMORROW IS TODAY – TIME LORD, TIME LOST”

The final instalment of Fallen Heroes doesn’t waste a second, picking up in the immediate chaos of Unit 26’s cliffhanger – Louisa Tickson regenerating… into the body of the previously deceased Mayor Mortimer Stewart. It’s a delightfully bonkers twist that propels Yesterday is Tomorrow and Tomorrow is Today into full-blown Time War mode: surreal, emotionally charged, and temporally tangled. Suddenly, everything we've experienced so far – the nostalgic small-town aesthetic, the UNIT-era callbacks, the mysterious Doctor doppelgänger – begins to make a strange kind of sense.

The story finally lifts the veil on the truth behind Oakview: it’s a manufactured reality, cobbled together from memories, regrets, and the lingering echoes of the Doctor’s past. Specifically, it’s inspired by the Doctor’s deep-seated longing for the golden age of UNIT – a safe, if imperfect, time in his personal timeline. It’s a brilliant use of the Time War’s reality-bending potential, thematically appropriate and emotionally charged.

TIME, MEMORY, AND THE CHAMELEON ARCH

Mortimer’s new body and identity drive the story forward, and Paul Panting does a fine job portraying a Time Lord in existential crisis. He’s literally walking in the shoes – and skin – of someone he never intended to be. There’s something both comical and tragic in Mortimer’s attempts to reconcile himself with a future that demands he must die, that he must become human, activate a Chameleon Arch, and live unknowingly among the people he’s come to care for. It’s the kind of layered, reality-warping storytelling that the Time War excels at: paradoxes folded into pathos.

Meanwhile, the Doctor must guide him through all this while also managing his own inner crisis. War is starting to feel the call of the Doctor once again, slipping back into that familiar role amid the chaos. But he’s not ready. Not yet.

A MOMENT OF QUIET BEFORE THE END

After the twist-heavy, rapid-fire first half, the story takes a breath. War steps into the background somewhat, as the townspeople band together against an alien invasion. It’s classic Doctor Who in setup, but the emotional tension lingers in the air. Mortimer tries to help, to restore purpose, while War wrestles with who he was, who he is, and who he fears becoming again.

This slower section does meander slightly – the narrative pulse weakens a little, and the story lacks the drive of earlier chapters. But emotionally, it remains compelling, grounded in character arcs rather than plot mechanics. Mortimer's growth into a self-sacrificing figure who may never truly understand who he is, and War's looming guilt and weariness, give the tale weight even when it falters in momentum.

A MAN WHO REGRETS, A MAN WHO FORGETS

Jonathon Carley delivers one of his finest War Doctor performances to date in the closing scenes. His outburst – raw, anguished, unfiltered – about why he had to kill his former self and why he must do whatever it takes to end the war, is utterly heartbreaking. We glimpse here a man teetering on the edge of choosing the Moment, on the brink of obliterating everything to bring peace. These final moments connect beautifully with The Day of the Doctor, and help frame War as more than a forgotten footnote – he becomes a tragic fulcrum between hope and horror.

LOUISA LOST… BUT NOT FORGOTTEN

With Louisa now gone – or, at least, transformed – we feel the loss. Daisy Ashford and Jonathan Carley had built a strong dynamic across the set, and her absence in this final chapter leaves a noticeable gap. Paul Panting does well as Mortimer, bringing pathos and warmth, but he’s not Louisa, and that chemistry can’t be replicated. Still, the transition is handled well within the story’s framework of identity and change, making it feel like a poignant narrative choice rather than a jarring replacement.

📝 VERDICT: 68/100

Yesterday is Tomorrow and Tomorrow is Today is a dense, paradox-laden finale that ties together Fallen Heroes with admirable ambition. While it stumbles slightly in pacing and loses some of the emotional spark with Louisa’s departure, the core ideas – Time Lord identity, memory as reality, and the emotional burden of the Time War – land with power. Jonathan Carley’s performance is outstanding, and the story cleverly uses its UNIT-flavoured setting as a mirror to War’s regrets. It’s messy, emotional, and quintessentially Time War – and that’s exactly what it needed to be.