A strong Start that sadly can’t match the Highs of that Ending from last Series. It’s at its core very much Set-Up very fun Set-Up no doubts but honestly this didn’t click as much as I would have hoped for.
It’s good don’t get me wrong, Louise is superb, Leeson as K9 is superb and so are most Performances here. I guess for me it kinda falls apart with the amount of business at play here, which can be at times something that works, but here leaves me a bit mixed sadly.

Excited for the next Chapter!

I adore this one! It’s taken permanent residence in my brain. Just. Perfect in my opinion.

I adore Leela so much in this one, I don’t have words to express it. Making her blind is a really, really compelling choice narratively so I’ll even forgive hurting her. Just, the way that she is both uniquely suited to dealing with this situation while at the same time experiencing that loss so much harder than any Time Lord would. The way it robs her from her connection to the present while also enhancing her reliance on other senses, the way she denies it at first because she’s experienced it before, the way she breaks down crying on her own when she realizes it’s permanent. That broke me. The way Romana both trusts her capability and helps her without looking down on her. And Louise Jameson just ■■■■■■■ kills me with her performance.

Romana. Just Romana. I love her and I think being a leader of a faction in a war is actually way more suited to her than being president in peacetime because at least there’s something she can do instead of just talking but it’s just as bad for her <3. I love the way she knows as precisely as possible for how many deaths she’s responsible, the way she takes every one as her personal failure, the way she’d do anything to stop it. And how in spite of this terrible situation, her first concern is still Leela and also Narvin, the way she worries for them personally.

And how Pandora works as her foil is excellent too, they’re really just two sides of the same coin, the things Pandora does are easy enough to imagine a Romana pushed to the brink, with her morals warped doing and I think that’s perfect. And just. Mary Tamm. No more words.

K9 is wonderful, honestly even evil K9 is cute in my opinion, but when he reveals he’s working against Pandora?! And the way he lies better than anyone else, he’s just so loyal.

And Narvin. I went in expecting Narvin suffering and I was not disappointed. Just loves to get blown up, doesn’t he? When he woke up and his first concern was still Romana, I just about died. The loyalty of that man is unparalleled. And he works so well with Leela, somehow they complement each other so wonderfully, I love them working together when grievously injured because none of them could do it alone, just perfection. I also think that having listened to Damned If You Do came in handy for me here because it gave me a deeper understanding of his character, and that makes his change in loyalty to Romana over these last two episodes so much more compelling. And mostly just. That man is so good at suffering. All those whimpers<3

I did not quite expect this to start with Romana having already escaped and running a campaign of sabotage, and Narvin getting hurt yet again. It was heartbreaking listening to Leela’s emotional breakdown at realizing the permanence of her blindness. I am glad both K9 and Gerber proved loyal to Romana.

This is setup for the rest of the series more than anything else I feel, but god is it compelling setup.

The opening scene is a brilliant way of bringing you back into the world despite the break, catching the audience up on the events that happened in the last story (and between then and now). It almost reminded me of the opening crawl to a Star Wars film, and I mean that in the best way possible.

The scene at the start with Leela and Narvin is also great as a small bit of character stuff, and what it leads to is really good. Leela being blinded is a really interesting character choice, and what it gives us here is already great. "Your voice led my knife to you" is just such a great line (and scene), and shows how cool she is even with this new disability. ("The savage has more lives than a time lord" hell yeah she does)

There's some really interesting stuff in there with the mention of a war using timeships, especially with this releasing post-season 1 and the Time War now being an established part of DW canon and fresh in the minds of listeners. Dramatic Irony at its peak.

The stuff with the time-split assassin was also pretty interesting, Narvin's reaction to Romana having gone to the vaults was great, but I think even with Pandora's explanation of her plan with it it does take away from the primary threats of Pandora, Darkel, etc.

Darkel gets to be exceptionally cruel again here which is great, and I absolutely adore K9 being a good boy/double agent, working with Pandora so he can help Romana and her side.

Overall I really liked this, but more than anything I'm looking forward to the rest of the series with this episode in mind.

📝8/10

Thworping through time and space, one adventure at a time! 

CIVIL STRIFE ON GALLIFREY

Season 3 of Gallifrey opens with the planet in the throes of civil war, where Pandora manipulates Romana’s first incarnation through mind control, pitting her against her second self. Romana II’s attempts to fight back lead to the partial destruction of the Capitol, clearly delineating the two sides of the conflict: Romana and Leela, aided by Narvin, versus Pandora, allied with Darkel and Valyes.

The stakes are raised early, with Leela left blinded and Narvin gravely injured during one of Romana’s attacks. Their desperate retreat to the fringes of the conflict provides a tense survival narrative, while Romana embarks on a perilous journey to uncover the secrets of the Anomaly Vault, a potential key to regaining time travel, which Pandora has denied them.

The war itself forms a strong and engaging backdrop, with clandestine strategy meetings, frantic battles, and the ever-present chaos of a society on the brink. The narrative deftly alternates between Romana’s vault-bound descent and Leela’s wilderness survival, adding layers of tension. However, the plot grows increasingly busy in its second half, with the intricate manoeuvres of both factions making it difficult to follow all the threads of the conflict.

Lalla Ward and Louise Jameson continue to deliver stellar performances, with Jameson excelling as a wounded and vulnerable Leela. Mary Tamm’s portrayal of Pandora is delightfully commanding, while John Leeson’s “evil” K9 adds an unexpected chill to the proceedings.

The sound design does an excellent job of building the wartime atmosphere, with the constant hum of explosions, laser battles, and whispered strategising creating a sense of urgency and chaos. Despite its complexity, the story offers a tense and gripping introduction to this darker chapter of Gallifrey.