In the second installment of Planet Krynoid, the Doctor is here to help the people of the planet save themselves from the Krynoids!

This is essentially a Doctor Who story, except the Doctor is more preoccupied with his own problem, and the Doctor does not save the colony after all.

While the Doctor and his group are trying to survive, the governor is trying to deal with the fallout of the Krynoids growing and threathening to destabilize the rich part of the colony. This is not helped by his attachment to his wife and the agitator in the form of a disenfranchised youth.

Again, this play juggles a lot of plots and stories, and it was a bit hard to follow sometimes (as I was doing errands while listening to this). However, around the end, all stories converge in the defeat of the two existing Krynoids, which then leads to a genuinely shocking cliffhanger which I certainly didn't see coming, announcing that now the Doctor is gone, things are back to bad.

Edit: After seeing the rave reviews on here, I decided to relisten Sunlight and Sunset in preparation for Darkness, and when not doing errands, this play is easier to follow. However, I still think it juggles a bit too many plots and stories at times, and found it hard to start caring about any of them too much as they keep switching them around at breakneck speed.

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

“SUNSET: KRYNOIDS, CHAOS AND A DOCTOR IN THE DARK”

Sunset, the second episode of Planet Krynoid, hurls us into the thick of a full-scale infestation with barely a moment to breathe – and it’s all the better for it. Where Sunlight simmered, Sunset explodes with tension, visceral soundscapes, and rapid developments as the Krynoid invasion reaches its brutal apex. The result is a taut and terrifying continuation that pits the Eighth Doctor against some of the nastiest greenery the universe has to offer.

There’s a deep sense of dread here from the get-go. The sound design is vivid and gruesome, evoking classic body horror with modern apocalyptic flair. You can feel the plant tendrils curling through the cracks of society as the colony splinters under pressure. It’s The Last of Us meets The Seeds of Doom with just a dash of The Walking Dead’s bleakness – all filtered through a particularly audio-centric lens.

A DOCTOR OUT OF TIME

Paul McGann's Doctor arrives late to the party, and that’s very much the point. He emerges from cryogenic sleep, having placed himself there to halt a Krynoid infection – a decision that instantly paints him as vulnerable, enigmatic and out of sync with the chaos around him. His presence here is unusual, almost mythic: a lost figure returned, dragging mystery and half-answers in his wake.

We’re told he arrived with Liv Chenka, but her fate is left deliberately unclear. The mystery is compelling, with the listener learning the truth alongside the colonists. Rather than dominate the narrative, the Doctor becomes one thread in a broader, desperate tapestry – his arc unfolds at the same pace as those around him, which is both refreshing and tantalisingly incomplete.

FAMILY, FRAGMENTS AND FOLLY

The colonists' tensions reach boiling point. Social fractures are exposed between the elite and the underclass, and there's a palpable sense of rising panic as secrets are uncovered. The moral rot in the leadership is particularly striking – we discover that Holden deliberately unleashed the Krynoid pods, hoping to find a cure for his infected wife. A risky gamble, and one that spirals horrifically out of control.

The emotional core here is Holden’s family, now twisted beyond salvation. His wife’s grotesque transformation and her callous hunger, even in front of their terrified daughter, makes for some truly chilling scenes. Reece Shearsmith delivers a standout performance as the Governor, his desperation escalating into madness as he’s taunted by his Krynoid wife and ultimately driven to suicide. His journey is a bleak but compelling descent.

PLANTS VERSUS PEOPLE

If Sunlight was eerie and simmering, Sunset is explosive and action-driven. Gunfire is a frequent – and fatal – mistake, with the colonists failing to realise that heat accelerates the Krynoid spread. The constant firefights raise the pace, but also the stakes, with one particularly haunting moment seeing a colonist sacrifice herself so the Doctor can escape. It’s horror steeped in nobility – a classic Doctor Who moment in the midst of chaos.

There’s also something deeply satisfying about the reveal that the planet – Verdana – is actually the Krynoids’ homeworld. The colonists’ terraforming efforts have awakened something ancient and vengeful. It’s a sharp thematic undercurrent: nature reclaiming its own, fighting back against exploitation by wealthy settlers who see the land only as a commodity.

STRONG ATMOSPHERE, SLIGHTLY MUDDLED STRUCTURE

The pace is relentless, and while that keeps the adrenaline high, it occasionally comes at the expense of clarity. The large ensemble cast still feels hard to track at times, and while the societal dynamics are intriguing, they’re not explored in much depth. The story’s action and atmosphere are prioritised over characterisation – understandable, but it leaves some interactions feeling undercooked.

Similarly, the narrative shape feels more like a bridge than a full story in its own right. While there's progress – the Doctor regains his TARDIS, the mystery of Liv lingers, and the Governor’s downfall plays out – it still feels like a lot of running in place. The ending, though dramatically satisfying, leaves us with a colony blinded and doomed, and the Krynoids advancing – a cliffhanger, not a conclusion.

📝VERDICT: 9/10

Sunset is a brutal, breathless entry in Planet Krynoid, ramping up the horror and action with some truly grisly moments and fantastic sound design. The Eighth Doctor’s mysterious re-entry adds intrigue, while the central themes of ecological backlash and colonial exploitation give the story weight. It may not answer many of the bigger questions, and it’s more about the ride than the resolution, but what a ride it is. With plant-based peril, high-stakes sacrifice, and an atmosphere thick with dread, Sunset continues the Krynoid saga in savage, style-soaked fashion – and leaves the door wide open for more green horrors yet to come.

A little bit of Paul McGann makes everything better, doesn't it? The Krynoid apocalypse rolls on as the Doctor awakens having put himself in deep freeze after the original colony fell a century ago. His goal is just to get back to the TARDIS to save Liv Chenka, but he does his best to help the colony. The series is still throwing so many new characters at you it's easy to suddenly lose track, but there's some great moments of horror. Eat the rich indeed. The final bomb being dropped that this time, it's the Krynoid's home world...yeah everyone is in big trouble.

Not a bad way for a botanist to go. Helping the local ecology.

Hell yeah.

I love a lot about this episode! I love that we delve a little more into the botany of it all. I love the mad, B-movie nature of the plot and imagery. I love the way the film Sunset is used throughout the story, and Reece Shearsmith's performance at the end is delightfully unhinged whilst still remaining real. I like the way Eight is woven into the plot, with his searching for Liv, and eventually going back to save her, unwittingly dooming Sunlight in the process.

Great fun. A big step up from the opener and a really enjoyable story!

This was a PHENOMENAL episode, and by a new writer nonetheless! Really enjoyed hearing the Krynoid being vicious, while the human aspect of their transformation was really at the forefront. The Doctor was great in this, he really fit in well with the characters. I love the worldbuilding they've done its really been great so far, lets just hope part 3 is as good!

It was cool to learn that this is the Krynoid's home planet too was a surprise but rather obvious in hindsight.

The Doctor just leaving though felt a bit... Especially with how it ended!! 

Gutted Shearsmith's character is killed too, hoped he'd stick around for more.

Very much a night of the triffids esc set I love that