The War Master: Solitary Confinement

#9.03. The Life and Loves of Mr Alexander Bennett ~ 4/10

◆ An Introduction

I got an Amazon Echo a couple of years ago which I have never used: it was a Christmas present from my mam. Hearing all those theories online that home assistants were always listening – that they were spying on private conversations with family, or even just recording you singing along to Erasure like a drunken aunt at a wedding – really put me off using it.

Home assistants are always listening…

◆ Publisher’s Summary

Alexander Bennett lives a normal life. He has a job, a girlfriend, a plan for the future... and a new home assistant – Maisu – that offers all the advice he could ever need... whether he wants it or not.

◆ The War Master

‘Solitary Confinement’ has established itself as a box set of character studies, but this episode sees the Master taking a hands-off approach to his machinations. Almost every household and workplace contains a Maisu unit: each one comes pre-packaged with the essence of the Master, to aid his passive subjugation of the masses. The Maisu will make several out of pocket comments, seemingly at random, as it gaslights you into doing whatever it requires. A really uncomfortable concept.

Sir Derek spends the majority of this episode playing the monotone home assistant, making it all the more chilling when the façade is dropped: those moments where Alex is manipulated by the Master are really well-performed.

◆ “Alexa, are you invading my privacy?”

The Amazon Alexa came under fire from cyber security researchers in January 2023, who claimed the devices posed a significant threat to privacy: these researchers argued that the always-on listening feature, combined with the vast amount of data Amazon collects on users, makes them a prime target for hackers and other malicious actors.

One major concern was that the data collected by Amazon through an Alexa could be used to build detailed profiles of users, including information about their habits, preferences, and even their physical location. This data can then be sold to third parties or used for targeted advertising. Additionally, hackers may be able to gain access to this data through security breaches, putting users at risk of identity theft and other forms of cybercrime.

Virtual assistants such as the Alexa have been around for at least a decade, and they’re still a massive cause for concern. Alfie Shaw has amplified those concerns by showing what could happen if the assistants used their data to manipulate the user, and it’s terrifying!

◆ Conclusion

“Eat the crisp packet!”

Launching his own virtual assistant to subjugate the masses, the Master decides he is going to completely destroy Alexander Bennett with a mix of gaslighting and manipulation.

Jacob Dudman is someone whose acting skills I have come to really appreciate, so I was rather excited that he would be taking on the leading role of this episode. Can you imagine how shocked I was then to hear such a flat and boring performance? Sir Derek receives barely any material in this episode, but still delivers a pretty chilling performance as the dodgy virtual assistant.

The idea of the Master gaslighting some poor unfortunate into doing his bidding has been done several times before, which explains why this episode gave me serious deja vu; having him execute his plans through a knock-off Amazon Alexa does give the script some nuance, but not enough.

Alfie Shaw has found himself showered in praise over the past year – which isn’t surprising, following the massive success of the ‘Eleventh Doctor Chronicles’ – so I was utterly stunned that he could be responsible for such an uninspired mess. I definitely wont be revisiting ‘The Life and Loves of Mr Alexander Bennett’ in future. One final note: whoever approved that abysmal title deserves the book thrown at them!