Doctor Who Retro Review: ‘The War Games’ Episode 2

The Second Doctor and his friends try and escape the wrath of General Smythe, but is something even bigger than a World War really going on?

*** This review contains spoilers. ***

For our review of Doctor Who’s ‘The War Games’ Episode One, click here.

The resolution to Episode One’s cliffhanger of the Second Doctor being shot by a firing squad is neat but effective. While gunshots were heard, it turns out that none of them had been aimed at the Doctor, as a random attack by an unknown group proved to be a major distraction for the firing squad, and allows the Doctor and Zoe to escape. It doesn’t feel like too much of a cheat either, as even at the end of Episode One, you can just spot the fact that the shots are heard before Captain Ransom gives the order to fire.

Episode Two of ‘The War Games’ gives a lot more clues as to what’s really going on, as Jamie, while being held prisoner, meets a redcoat who believes that it is 1745. It’s interesting watching Jamie’s reaction to meeting this character. A long time before, his reaction might have been to kill him on sight, or perhaps just pure hatred. But here, Jamie is aware that both of them are in the same situation — something that’s much bigger than their own war, and they need to work together if they want to escape. It’s another small but great moment that shows Jamie’s development as a result of his travels with the Doctor.

After all three time travellers try to escape, they’re very quickly recaptured, although not without an attempt by the Doctor to simply bluff his way out. It’s a subtle plan that involves convincing a soldier that the Doctor is really from the war office. He achieves this by shouting a lot. Captain Ransom’s reaction to it is great:

"“I must say I admire his gall. Seems a pity really to have to shoot him.”"

I don’t think that, before this very moment, I’ve realised how excellent a character Captain Ransom is. He’s not a villain. In fact, he’s really just a man who does his job and believes he’s loyally serving his King and Country. He’s not sadistic or psychotic like Smythe, and he has his own sense of morality. He might not have a problem with executing a man with a firing squad, but he certainly has a problem with artillery shooting at an ambulance with two women on board.

He’s more than a little gullible. Moments like the ones in which he passionately explains to Lady Jennifer how important paperwork is — while not realising for one second that she’s just trying to distract him — make him just a little bit more endearing than your usual villain’s lackey. What also adds to this is that, due to hypnosis and Smythe officially being a British general, he doesn’t even have a clue that he’s helping the bad guys (at least according to Ransom). Ransom’s one of those characters that could’ve been purely two-dimensional and placed in the story just to develop the plot, but I honestly think that he’s a great character in his own right.

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Other great characters of course are Carstairs and Lady Jennifer — two other soldiers who have more awareness than others that something is wrong, and put their trust in the Doctor to find out what it is. It’s interesting seeing their journey as they quickly have to make some very important decisions that could put their very lives in danger (well, in even more danger than they were before… they are fighting a battle in World War I, after all). Carstairs seems to struggle the most about the choices that he makes in this episode, and that helps to make him a compelling character to watch.

Escaping with the TARDIS crew, they drive into a mist that, strangely, heavily distresses Carstairs and Lady Jennifer, but has no effect on the TARDIS crew. Eventually, they emerge from the mist into beautiful, quiet countryside on a nice, sunny day… before they suddenly find themselves getting attacked by Romans.

Have I mentioned how great the cliffhangers are for this story?

Next: Retro Review: 'The War Games' Episode 1

Next Episode: Enter the War Chief…