Gallifrey review: Romana fights her past as civil war continues in Warfare

Civil war rages across the whole of Gallifrey. A war that’s rapidly approaching its conclusion. But which of the two Romanas will win?

While Fractures focused on the civil war on Gallifrey to some extent, Warfare is much closer to a gritty war story. There are a couple of battle scenes that are handled really well, and the war between Romana and Pandora (who’s in the shape of her previous incarnation) is really fleshed out.

We also get a larger focus on a new major character, Matthias. While he was heard in the previous episode, it’s here that we get a greater grasp of what his character is really like. He seems to be loyal to his President. But, like Braxiatel before him, is he working towards his own agenda?

Leela continues to struggle with her new condition following the previous episode. However, despite losing something so valuable to her, she continues to fight on. How she acts in the battle scenes is, frankly, really awesome to hear.

The other side

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On the other side of the war, things are not going so well. Pandora is becoming more and more desperate to win the war, at any cost. She tries to rely on Darkel, but considering she’s proven, time and time again, to be one of the most treacherous characters in the entire series, she’s learning to trust her less and less. And so are the main protagonists, who are far too used to her tricks by this point.

Warfare ends in a slightly surprising way. The arc of the civil war could’ve easily been something that was focused on for the whole of the third series, but it’s actually very neatly resolved right here.

More than that: the story of Pandora, which had been a major element since the second series’s opening episode Lies, is also brought to an end. In some ways, it’s easy to see Warfare acting like the plot of a series finale, and a very effective one at that.

But, having said that, there’s more to come from Gallifrey. A lot more. In fact, the end of the civil war is just the beginning…

Have you listened to Warfare? Did you enjoy how it handled depicting a civil war on Gallifrey? Would you like to see something similar happen in Doctor Who? Let us know in the comments below.