Gallifrey review: Mindbomb gives us one of the spin-off’s most shocking episodes

With devious politics, surprising returns and shocking deaths, is Mindbomb one of Gallifrey’s very best episodes?

Mindbomb is probably one of my favorite episodes of Gallifrey. Not just of series three, but ever. There are several key reasons for this.

The most immediate that springs to mind is what the story focuses on, following on from the events of Appropriation: an election on Gallifrey. The first election in centuries, in fact.

That’s right: despite the Doctor Who spin-off always being very politically based, Presidents don’t get elected on the planet of the Time Lords. This was actually first established in Fourth Doctor story The Deadly Assassin. They’re either specifically named by the outgoing President, or the old ones are forcibly removed from office.

So an election not only puts all of the characters in a very unusual situation, at least by their standards. It also means that we’ve got Gallifrey at its most political yet, and therefore, arguably, at its most strongest.

But there’s also the huge number of twists and turns that Mindbomb provides, too. Right from the very beginning, events take a surprising turn, and remain that way for the rest of the episode. Across the entire story’s length, you’ll be left wondering just who will be President of Gallifrey.

Best of all, when you do get the end, the result is both surprising and satisfying. Gallifrey has rarely been a series to play it safe, and that’s especially true here.

Entrances and exits

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I mentioned that that this episode has plenty of shocks. Two of the best ones are very, very closely linked. A major character returns, and in the best way possible. Naturally, this character brings many wonderful little twists along with their return, and beautifully shakes everything up just when it all starts to get even slightly predictable.

The other major shock of the episode? Another character dies. One who’s been in Gallifrey for a long time, and in fact, goes back to appearing in Doctor Who itself. But which one? And is it necessarily a sad death? Regardless, you’re definitely going to have strong emotions about it.

Mindbomb is, in my opinion, a perfect example of Gallifrey at its very best. It’s surprising, shocking, clever, devious and so much more. It’s a key turning point in the series and, once again, shakes things up in a big way. It’s also something you definitely couldn’t jump directly into. It’s a perfect example of just how well Gallifrey uses the serialized storytelling format, and remains one of the very best episodes of the series.

Would you like to see more politics in Doctor Who? Or at least, in a way that focused on actual politics? Do you think a series like Gallifrey could be handled well on television? Let us know in the comments below.