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Doctor Who review: The Time Lords reveal their darker side in Gallifrey: Time War 2!

By James Aggas

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The darker side of the Time Lords is unleashed as Rassilon is brought back from the dead in the second series of the Doctor Who spin-off, Gallifrey: Time War.

Gallifrey: Time War – Series 2 had incredibly high expectations to live up to. Mainly because of how strong the first series was. Time War – Series 1 dealt with a lot of major mythology, including setting up the very beginning of the war. It also featured some of the biggest shocks ever in a Doctor Who spin-off, too. It was an excellent opening series. Could the second live up to it?

Series two begins with Havoc, which essentially shows us what happened in the aftermath of the cliffhanger to Desperate Measures, the finale to series one. Rassilon, the founder of Time Lord civilization, is back from the dead, ready to rule Gallifrey during its darkest hour.

But is Gallifrey’s oldest and most revered leader really the best man to rule the planet? Especially when someone arrives with a dire warning for Gallifrey’s future…

Havoc

Havoc gets the second series off to a strong start. It essentially reintroduces Rassilon, and let’s us know exactly what kind of President he really is. He’s not evil as such, but he is very clear-cut in his views. He’s a man with a lot of power, not just because of his official position, but also because most of his own race see him as the equivalent of a god. And he’s not exactly keen on proving them otherwise of that notion.

While it would’ve been great to hear Timothy Dalton resume the role as he played it in The End of Time, there’s no question that Terrence Hardiman is fantastic as Rassilon. Certainly a much better fit for the part than Donald Sumpter in Hell Bent. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a great actor, but he never convinced that he was one of the most powerful members of the most powerful civilization.

Terrence Hardiman, on the other hand, does a fantastic job in the role. He plays Rassilon with a strong sense of power, and it’s very quickly made clear that the Time War, as devastating as it is to the universe already, is about to escalate even further.

On top of that, Havoc is a really intriguing story by David Llewellyn of shifting alliances and tricky time-travel. Things that were certain in the first series are flipped on their head. It’s a strong opener that establishes just how much things are changing on Gallifrey in a big way. And they’re only going to get worse…

Narvin is out on a field mission in this episode, as he’s caught between numerous sides on the planet Ysalus…

(Image credit: Gallifrey/Doctor Who/Big Finish Productions.

Image obtained from: Big Finish Productions.)

Partisans

This is the first of two episodes focusing on the world of Ysalus. This isn’t exactly the first of a two-part story, however. It’s more showing how one world is affected by the Time War in one of two very different ways.

Partisans begins with Narvin being sent on a mission with his new protege, Eris. The planet Ysalus is a world in the middle of a civil war, and when Narvin and Eris arrive there, it’s at a very delicate point. The planet will either survive and become a strong potential ally to Gallifrey in the Time War, or the civil war will lead to its own destruction. Romana of course is interested in saving it. But is that true of everyone?

The civil war is interesting on Ysalus, but not as interesting as seeing how the Time Lords involve themselves. There are many conflicting objectives at play here, and the most conflicting ones are from the Time Lords themselves.

Narvin’s morality

It’s refreshing to hear Narvin working in a field-mission. He rarely goes on these, usually staying at home in relative safety on Gallifrey. So it’s nice to see him working, especially in a situation so difficult and dangerous.

It’s also nice to see his sense of morality explored, to a small extent. Narvin has changed a lot over the years, and his outrage at what other Time Lords have planned is a far cry from the man he once was.

This is also an episode that explores the horrors of war, and how it can affect any soldier on a deep, psychological level. One moment that truly stands out is rather violent, horrific and shocking to hear, and stands out as possibly one of the darker moments of Gallifrey (which is saying something).

Partisans is an effective story by Una McCormack. It works well enough on its own, but where it leads to is even more exciting…

Terrence Hardiman’s incarnation of Rassilon makes some truly horrific choices in Collateral.

(Image credit: Gallifrey/Big Finish Productions.

Image obtained from: Big Finish Productions.)

Collateral

Lisa McMullin is a relatively new writer for Big Finish, at least to the Doctor Who universe. Just earlier this month, she wrote the exciting team up of River Song and Leela in The Eighth of March episode, Emancipation. That was an enjoyable and interesting story.

However, as good as that story was, Collateral is even more impressive. In fact, it’s an absolutely amazing story for the Time War in general.

In this episode, some time after the events of Partisans, Ysalus is at the centre of Time Lord attention yet again. However, things are far worse this time, and even with the help of time travel, Romana, Narvin and Eris might not be able to save a planet targeted for destruction.

A true Time War story

What really leaps out about this story is how much McMullin truly understands how complicated something like a Time War can be. There are meetings happening out of order, there are time freezes, and there are even moments when time itself is used as a weapon.

I’ve heard a lot of Time War stories by now. Some of them are straightforward sci-fi battles, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, so long as the story is strong enough for it.

But there are a few episodes where the writers really embrace the idea of a Time War and how complicated it can get. The Neverwhen from The War Doctor series is an easy example. Most of the episodes from the first volume of The Eighth Doctor: The Time War also spring to mind. Collateral easily joins the likes of those strong stories.

Strong emotional core

But even better, McMullin doesn’t just rely on how clever the story is to win her audience. More importantly, she gives it a strong emotional core. Eris’s character gets brilliantly explored in this episode, and what he goes through is powerful stuff. Knyla, a soldier who gets caught up in both her own world’s conflict and the Time Lords’, is also a great character.

On top of all that, we get some great political and personal battles between the regular characters of this series, particularly between Romana and Rassilon. There is no question that Rassilon goes too far in this episode, and Romana’s fierce sense of morality is challenged by the actions he takes. Just how far will she go to stop him?

Collateral stands out as my favorite episode of this box set, and possibly of Gallifrey: Time War so far. Lisa McMullin has given us a story that balances the complexity and epic scale of a Time War with a strong emotional core that gives the story a huge gut punch. I certainly hope we get to hear a lot more from her in the future after this one.

Romana makes a very dangerous choice in the finale of Gallifrey: Time War 2, Assassins…

(Image credit: Gallifrey/Doctor Who/Big Finish Productions.

Image obtained from: Big Finish Productions.)

Assassins

The last volume of Gallifrey: Time War ended with Desperate Measures, which was a fantastic finale. Not only did it bring the focus back to the politics of the planet, which made the series so good in the first place. It also gave us an absolutely brilliant cliffhanger to end on. So expectations were high for Assassins, particularly as it was also written by Matt Fitton.

However, I’ll be honest, this finale I didn’t enjoy quite as much. There is an enjoyable story there, but there are one or two elements that work against it.

What immediately leaps to mind is the Sicari. An army of assassins that had been created by the Time War, they’re invading Gallifrey with just one purpose: to kill Rassilon.

If I’m honest, for me personally, the Sicari just didn’t quite work. Considering the Daleks have been having trouble invading Gallifrey at this point – and will be for a long time to come, until the day that a certain Time Lord decides to wipe out the planet – the Sicari seem to do it far too easily in this one. Even with their origins tied directly to the Time War, it’s still hard to believe they could do it so easily. It doesn’t help that they don’t feel like a very fleshed out enemy, either.

Moral dilemmas

It also takes away from the really interesting story of this episode: what Romana’s prepared to do to stop Rassilon. Like I’ve said, Romana’s a deeply moral character. So it’s always fantastic when her morals are pushed to breaking point.

This happened before when she tried to become a dictator in Imperiatrix, and it happens here when she makes a very dangerous decision. One that Narvin certainly doesn’t agree with. She wants to do whatever it takes to save her people, her planet and perhaps the universe. And for her, there’s only one way to achieve that…

We get some truly great scenes between Lalla Ward and Terrence Hardiman in this one. When the story truly feels like a Romana versus Rassilon story, that’s when the episode is at its very best. You can see the points of views of both characters very well, (even though you’re more likely to agree with one over the other,) and Ward and Hardiman really throw themselves into it.

It all builds to a cliffhanger that’s…acceptable. Like last year, the cliffhanger ending pushes the series in a new direction. It’s admittedly not as exciting as last year’s, but it’s still a satisfying ending, one that does work for the series, at least.

Assassins isn’t a bad episode. But, after both last year’s finale and the previous episode, expectations were set pretty high, and I don’t think it quite matched them.

Series overview

More from Winter is Coming

That can be said of the overall series, in fact. Don’t get me wrong, Gallifrey: Time War – Series Two is still a very strong release, overall. What’s particularly impressive is that, despite being fully set in the Time War at this point, there isn’t a single episode that features the Daleks.

Instead, this is a box set that’s more focused on how dangerous the Time Lords themselves are becoming. We got hints of that both from The End of Time and The Night of the Doctor, so it’s great to see them being set up as a very dangerous threat themselves.

If you’re looking for a box set that’s as strong and massively shocking as last year’s, then you’ll probably be disappointed. But if you’re looking for a box set that’s enjoyable in its own right, and explores the darker side of the Doctor’s race, then Time War 2 is definitely worth checking out.

Next. Gallifrey: Time War – five major moments for Doctor Who mythology. dark

Will you be listening to Gallifrey: Time War – Series 2? Have you listened to previous series of the Doctor Who spin-off? What would you like to see explored in the series? Let us know in the comments below.

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