Doctor Who review: The Doctor’s and the Master’s relationship is explored in the last episode of The Final Game

The last episode of the audio adaptation of Doctor Who: The Final Game is finally here. Is it a fitting conclusion to this celebration of the Third Doctor’s era?

Finally, after months of waiting, the concluding episode of Doctor Who: The Final Game has been released. The unlicensed audio serial that began back in July last year has been quite an ambitious story. And it needed to be – inspired by the original plan for the Third Doctor’s and the Master’s final confrontation before Roger Delgado’s untimely death, it had a lot to live up to. So far, the series has been a joy to listen to – but does it end on a high note?

The Final Game: Episode 7 continues directly from where the previous episode left off: the discovery of a traitor. But why has one of the Doctor’s own friends turned against him? And even if he can prevent an even greater betrayal, how can the Doctor stop the combined forces of both the Master and the Daleks?

Unsurprisingly, with so much to wrap up, this final episode is considerably long – over an hour and a half, in fact! However, in some ways, the story you’d expect to be focused on – of the Doctor fighting an alliance between the Daleks and the Master – is resolved relatively early, specifically during the first half of the episode. This is a surprising approach, but it works – the plot isn’t dragged out too much, and it allows writer Chris McKeon to focus on many other things in the second half. And it’s in this second half that the episode truly shines.

A long goodbye

The second half of The Final Game: Episode 7 feels like a long goodbye to the Pertwee era – the kind of goodbye that Doctors didn’t really get in the Classic Series. It’s a bold move to make, but also the right one, too. We hear the Third Doctor talk to his former companions Liz Shaw and Jo Grant one last time, while another friend makes an important decision with his life. Something like this would never have happened in the Classic Series, and yet it works extremely well – a nice balance between the styles of old and modern storytelling.

However, it’s not just friends that the Doctor says goodbye to. In fact, the most important farewell is saved for his archenemy. Naturally, the Master wants to play one final game with the Doctor – one that he intends to win, once and for all.

The Final Game has been a big continuity fest, and that’s especially true of the Doctor’s and the Master’s battle. There are many clear nods to the Master’s past – and his future, too. It’s a fitting way of resolving this big celebration of both Jon Pertwee’s and Roger Delgado’s major roles in Doctor Who. But if I’m honest, that battle isn’t my favorite element of The Final Game. Nor is it the huge amount of continuity used.

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A game no longer

Instead, what makes this episode truly stand out is how it addresses the Doctor’s and the Master’s relationship. Not just during the Pertwee years, but for the rest of the series, too. During this iconic era, the battles between the Doctor and the Master always felt like games with high stakes that kept both Time Lords occupied. Oh, one often came close to killing the other, but there were plenty of hints of their old friendship, too.

However, when the Master came back much later in The Deadly Assassin, things had definitely changed. (And not just because of the Master’s horrifically scarred appearance.) There was no trace of friendliness between them anymore, no sense of enjoyment from either one of them at facing a challenge. Only a clear and open enmity – an enmity that would only grow over the rest of the series.

With this final episode, Chris McKeon depicts that change. The Master makes choices in this story that go too far, even for him. And yet, at the same time, you can understand why he makes those choices. By the end, you know that things will never be the same again, and there’s a clear sense of loss, as a result.

Worthy performances

Finally, I can’t finish this review without mentioning how brilliant both Marshall Tankersley and Terry Cooper are as the Third Doctor and the Master, respectively. Both of them have captured the essence and the mannerisms of the original actors perfectly, and they portray the unique relationship of these two characters equally well. I don’t think The Final Game would have worked without either of these two excellent voice actors.

The Final Game has been an extremely enjoyable listen from Black Glove Studio and Studio Severn, one that both captures and celebrates a distinctive era in equal measure. Its final episode is a fitting conclusion to such a story. It may have been a long wait, but it was definitely worth it.

Have you listened to The Final Game? What did you think of its concluding episode? Do you think it fits in with Doctor Who continuity well? Let us know in the comments below.