The Dance

"Is it worth it?"

Writer: Simon Guerrier

Format: Audio

Released: January 2017

Series: Graceless 4.04

Featuring: Abby, Zara

Synopsis

In the flood and the fire, 

In the heart of the sun, 

We were lost, we were dying, 

We have only begun,

And the rest of the song, 

Remains to be sung, 

So we'll dance through the night, 

And the dawn never comes, 

Just the two of us.

Verdict

The Dance was a sublime conclusion to the fourth and final series of Graceless! This really did finish the spinoff in a spectacular way and was certainly an improvement from the previous episode. I liked the idea of dancing at the end of the universe and it's always interesting when Abby and Zara's powers are made immobile. There were an abundance of familiar voices heard during this adventure as Pool went around asking those impacted by the actions of the wicked sisters if what they did was worth it. The general concept behind the adventure was outstanding and it was terrific to initially go back to Marcella running the cafe and her being offered a wish. She wanted to stop a war, any war, and that was despite knowing she would die in the imminent missile attack. The theme of choice throughout the story was tremendous and I was intrigued by what was clearly troubling Pool. I wanted to know as he seemed so determined at the end of The Ward. He was changed here. The idea of the tune behind the dance having power was brilliant and I loved how one had to synchronise with it to get in touch with the mysterious others also taking part. The brief returns of Chaff and Gutierrez were good and that's where we learned that the story would focus on questioning if the choice was worth dying for. I liked that a lot. Zara being direct to the other beings was good and perfectly in line with her character and the humour that came was refreshing to the beings from out of time. It was also fun to have their true being as something unexplainable as I like concepts that are impossible to comprehend. Oblong and Triangle were terrific characters and they seemed to quite like the sisters at first. General Dodyk showing up from The Bomb for a question on the worth of the wicked sisters' actions was great and the contrast of Pool asking someone who had survived instead of died was very good. I was a huge fan of the background music throughout the audio and it enhanced the theme in an excellent way. The threat of a shadow creeping through existence was wonderful and I liked how the others quite clearly feared it. All of time was being erased at its doing which was clearly a big danger! Annie getting a little cameo was nice and Oblong's demise soon after was very sudden and a big shock. The others being likened to black holes was good and the sisters soon realised that they were being used as a way to save the others by sacrificing themselves. Heading back to the Moon and encountering Slink and Onara was fantastic and from there I thought Triangle's emphatic answer of no was very powerful. She had no doubt that there was no worth and the music stopping was very good. Pool confronting Graves over the worth after telling him how they'd be responsible for his death was intriguing, but what came next was very surprising in outstanding fashion! The Grace had sent Pool to deliver judgement on the actions of the sisters as they were blind on the future and they didn't like that, except Pool turned out to be the Chaos Pool! It was so blindingly obvious that it was hidden in plain sight that he was the Grace in human form all along. The Grace was envious of the sisters which was very fun to play with and he wanted to understand their experiences. Abby and Zara making the song theirs was terrific and I wasn't surprised that after Pool had asked thirty million people if it was worth it, the majority didn't rule in favour of the sisters. The pair getting to reflect on their journey since The Chaos Pool was just superb and their development was clear to hear as they told how they learned to take control of their powers. But for the Grace, it didn't have time t become sentient with the shadow looming. The shadow that was formed by Abby and Zara was a fun revelation as it was they that would destroy the universe. They had made so many changes with their efforts to do good and they were draining the Grace. The power had to come from somewhere, and now it was on the brink. It was the Grace's choice to decide if they were worth it even if it was at its own cost. Abby suggesting they ask the older Zara we saw at the start of the series was a nice way to bring things full circle and the Grace accepted death to keep Abby and Zara's actions in reality. The others were left with the choice now, but the dance was over. I adored Abby's passion to continue in existence and doing good, but the warning that came at the end with the Doctor's sorrow over their actions was sublime. I look forward to the Fifth Doctor boxset featuring the sisters' return later this year. But for now, I have thoroughly enjoyed this spinoff series despite a couple of iffy episodes. On the whole it's been a joy and this was a wonderful conclusion!

Rating: 10/10