Mutually Assured Destruction

"Only Dalek lives matter."

Writer: Lizzie Hopley

Format: Audio

Released: 10 December 2020

Series: Time Lord Victorious #3

Featuring: Eighth Doctor

Synopsis

The fallout of the great battle.

Outnumbered and alone, on a Dalek time-ship careering through the vortex, the Doctor must use all his cunning to survive. As the saucer disintegrates around them, the Doctor is trapped with a crew of increasingly desperate Daleks.

Or are the Daleks trapped with him?

Verdict

Mutually Assured Destruction was a very good audio adventure to finish off the loose trilogy of Eighth Doctor stories within the Time Lord Victorious arc from Big Finish! This wasn't quite what I expected after The Enemy of My Enemy but I guess I shouldn't be surprised that all indications suggest this was set after All Flesh is Grass, which was seemingly set up brilliantly from the Eighth Doctor's perspective in the previous audio. This was very much the aftermath of whatever goes down there which is intriguing and frustrating at the same time. I really don't understand why they couldn't just release things in story order! I know that not everything essentially ties in and follows on explicitly like the Master Short Trips collection and Defender of the Daleks for example, but when things so clearly follow on I just wish they would release them that way. Anyway, onto the story itself and it was a really fun hour. I think the contained setting was unique and having the Doctor trapped on a Dalek time ship as it travelled through the vortex was terrific. The Doctor relished being in unfavourable circumstances and the Daleks leaving him to die in the engine room at the hands of extreme heat was pretty brutal even for them. Of course, the Doctor didn't die and had an ace up his sleeve to cause chaos with the Dalek systems and get himself reunited with the TARDIS which was in the hands of the Dalek Time Controller. I was a big fan of the continuation with The Enemy of My Enemy and the Doctor discovering that the Devolver was actually used on the Wraxians. His reaction was great and as expected. The Dalek hierarchy and roles coming into play in a big way was definitely the highlight of this story for me and the dissension amongst the ranks was fantastic! The battle of wits and claims of authority amongst the likes of the Dalek Scientist, Executioner, Time Controller and Strategist was magnificent and the power struggle amongst the latter two in particular was very good indeed. I'm a big fan of the Strategist and I think this Dalek has been the highlight of the story arc and I'm enjoying his relationship with the Doctor. The Time Lord's survival being in the interests of Dalek strategy seems contradicting but that's what makes it part of the fun. It's certainly intriguing! Tiska and Groth made decent characters but I'm honestly not sure they were entirely needed. Them being the last of their species was a good dynamic and I loved the Daleks referring to them as cargo. That immediately showed where they stood amongst their captures. The Doctor's use of the Dalek path web was terrific and the way he manipulated the Strategist despite their 'alliance' to cause Dalek chaos was great. He seemed to revel in it and Paul McGann was also on top form as the Eighth Doctor. I am rarely unimpressed. The Dalek extermination of Groth was a powerful moment as he hunted for Dalek weaponry and ignoring the Doctor's suggestion of hiding instead. The relationship the Doctor then grew with Tiska was nice and I liked how things seem to have set her up as a potential companion with how she was inside the TARDIS amidst the escape from the time ship on the brink of destruction. Her reaction of logic to the TARDIS interior was magnificent as well and I enjoyed that the Doctor liked her to the point deductions. I think they could make a good pairing, but it's interesting to think where things might go from here for the Eighth Doctor. Overall though, a really enjoyable audio!

Rating: 8/10