The Sentinel of the Fifth Galaxy

"Skaro has fallen."

Writer: James Goss

Format: Animation

Broadcast: 19 November 2020

Series: Daleks! 02

Featuring: Dalek Time Squad

Synopsis

Under attack, the Daleks flee to their home planet. Fearing it is already too late, the Dalek Strategist comes up with a plan, one that requires the co-operation of the Sentinel.

nder attack, the Daleks flee to their home planet. Fearing it is already too late, the Dalek Strategist comes up with a plan, one that requires the co-operation of the Sentinel.

Verdict

The Sentinel of the Fifth Galaxy was an excellent episode to continue Daleks! as part of the Time Lord Victorious story arc! I was hugely impressed with this one and was delighted to find that I enjoyed it even more than The Archive of Islos which itself was a terrific start! This was a superb little quarter of an hour and it was just brilliant to see the Daleks under attack and somewhat panicking. I will admit that things didn't exactly start how I expected them to with the Daleks fleeing from Islos immediately and with them being attacked, they scampered back home which I really enjoyed. I'm always a big advocate of visiting Skaro and the visuals we saw of the Dalek home world were very impressive and wonderfully reminiscent of how we saw it depicted in The Magician's Apprentice/The Witch's Familiar. That was brilliantly done and just looked hugely impressive. I thought the animation stood up well once again for this episode and the idea behind the Entity that was attacking the Daleks and chasing them across space was great stuff. I was intrigued as I genuinely was expecting something with more of a character focus, but it was quite the troublesome element for the Daleks to deal with as once they'd arrived on Skaro, it was already in the atmosphere! The Strategist suggesting that the Entity existed outside of time was very good and I liked the prospect of the Daleks doing battle with something that had an air of oneupmanship on them. The Daleks like being superior so they can't have liked that particular trait of the Entity. The speed at which the Entity caused chaos on Skaro was sublime and I liked the stark comment of describing how Skaro was lost. Of course, we've seen it come back before after the likes of Remembrance of the Daleks so I'm not sure a wider placement in the Doctor Who universe is strictly needed as it's just fun to consider. I mean, look how many times the Master has died and returned without an explanation. The Emperor being lost for words about the situation on Skaro was a very powerful moment and I liked how the Strategist assumed command and gave orders which the Emperor just confirmed. I get the sense that we are building towards a confrontation there which is very good indeed. The Entity not giving up its pursuit was a lot of fun and resemblant of The Chase with the Dalek role reversed which was fantastic, but they did have a plan and it was the Sentinel as reinforcements. There were 10,000 Dalek troops waiting to be activated and the rally cry that followed their return to life with them proclaiming the Strategist as Emperor was excellent stuff. R-41 was a weird little character but I thoroughly enjoyed how the Entity had already taken him over and was learning to live in the Dalek dimension. I didn't see that one coming to be honest! The Strategist realising it had failed felt like another big moment and I particularly enjoyed that the Sentinel was seemingly pre-programmed. The Vault looked impressive and I also really liked the Entity's claims of being put on a mission to destroy the Daleks or otherwise find a better lead. That would be the Strategist and the intention to cause dissension amongst the Dalek hierarchy was magnificent. Big fan of that. The Strategist turning the tables and revealing he had already altered the self destruct timing of the Sentinel Daleks in an effort to take out the Entity was a superb plan that only worked as far as weakening it. The Daleks remain on the run, and I look forward to discovering what happens next. Overall, a fantastic episode!

Rating: 9/10