Too Many Masters

"Oh no, it's a sequel!"

Writer: John Dorney

Format: Audio

Released: June 2020

Series: Missy 2.04

Featuring: Missy

Synopsis

The Monk has captured Missy. And he will have his revenge...

But the Ogrons are also looking to settle an old debt. And when they call it in, they find themselves with too many Time Lords on their hands.

The Master owes them big – and the Ogrons know who the Master is. Don't they?

Verdict

Too Many Masters was a delightful way to conclude the second series of Missy! This has been a fantastic boxset from start to finish and a terrific addition to what we got in the first series. I have really enjoyed the continuity from this range and I don't think I was expecting that which has made me enjoy it even more. We even got a brief 'previously on' for this episode which was fun and I love the idea of a sequel to Divorce, Beheaded, Regenerated and a reunion between the Monk and Missy. I honestly believe that their first encounter is one of the greatest audio dramas Big Finish have ever produced so I was salivating at the prospect of a reunion and they didn't disappoint! We had a fantastic cliffhanger at the end of Treason and Plot with the Monk being revealed as the one interfering with Missy's plans concerning the Gunpowder Plot and it was brilliant to have a dynamic of the Monk having Missy within his captivity. Except, that didn't last long at all and by the time he was finished boasting about the mighty death traps he had surrounded her with, she was out. It's wonderful to hear how much fear the Monk actually has for Missy and his efforts to get revenge for her leaving him stranded in the sixteenth century were admirable. As if the pair being together again wasn't enough, throwing in the Ogrons was excellent and I really liked how this was also a sequel to Frontier in Space as far as they were concerned. It worked so well to have them hunting the Master through their generations in search of their payment for helping start a war between the humans and Draconians, but of course the Master had managed to escape before coughing up the bill. The Ogrons being a little confused over who out of the Monk and Missy was actually who they were owed from was delightful and hearing the Time Lords try and convince their capturers who really was the Master. The Ogron Empress was a very good character and I loved the lengthy sequence where she was conversing with her Time Lord captives. The Monk's role in guessing the events of what occurred the last time the Master encountered the Ogrons was magnificent. The lack of respect Missy shows during conversations says a lot about her mindset and the fact she gets bored mid-sentence will never get old. Great stuff. The Ogrons' inability to make sense of gender fluidity amongst Time Lords was very good and I also liked how Missy admitting she had been engaged to the Monk backfired on her as within Ogron culture, she was then considered his property! Her reaction to that was priceless. Lydia was a good character and her being a fellow time traveller and one of many enslaved by the Ogrons as they tracked anyone from the Vortex in the hope it was the Master to get their small pay of a galaxy and a couple of planets. The Monk offering to settle the bill before knowing what was promised was fantastic. I'm really enjoying the Monk try to shake off that tag, but it will never get there and the comment at the end from Missy commanding him to robe up was great stuff. Missy adding to the command lock of the Monk's TARDIS so he couldn't control it without her being present was superb and it will never get old to hear how often the Monk gets bested. Lydia's death was a very powerful moment and a stark reminder that Missy is very much still the Master we know and love. Even the Monk was shocked and just added to his fear as we set up future adventures between him and Missy in his own TARDIS! Such a fun prospect for Series 3 and a full boxset between them would be most welcomed. Overall, a fitting end to the series! 

Rating: 9/10