The Perfect Prisoners – Part Two

"Give people a little taste of power and they don't want to let it go."

Writer: John Dorney

Format: Audio

Released: February 2019

Series: FDA 8.08

Featuring: Fourth Doctor, K9

Synopsis

Secrets have been revealed, and the Doctor and his friends at last know who they're fighting.

An epic journey across space leads them to the true mastermind of the Syndicate conspiracy.

Alliances will shift. Friends will die. Can even the Doctor come out of this alive?

Verdict

The Perfect Prisoners concluded in very good style with this second part of the adventure, that confusingly actually comprised parts three and four of the story! It's an amusing little quirk in terms of numberings for the parts, but let's not fuss over those semantics. After the excellent cliffhanger at the end of the last episode, I liked that we had a discussion between Anya and Colwyn over who she actually was and the fact she had taken on a sleeper personality so couldn't have even informed him or the SSS that weren't in the know about her mission if she wanted to know. The fewer people with knowledge of the Syndicate the better. I loved the Doctor countering Anya after realising he'd been played for so long as he now saw all of the signs that pointed to the truth retrospectively. She had learned how to fly the TARDIS which was impressive and would use it to get close to the Syndicate. The discussion of the previous episodes comprising the eighth series and how they all tied together was excellent and a helpful reminder of what had come before this finale. The Doctor knowing now that Anya had murdered Trantis and Zephon and many more must have ben tough for him given how much he care for Ann Kelso. The Syndicate by now were on the verge of a break up and the few remaining members meeting without Zaal was indication of that. For him though, everything was going as planned and I liked how he turned out to be the true villain of the series. Anya heading for Malpha to wipe out the Syndicate was brilliant and she just wanted to murder the last remaining members for finality. The arrival of the Selachian Nebula was a decent development and I liked the concept of it being sentient. Anya destructing the ship just to destroy told us her intentions were clear. She made for a fantastic character and I loved how she tried to play K9 into believing she had reverted back to Ann Kelso before turning him off in savage circumstances. This wasn't the companion we had come to know. Zaal being realised as the traitor from Earth was good and I liked the links back to The Daleks' Master Plan with the make up of the Syndicate. The continuing theme of perceptions being altered was very good and I liked how Zaal had taken that to a planetary scale! Anya's killing of Malpha was brutal and the cliffhanger with the verge into space was exciting, and K9 coming to save the day was a little farfetched with the TARDIS but it was fun for sure. The Doctor and Colwyn realising they'd been implanted with the retouch reality chip was good and the latter seeing how Zaal had used Earth for slave labour on an incredible industrial scale was a powerful moment. Anya killing K9 and Colwyn was an incredible moment and the Doctor appealing to her about whether she was seeing the true reality was great, especially when it turned out not to be. The Doctor's plans to use K9 to wipe out Zaal's signal altering perception was good and the humour that came with it having to take 21 minutes was delightful. Everything coming full circle with Zaal having used the reach of the Syndicate and then have the Doctor and Ann as his scapegoats with Anya killing the members and those who threatened his position was great tying of loose ends. Zaal being subjected to his own methods and thinking he'd killed the Doctor and Anya was a fine moment that I didn't see coming, and it was a neat twist and just ends. K9 had hacked into the signal while the wait to stop it ensued which was a very clever development. Once it was stopped, the explosion dealt with Zaal. The ending with the Doctor denying Anya a place on his TARDIS with him was sad because he really did like Ann Kelso, and so did I. Overall, a very good end to an excellent series!

Rating: 8/10