Time War: Assassins

"He is not a god."

Writer: Matt Fitton

Format: Audio

Released: March 2019

Series: Gallifrey 10.04

Featuring: Romana II, Narvin

Synopsis

Pushed to the brink by Rassilon's actions, Romana is thinking the unthinkable. 

A new threat has breached Gallifrey's defences. And its target is clear. A race of assassins has evolved at the heart of the Time War, dedicated to one purpose. The Sicari are coming for Rassilon...

Verdict

Assassins was a very good audio to conclude the second saga of Time War for Gallifrey and its tenth overall series! It's been an incredible journey so far and we are from done as the end of the episode indicates, but this intimate chapter of the Time War and focus on Ysalus seems to be over. There has been a great deal going on and it's been nice to not be overpowered by Daleks for the moment. This boxset was rightly all about Rassilon and the interaction he shared with Romana here was delightful. The references to the comically bad Zagreus were fun continuity and it's nice to utilise their history. Rassilon referring to the likes of Romana and Narvin as either a Daughter or Child of Time was intriguing and I loved how he mentioned things being better in the Old Times. This was something he was trying to bring back, at least the attitude. He was impressed with Narvin which was a bit of a surprise but his intention to wipe out the Daleks at their genesis hadn't gone unnoticed, even if the agent used to carry out that mission was wholly unreliable. Romana's comment about the Doctor not being able to stay out of the War for much longer was very good and some fun placing of the timelines as the Eighth Doctor's own Time War saga was already in full flow by this point. It's nice for Romana to know he might be coming though. I appreciated a lot of mopping up references here with Leela's position in The Lady of Obsidian explained and whilst I'm a huge fan of her character, the idea of her escaping the death endured at the hands of the War Master is something I'm not in favour of. Her supposed death was so impactful and whilst I do like the idea of Romana and Narvin searching for her at the heart of the Time War, I just wish characters stayed dead! The suggestion of Ace also being found was good and I loved how Braxiatel was blamed for involvement and the contradictions of her timeline going back to when she left the Doctor. That was a strong in-universe joke. It's nice to know that Narvin has been trying to find Ace and Leela and showed he cared. His being offered a brand new regeneration cycle was a brilliant moment and he was fully ingrained into the War Council without much of a hitch! The revelation that Livia had turned onto the side of Romana and against Rassilon was great but the President Eternal was expecting it and seemed to get the upper hand. Except the Sicari were on their way to try and assassinate the President, and why would the Time Ladies stop them? That was fun, but he survived and would go on to actually broadcast his regeneration live in a bid to showcase his power. The Time Lords were still the only interest when it came to surviving the War and it's really nice to have a direction for Romana and Narvin to head into the heart of the Time War. Romana drawing parallels with the Doctor was lovely here and I like the idea of her and Narvin actually getting to travel the universe a little. Overall, a fine end to what has been a really impressive and consistent boxset! 

Rating: 8/10