Hearts of Darkness: The Edge of Redemption

"It's a war I don't think anyone can win."

Writer: David Llewellyn

Format: Audio

Released: October 2020

Series: War Master 5.01

Featuring: War Master

Synopsis

"Find the Doctor... stop the Doctor... and, if necessary, kill the Doctor!"

Recruited by the Celestial Intervention Agency to track down his oldest enemy, the Master finds himself thrown into a mission that will take him into deepest Dalek territory.

Abandoned on the planet Redemption, he assembles a crew and acquires a ship – the journey that follows is certain to test them all... and not everyone will survive.

But space pirates and living corpses are the least of their worries. Their biggest threat remains at large: a Time Lord who likes to call himself 'The Doctor'.

Verdict

The Edge of Redemption was an excellent episode to kick off the Hearts of Darkness fifth series of War Master adventures! I’m a huge fan of the Time War incarnation of the Master and it’s always wonderful to hear Derek Jacobi back in the role. He’s a fine actor and he just has a chilling ability to bring a sinister and dark dimension to an already troubled and evil character. The calm demeanour is impressive and I liked how it was on display throughout. Starting a series with Narvin giving the Master instructions to not only locate the Doctor, but to kill him was quite a bold way to kick things off! But it showed this series meant business and I’m really looking forward to where we go from here, especially with the artwork showing that the Eighth Doctor will be showing up at some point. I can’t wait for another interaction. Narvin getting angered by the Master’s dawdling was quite fun and I was surprised that the entire first episode was centred on the Master obtaining a ship from Redemption to reach the Lehar System. I liked that there were very limited takers on that journey because of the dangers involved, but the Master found his way to Morski who was potentially willing to go anywhere for the right price. The only problem was his ship was impounded so that made for a good basis in the plot to free that. Kriket was a fun character and when he initially robbed the Master of his credits card I thought he was going to pay the price immediately, but he ended up sacrificing his life much later on in very different circumstances. He’d recruited Ilya because she was the only Medusan and her flexible ability meant she could break in and get the ship. The quartet made a fun team and I must admit I was a little surprised that the Master was playing along so well. He’s not usually a team player, but irking the Time Lords and eventually getting to the Doctor with instructions to kill him is a good enough motive for me. He revels in the long game. Ilya also dying at the end was quite sudden and I didn’t expect Morski to be the one who pulled the trigger. The way she recognised the Master immediately was excellent but she didn’t think he could be the same Time Lord as the one who had destroyed her entire planet and family. But when the Master required medical attention and she realised he was, her reaction was tremendous. It was genuine shock and fright. The audacity of him encountering her. I enjoyed the action of getting to the ship and despite the casualties at the end of the episode, it does appear that Morski will be sticking around to take the Master to his destination. Credits talk. I do hope this will now allow the Master to show a bit more of his evil side moving forward, but the Time War was clearly having a profound effect. Even Morski was asking about it and if it’ll end in his lifetime. Using the alias of Mr Seta was good fun also. I love an obvious anagram. Overall, this was a thrilling and very entertaining start to the series! I can’t wait to continue.  

Rating: 9/10