The Odds Against

"If the Nine is dead, how can the Eleven still be here?"

Writer: John Dorney

Format: Audio

Released: April 2019

Series: Eighth Doctor Adventures: Ravenous 3.04

Featuring: Eighth Doctor, Liv, Helen

Synopsis

The Doctor, Liv and Helen have landed near an abbey housing the gateway to the dimension in which the Ravenous were originally imprisoned. 

But their plans to enlist the inhabitants' help in defeating their pursuers are disrupted when they stumble over a dead body. Strange creatures roam the corridors and something monstrous may be awakening beneath their feet.

Verdict

The Odds Against was an excellent conclusion to the third Ravenous series of Eighth Doctor Adventures! Whilst feeling like a finale this also did a really good job in setting up the final boxset which I am incredibly excited for. The idea of exploring where the Ravenous were initially imprisoned was terrific and I loved the eery feel throughout. I think the cover art does a really good job in helping establish the atmosphere and there was definitely a dark feeling throughout the episode which definitely helped! I thought the Time Lord outpost made for a strong setting and why wouldn't that be the place for a Ravenous prison? I almost thought we were going to get a return of the Master alongside the Eighth Doctor when we were introduced to the Abbot of the Ix as that just felt like the perfect kind of disguise for him, but alas I think the twist actually worked even better in it being the Nine. I must admit I didn't see that coming but all of the clues were there from the off as the Doctor pointed out. He'd basically created the unsolvable mystery for the Doctor and Helen to go on but Liv staying behind was a big mistake. The reveal coming from the Nine to his future self in the form of the Eleven was fascinating and the convoluted timelines coming into play with two different versions of the same Time Lord playing off one another. Hearing the previous incarnations through the different frontal incarnation was magnificent too and a fun way to explain the slight change in voices when we interact with different versions. He's an incredible villain and finding out that he was immune to the Ravenous really sets things up nicely for the finale. That's such an advantage and it was also fascinating to learn that it was the regeneration energy specifically of the Time Lords that the Ravenous fed upon which does make sense. However, with his condition the regeneration energy of the Eleven gets trapped and so he isn't exactly a tasty snack. The Nine finding that out and actually working with the Ravenous is quite the combination, but the Eleven wanting to utilise that against the Doctor is equally as devious. The Eleven definitely feels older and more desperate which makes him so dangerous and I can't wait to hear what he has in store for the final series. Liv continues to show absolutely no remorse to the Eleven which is getting quite amusing now so I'm intrigued that she still feels that way even after he technically saved their lives. I mean she doesn't know he has a much bigger plan at play and the Doctor being who he is obviously wants to return the favour. The Doctor and the Eleven actually drawing the Ravenous to the Nine in the cell was a fun little grandfather paradox and I really like how the Eleven briefly didn't have the Nine within him suggesting he was consumed by the Ravenous. But that goes even further with how things concluded and the Eleven claiming to have been cured of his regenerative cognition after the interaction with the Ravenous. I can't envisage a world in which he is able to hide that from the Doctor, but I'm certainly going to enjoy listening to him try! Overall, I thought this was a superb finale that delved further into the lore and history of the Time Lords. Roll on the concluding series!

Rating: 9/10