The Good Companion

"The future has already been decided. Earth is going to die."

Writer: Nick Abadzis
Format: Comic Strip
Released: November 2017 – March 2018
Printed in: The Tenth Doctor #3.11-3.14

Featuring: Tenth Doctor, Gabby, Cindy, Cleo

Synopsis

The Doctor, Gabby  and Cindy are threatened by the most deadly cosmic entity they've ever faed – one that could eradicate the Doctor's very timeline. Year Three of the Tenth Doctor's comic adventures reaches its game-changing conclusion with devastating consequences for everyone on board the TARDIS! Can they all make it out in one piece? Or will the fate of these beloved companions be changed forever?

Verdict

The Good Companion was a very good comic strip story and a decent way to end things for the Tenth Doctor's Titan Comics run! I do think the way this one ends is unexpected, but it does show you that not everything has a happy ending which I think is an important message in Doctor Who given just how much content there is. I'll start right at the end and I think it's clear that the end was not in sight when this one was written. Surely we have to get more of the Tenth Doctor's travels post-Gabby? I mean, it would tie in with how he was feeling and acting as The End of Time approached, but what of Cindy and Cleo? They would probably now go off and live their lives together, but there are a lot of assumptions to make despite the answers seemingly being clear. I did not expect to see the image of Rose as the Moment saving Gabby and giving her back to the Doctor at a time when he was perhaps more in need of her services. The image of her and the Twelfth Doctor embracing was marvellous and surely we have to get some answers as to what happened next with them! I thought the finalising of story threads we have had throughout the Tenth Doctor's third year was very good and I liked that Cleo joined up in the companion role alongside Gabby and Cindy. Gabby was still trying to come to term with her block transfer computation abilities and all that had gone in Vortex Butterflies which worked brilliantly. It was nice for the Doctor to stick to his word in not wanting to leave his companion whilst she was getting the training she needed to try and control her abilities. However, it had been a long time and the Doctor and Cindy were incredibly bored. The latter convinced the former to go on just a small trip in the TARDIS, but things stemmed very quickly from there with a number of coincidences that involved the Doctor. He knew they weren't just unlikely chances of fate and more so targeted efforts to get his attention. The return of the Time Sentinels was good and I liked how they seemed to be having some sort of inner conflict. Considering they were all supposed to be one entity, Aspect Red had gone desperately rogue and was even killing off its own kind! I found that element of the story a little weird as the enemies were literally just colours. Aspect Blue aiding the Doctor and co was good, but again I found them just a bit of a weird species (if that is what they are) to have a civil war. The use of the cone to deal with the returning Red TARDIS was very good and I did like how much this comic strip was full of action. That was really entertaining and I definitely got the feeling that there was a lot at stake in the events of this story. I liked the moment when the Doctor simply stated that Earth would cease to exist in a matter of days and all signs pointed towards it being a fixed point in time with the sources of information. Playing around with that was a lot of fun, but I think it was resolved a little early in the story to have a lasting impact. The fate of Gabby was truly devastating as shortly after the Doctor was reunited with her and could explain that he didn't leave her and that he always needed her, she sacrificed her life to see off the Sentinels and their Red TARDIS. I can't imagine the aftermath of the Doctor's reaction. He can't have taken it well, and it even led his future self to become a hugger when he really wasn't that kind of person. Cindy and Cleo's becoming an item was an unexpected aspect of the story, but the former was able to tell Gabby that she loved her. She always had. I didn't know that! I still want more from this series though, or at least a continuation of Gabby's adventures with the Twelfth Doctor and being able to discover where she learned her abilities in Time Lord mathematics. Overall though, a very good end to the series!

Rating: 8/10