The Truth of Peladon

"It's important to maintain tradition."

Writer: Tim Foley

Format: Audio

Released: January 2022

Series: Peladon 1.04

Featuring: Eighth Doctor

Synopsis

Arla, last of Peladon's great seamstresses, is commissioned to make a great cloak for the latest coronation. She'll need a new assistant to complete her work in time, and one appears: the Eighth Doctor! Determined to show Arla the truth of Peladon, the delicates threads he's drawing together will change Peladon forever.

Verdict

The Truth of Peladon was a fantastic audio adventure to include the Peladon series! This tied things up very nicely after what has been a hugely successful series and exploration of the planet that has become something of a legend in Doctor Who across a number of mediums by now. I loved the approach of different familiar characters visiting Peladon at different points in its history and this was a fitting conclusion. I liked how it started with Chancellor Barok organising the coronation with Arla, the last of the great seamstresses, tasked with created the great royal cloak. The arrival of the Doctor was a lot of fun as he was persistent with his knocking and proclaimed himself as Arla’s new seamstress. He was keen to point out the strange mood on Peladon with there seemingly being no mourning period on the streets despite the death of a monarch required for a coronation. My intrigue was furthered when it came to Arla not really knowing who the heir was to be coronated. That obviously didn’t really add up. I thought the fur of Aggedor was a nice touch and Arla having some access to the first cloak that would preserve the wearer after death was very interesting. The clothing theme seemed odd on paper but I thought it really worked well and the fun of the Doctor putting on a cape again was brilliant! I was glad that some other agenda of the Doctor’s was slowly revealed when he was secretly in communication with an Ice Warrior and he knew that Barok had a hold of the planet now and didn’t operate with the nicest of actions. Arla being arrested for her cloak design was a great twist and the night sky that she depicted on it actually representing Arcturus instead. The mystery of whether this was the fault of the Doctor or the astronomer from whom it was sourced worked well, but one thing for sure was that a political statement had well and truly been made. The Doctor visiting Arla in her cell was good and I liked how he wasn’t actually coming to mock or confront, but to take her on a wonder and show how Peladon was far from being the provider it was made out to be. The return to Mount Mageshra was good continuity from The Death of Peladon and the trisilicate still infecting the water was a big shame but a good story development. The Doctor not understanding why the Pels had such a fear of outsiders and the planet was just experiencing the same problems over and over again and that seemed to hurt him emotionally as he cared for Peladon. Arla’s fear of Ssilas was palpable and I really liked how she seemed blind to hope despite all the Doctor had shown her. The venture into Barok’s councillor chambers was good and I loved the idea of showing Arla the truth of the people after showing her the truth of the land. That leading to them hearing that Barok was actually in league with the Arcturans was excellent and the whole ravaging of Peladon in beaming the trisilicate away to Arcturus and impacting the tectonic stability of the planet was just brilliant. I was a big fan.  Finding out that Arla turned in her previous apprentice after finding she was part of the resistance was shocking and the Doctor challenging her on that and mentioning his lost body was powerful stuff. This was the darker side of the Eighth Doctor and it was excellent. Arla seemingly going against her new apprentice when telling Barok of the secret passage was good, and the shock of the loom house workers being rounded up was fantastic. The sickly Aggedor making their way to the streets was good and the unhappiness that would follow from the people when seeing the decadence of the new ruler with all their rationing was nicely done. The Doctor appealing to the people was terrific and Arla revealing she was actually in league with the Doctor was marvellous. Barok’s power facility was destroyed and that would beam back to Arcturus which wouldn’t do wonders for the stability of that planet! Arla calmly admitting to killing Barok showed she had a ruthless streak, and the Doctor wasn’t happy as he wanted him to stand trial and face up to his actions. His departure following him putting Arla to the people and being accountable for her actions was a little surprising, but again this was a fantastic insight into the darker side of the Eighth Doctor. Overall, a brilliant conclusion!

Rating: 9/10