Time War: Hostiles

"Time is breaking, and it keeps on breaking."

Writer: David Llewellyn 

Format: Audio

Released: February 2020

Series: Gallifrey 11.01

Featuring: Romana II, Narvin

Synopsis 

Exiled from Gallifrey, Romana and Narvin are fleeing from their own people and the Time War. Seeking refuge on a derelict wreck they find they are not alone. And that Time Lords have enemies everywhere...

Verdict

Hostiles was a very good audio to kick off the third volume of Time War for Gallifrey in what is incredibly the eleventh series overall! This looks set to be a departure from the planet Gallifrey itself and more focused on the lead characters who have shone the way across much of this spin-off range. I like the idea of Romana and Narvin fleeing Gallifrey with Rassilon wreaking havoc as President and I think that gives a lot of credence to the position of the Time Lords and what they had become during The End of Time. For such esteemed Time Lords as Romana and Narvin to flee showed that Gallifrey was being consumed by the war, and they were hoping to try and find Leela. Now, I think it’s bitterly disappointing that the cover artwork has spoiled that she will be returning and as much as I adore her character I am massively against her return. Her death at the hands of the Master was sensational stuff and that impact will be diminished with her impending return. I do appreciate that things are potentially a little different with Gallifrey given the instability of timelines in a Time War, but I do wish characters just stayed dead! It’s nice for Romana and Narvin to be out searching for her bio data now there’s a chance and I’m looking forward to hearing where they end up. If this episode is anything to go by then it could literally be anywhere! The Dreadnought Septima made for a strong setting and I loved how it just felt dark right from the outset. That was exactly the feel and atmosphere wanted. Trellick was an intriguing character and it was obvious from the start that there was more to her than she was revealing. She knew a lot about the situation she was in on the Septima and it was a fun concept for Qatal to be in control of time. She had not managed to work out, but he was able to reverse and reset time to his advantage and ensure Trellick didn’t escape. She was a Time Lord herself but none of the TARDISes there were functional as a whole, quite simply because they couldn’t be. With Narvin on the hunt for a directional unit as part of the dematerialisation circuit, I liked that there was a clear direction for the episode too. This was all about Romana and Narvin surviving. Qatal sounded a little off but the distortion was understandable given what had happened to him with the Time Vortex. Trellick trying to understand the science behind his time control was good, and I thought the later revelation that Romana and Narvin were not the first Time Lords she had assistance from. Qatal being the subject 442 was very good and it was great to delve more into the history on the Dreadnought as the episode rolled on. Qatal being consumed with asking why was uncomfortably great and the resolution of the entire story being just getting an answer was logical and quite simple for such a complicated story surrounding Time! I was a fan of that and it was pretty admirable for Trellick to sacrifice herself to allow Romana and Narvin to escape. Romana had exuded her Coordinator privileges despite being deposed, but those systems here hadn’t got the update which was fun. Trellick reacted humorously to the names of her new Time Lords initially, but she was in no doubt by the end. There needed to be an end to the Time War. Overall, this was a really solid start to what should be a very intriguing collection of stories for this volume of Time War adventures! 

Rating: 8/10