The Traitor

"We live in the ruins of our world."

Writer: Nicholas Briggs

Format: Audio

Released: February 2014

Series: Dark Eyes 2.01

Featuring: Eighth Doctor, Liv

Synopsis

Nixyce VII is under Dalek occupation. For many, their only hope of survival is decent medical care, as slave working conditions under the Dalek regime are appalling. But when you help people to survive under the rule of the Daleks, are you actually helping the Daleks? Med-tech Liv Chenka doesn't have the luxury of pondering these dilemmas. She must just do what she feels is right. 

But then there are the soldiers of last resort... The freedom fighters left behind to cause maximum damage to the Dalek war effort, at whatever cost. To them, anyone who seems to be helping the Daleks is a traitor. 

And when the Doctor arrives, his secret agenda throws him into conflict with everyone. 

Verdict

The Traitor was an excellent start to the second series of Dark Eyes! I was very excited to be getting back into this range and I must admit I was a little caught off guard that we didn't have Molly returning immediately here as companion. It was a pleasant surprise though to have Liv Chenka return in a more prominent role after her strong Robophobia appearance. The references to that were strong and I liked the gradual build to Liv believing that the Doctor had actually changed his face. It was fun for the Daleks to be tapping into the same Dalek frequencies that they always use and I liked the surprise the Doctor had regarding the Dalek Time Controller surviving the events of X and the Daleks in the previous series finale. As if survival wasn't enough, the Time Controller even held the memories of those events even though now they had never happened. I'm fascinated by the idea of the Dalek Time Controller existing outside of time as there is a lot of potential there which I'm excited to discover as the series goes on. I think this episode was more of a reintroduction to the series and bringing Liv to the forefront for what is to come rather than tapping into the titular eyes of Molly, but I'm really intrigued and excited for what is to come moving forward. The impact The Dalek Invasion of Earth had on me the first time I watched it as my first ever First Doctor story is still felt as the Robomen have a profound place in my heart. I'm a huge fan of them so when I laid eyes on the cover artwork for this adventure I was incredibly excited. It's my favourite design for quite a while as it just catches your eye straight away! The Eighth Doctor going through the robotisation process was fun, especially knowing that he had jigged the system to ensure he wasn't actually a Dalek slave at the end. But his impersonation was stellar! The moment he confronted Kavel and Aldin who were also in the same disguise but were a bit too chatty for it to pass was brilliant. He was also delighted to see Liv which was lovely. Her relationship with the Doctor wasn't unlike that of Suz's in the Dalek Empire series which was a nice parallel, and she really was able to do her thing. The Daleks needed her to ensure their slave workforce were able to actually work. She needed supplies and she would get them. Tackling the dilemma on if her helping Dalek slaves was actually helping the Daleks was very fun and I liked how that had given her the traitor title of the story. I wasn't expecting that to be attributed to her but I was a big fan. Of course, given how the episode it could also be given to the Doctor as far as Liv was concerned as she seemed to help the Daleks in giving them the frequency that would blow up the mines despite her pleas for the millions of slaves. I was surprised by that and it served as a sensational cliffhanger. That's some way to kick off their relationship in his new incarnation! Carna turning out to be the Hawk was a fun twist as the man Liv was trying to get to the hospital facilities on board the Dalek ships, but the two resistance members weren't having that. Liv standing up to them about their pointless show of resistance that caused destruction and death was good, but the relationship with the Doctor moving forward now is what I'm excited for. It's going to be quite the dynamic and then throwing Molly and the Master in? This looks set to be another excellent series! A fantastic opener. 

Rating: 9/10