Bad Influence: Missy and the Time Assassin

"How often do you get to kill one of your idols?"

Writer: David Quantick

Format: Audio

Released: May 2024

Series: Missy 4.01

Featuring: Missy

Synopsis

Missy gets to meet a hero. But James Blakelock, Time Assassin doesn't quite live up to the legend – although he is very easy on the eye. 

Although she has places to be and species to annihilate, Missy can't help herself, so she tags along on James' next mission. After all, a little bit of assassination never hurt anyone...

Verdict

Missy and the Time Assassin was a really entertaining start to the Bad Influence fourth series of Missy's own spinoff series! Honestly, let's keep the Missy series going forever because Michelle Gomez is just tremendous. She offers so much and really just has an inane ability to draw you in as the listener. She's a scene stealer from the moment she speaks and that was very evident here. It's not often we see Missy or any of her male incarnations awestruck but she almost fainted when James Blakelock revealed his identity. That was a fun moment as it almost made Missy seem or feel inferior which is not something we ever see or hear. Blakelock was a very fun character as a Time Assassin and his reputation as not being a very good one made it all the more fascinating that Missy was a fan. The focus on the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand as a pivotal event that led to World War One starting was excellent and I really do wish this was the basis of the entire episode purely because of my love of history. Alas, it wasn't to be but Blakelock getting in touch with the would-be assassin and offering ten million krone to not assassinate him was tremendous because that actually set in motion the events that would lead to it! Insinuating that he was just going to throw rocks at the car as believed was the first failed attempt to make a point but then seeing how assassination would shape things is incredible. And it's a lot of fun. I think you can get away with that in a Missy series. Missy is the perfect incarnation to be fanboying and I don't really think another could pull it off, so to have her wanting to go on a mission with Blakelock was brilliant. The chemistry between the pair was fun and I like how Missy constantly refers to eating her companions. It is a constant reminder that actually she is quite evil and that was on display at the end on the nameless World orbiting the nameless System as she attempted to just shoot Blakelock dead. She didn't even care for his last words but his forcefield protected him and she was quite disappointed not to have thought about that. It was good to see her one-upped briefly. The whole plan of Blakelock to increase his reputation by capturing Missy who was deemed one of the great murderers was audacious for someone who believed himself to be an idiot. To be fair, he'd worked out that a number of murders in history were committed by the same person with a moniker mostly close to 'Master' which was impressive, but trying to trap Missy and playing a really long game to get her in position was just a death wish. She'd eat him alive. That wasn't quite what happened but I never felt like Missy was in danger. I can't ever imagine that happening other than when the Doctor is around. She was almost mocking in the effort Blakelock went to in order to get her when he wanted her, but she was quick to do a quick transition of the vortex manipulator and a child's wristwatch. That was very amusing. I liked how a future version of Blakelock turned out to be the member of Galactic Police come to arrest him, and Missy was gone before that reveal happened. Could we perhaps get a return from the Time Assassin in the future? It is possible and it was just fun to hear how he had planned two years in prison to save himself and prevent himself from being made a mockery once again. Of course, he could have just gone back in time a little further and prevented the entire idea regarding Missy, but he didn't think about that. Missy ending up back on Earth again was fun and leads nicely into the next episode. We're rolling! Overall, a thoroughly enjoyable listen! 

Rating: 8/10