Self-Defence: The Forest of Penitence

"Trees don't bleed."

Writer: Lou Morgan

Format: Audio

Released: June 2022

Series: The War Master 7.01

Featuring: War Master

Synopsis

Waking in an unusual forest with no memory of how he arrived there, the Master has little choice but to seek help from other survivors. But what is it they've all survived?

Verdict

The Forest of Penitence was an excellent start to the Self-Defence seventh series of adventures for the War Master! This is such a strong character and it's incredible to think we're now into our seventh series of then spinoff after the character featured on screen in his true form for around five minutes at the end of Utopia. It was incredible then but here we are with another stellar Derek Jacobi performance as the Doctor's arch nemesis. And a rematch is on the cards! How incredibly exciting. Of course, we've got to build to that which I assume will come in the series finale, but this was a fantastic way to start the journey of getting there. I think the concept of the amnesiac group awakening in a forest works very well and it was fun for the Master to so clearly be the odd one out. There was a lot of history between those he was with and that played into the atmosphere of the story very nicely. I thought Blythe being taken worked well as a means to establish the threat of the forest and I liked the mystery behind her whereabouts. Could a tree really have taken her? It was a little bit more than that though as it was soon established that she had essentially become the tree! I thought that worked as a concept and the idea of a forest acting as a testing grounds for prisoners was brilliant. The way they all deduced they were all criminals and were being tried for their crimes was terrific. I really loved the calm demeanour of the Master throughout and despite his surroundings and the situation, he somehow always felt in control. That's an impressive quality and this War incarnation exudes it. I always think he's one step ahead of the game and I'm usually proven correct. His interactions with Ellie in particular in this story were intriguing and whilst she was one of the younger members of the party, I appreciated that he saw in her something with a potential for evil. She was devious, but not letting on too much. She didn't seem overly fussed that her mother had been taken by the trees which is a sure sign of something not being quite right! I liked Dalfin but I knew she wouldn't be lasting too long because of the bullish way she was questioning her fellow group members. She believed that Scarp knew more than he was letting on and whilst she was proven correct, that was not the way to go about things amongst a group of criminals! I liked how even before the revelation regarding Scarp occurred, just from sheer performance he sounded like the villainous one. That was a good quality, especially when the Master is in town! I liked learning more and more about the forest as the story went on and the measured pace was perfect. It just suits the War Master down to the ground and I was in the mood for this kind of feel for an adventure. I liked the concept of Scarp actually being the jailer and that meant he knew who the Master was all along. He was surprised though that the Time Lord had worked it out and was not fooled like the others. He was actually interested in the hologram technology that had made the others believe their surroundings were consuming them and that dynamic shifted the power immediately. Trying to make people feel guilty for the other deaths was an intriguing way to test criminals in being able to show remorse, but that was a fascinating concept. The Master wouldn't exactly be close to passing though and it seems there is a bigger game at play which I'm very invested in. The idea of the Master being put on trial is fun and it's obvious he's not fit for rehabilitation! I do hope we continue in this vain and follow through, but I think we all can work out for ourselves how he'd get on. He exposed Scarp for commodifying his wife's design which was her passion and so much so that he'd incorporated her into the system. And yet it was still the Master as the true villain of the piece, and when it's his own series that's exactly how it should be! Overall, a delicious start to the series.

Rating: 9/10