Self-Defence: The Last Line

"Do not abandon me, Doctor."

Writer: Lizzie Hopley

Format: Audio

Released: June 2022

Series: The War Master 7.04

Featuring: Tenth Doctor, War Master

Synopsis

At the mercy of an ancient and powerful race, the Master calls upon his oldest friend in his hour of need. The problem is he doesn't recognise this incarnation of the Doctor... while the Doctor knows this Master all too well.

Verdict

The Last Line was an excellent episode to conclude the Self-Defence seventh series of the War Master spinoff series! What a way to conclude it! This has been the long anticipated main event throughout the series and whilst I have really enjoyed hearing the War Master defend himself against the Vectors and the Companion Chronicle style of recounting past adventures in the form of The Players and Boundaries, but now we get to the business end and the main selling point of this boxset. The prospect of the War Master encountering the Tenth Doctor should be impossible, but that's the beauty of Big Finish. It's so exciting to get a full on battle between these two incarnations of the Doctor and the Master because the glimpse we got at the end of Utopia was outstanding. It's one of my all time favourite episodes and the reveal is incredible, and those few minutes we get of Derek Jacobi playing the Master rather than Professor Yana was sensational. So to now get a full episode with them was tremendous. It's always a pleasure to hear David Tennant reprising his role as the Tenth Doctor on audio and the amount of audio we have with him is one of few positives to come out of the Pandemic. The Master calling upon the Doctor to defend him is a fun concept and the Doctor hearing the message of coordinates come in the TARDIS was fascinating. I was intrigued at how easily they allowed the TARDIS to break through the Time Lock and back into the Time War, and that's a dangerous and scary place to put the Tenth Doctor. The Master reacting to this incarnation was fun because he didn't know him, but the Doctor knew this Master all too well. He was shocked by the face and the remembering of Last of the Time Lords and the Doctor thinking he'd lost the Master was powerful stuff. Despite their history and everything the Master has done, it's easy to forget that the Doctor at this point is very much the last of his kind. That's a lonely place to be so it's understandable for him to want to save the Master, but defend him he would not. His appeal to the Vectors to just confine the Master rather than execute him went on deaf ears which was fun after they'd initially said his sentence could be changed. But in not defending the Master the Doctor had actually written his death sentence! The call for execution was exciting because neither Time Lord wanted that! I thought Severine was an intriguing character as the Vectors' literal representation of defence, and the way she linked with minds was excellent. She even communicated with the TARDIS! I thought that was brilliant and I loved the Doctor's reaction to that. He almost seemed jealous. The threat that was posed to Severine with the synaptic link she shared with the Master was intriguing to ponder on, and that actually being a route out for the Master was deliciously done. The Doctor realising that the Master had lured him into a trap and he'd wanted to be found guilty all along was superb. He was one step ahead of the game and that was a thrill to hear. The War Master playing a patient game paid off once again and that really was fantastic to hear! He had wiggled his way into the system via the link with Severine and had changed his own brain readings, so much so that he was essentially in control of causality. He was playing with paradoxes and went so far as to wipe out the Vectors which appalled the Doctor with them being revered by even the Time Lords. He also killed Severine to make for good measure. It was an incredible conclusion that actually saw the War Master win! I know it's his own range, but I still didn't see him getting the upper hand on the Doctor. I was expecting something more like a standstill, but it was far from it. It was emphatically victory for the Master and the prospect of the Doctor getting stuck back in the Time War was not something he could go through again. He had to leave before he could rectify the actions of the Master. Overall, a fantastic finale!

Rating: 9/10