The Voord in London: Allegiance

"Earth will beg us to protect them from the Daleks."

Writer: Angus Dunican

Format: Audio

Released: June 2025

Series: Space Security Service 1.03

Featuring: Anya, Mark Seven

Synopsis

The lush planet Hathra and its capital-moon Othrys are on the cusp of civil war. SSS agents Anya Kingdom and Mark Seven are meant to keep a low profile while on a diplomatic mission there. But when a pregnant surrogate for the Othryn royal family desperately asks for their help, they're unable to refuse...

Verdict

Allegiance was a great episode to conclude The Voord in London first series of Space Security Service! And judging by the way things concluded here it's clear the series is here to say which is very exciting. I'm a big fan of what happened here and the story arc that was so strong in the opener and last time out in The Thal from G.R.A.C.E. seemed to take a back seat which was a bit of a shame after a strong build up. That's not to say the episode was bad as my rating clearly shows I'm more just making the point that it seemed a little separate from the first two in the boxset. I think the pairing of Anya and Mark Seven are terrific and I'm delighted that there will be more of them moving forward as a series lead. The Space Security Service are obviously synonymous with the Daleks so the cliffhanger with our leads being targeted and boarded by them sets us up nicely for what is hopefully a more explosive second boxset next year. I wasn't expecting Tia to announce her pregnancy and as if that wasn't surprising enough, she was a surrogate! The royal family that were the Othryns were an intriguing bunch to say the least! The whole dynamic there between them and Tia was fascinating and was some outer space politics and relations like we haven't heard before. I appreciated the unique nature of their connection and there was a clear mark of respect for what Tia was doing. I thought using royalty to get Mark and Anya back out once matters seemed to be cleared up was great and the former in particular was appreciative of getting the clearance! Royal dispensation is obviously something that would be desired! I doubt we'll get any follow on of that in the future, but it was ironic that gaining it basically put them into the traps of the Daleks. So much for getting the Queen back to her moon! Quilthane made for a strong villain and the way the planets were named as places where he was involved to piece together his position and doing was excellent. Anya took a second but then realised who was behind it all. Given the small cast, it's often not too difficult to piece together who might turn out to be the enemy, but it was still good from a story perspective to hear the main characters react to the news. The ritualistic nature of the episode was interesting to explore and whilst there might have been a touch too much at times for a society and customs we hadn't been introduced to in the Whoniverse before, I liked learning. It was very alien feeling and also futuristic which I think is a big part of the appeal for this spinoff range. I think that's also evidenced by the range of the series in just three episodes covering Voord in 1980s London to Thals and now to this here. They're all very different and that's exciting. Incorporating worship into the Daleks is something that has been done before but I think the SSS twist on it could really work if that's the direction for the next boxset. Dancing around the Daleks almost feels like a bit of a shame as we have heard them a couple of times now, but they haven't been the focus. I'd rather we got just the cliffhanger to send us into the next series, but it's certainly got me excited so I guess it's doing its job! Tia was a star here and I liked how she was keen to get working even so soon after bearing the royal family's child. Her description as well was impressive in her size and stature! Again, the range of species and just unique feeling was excellently evidenced again. Overall, another strong episode and a fine adventure when judged in isolation, I just hope we get more of a thread in the next series or this has a role in a wider arc that isn't quite clear yet. Regardless, a very enjoyable listen! 

Rating: 8/10