Comrades-in-Arms: Memnos

"He wants his crimes remembered."

Writer: Phil Mulryne

Format: Audio

Released: May 2023

Series: The War Doctor Begins 5.03

Featuring: War Doctor, Case

Synopsis

Memnos: a secret Time Lord project, recording everything lost to the Time War. A place where the War Doctor can admit his part in the conflict and seek solace – and perhaps where he can find salvation for Case. 

But the Dalek Time Strategist will not let slip her potential. She could be the Daleks' greatest weapon. The battle for Case's soul will be won or lost in Memnos.

Verdict

Memnos was a strong conclusion to the Comrades-in-Arms fifth series of The War Doctor Begins! This has been a really good series that has scored a consistent rating across the boxset, but this was probably my favourite of the set if we were to get into decimal points! I thought the concept behind the titular Memnos was really good as it was basically like a rescue mission for everything that was being lost in the Time War. And crikey there was a lot! The scale and depth of the conflict means planets, people and everything in between could rock up on Memnos and that allowed Case some incredibly deep exploration. She was trying to discover who she was and that actually felt like a dangerous thing. What would she even achieve if she did find out the truth about who she was before becoming a Dalek cyborg? I felt like the only response there was going to be disappointment and devastation. We witnessed that a little bit with how she was angered at the people's inability to fight back against the Daleks. The devastation of them was quite emotional in parts because they never stood a chance. I loved the role of the Dalek Time Strategist here and it's good to have a freaky member of the Dalek race that almost serves as an equal opposite the Doctor. I think that is good because the Daleks are often seen as a collective but the Strategist is something different altogether. I do think his relationship with time is fascinating but it can get a tad boring if that's not too harsh of a word when timelines change. Everything is always going to be in flux and I'm not convinced it would allow him to see within the vault. The Doctor showcasing his loyalty to Case despite her protestations was also a little frustrating and I must admit I'm not the biggest fan of her character, but I do like the soft side she brings out of this warrior incarnation because of how he feels responsible for her condition and essentially what she is. The Doctor feeding some of his own memories into Memnos was good and whilst I do think that might have been intended to be therapeutic, it actually just serves as another reminder of all that is lost. Salvin was a really strong character as the Time Lord responsible for Memnos as a concept and Jarast alongside her was great in his belief in what she had created. He certainly felt devoted to the cause which was nice and made his extermination all the more powerful. The Daleks even commenting how it might have been a pointless death as he'd have told them what they wanted to know anyway about the vault was chilling. The Daleks were at a level of pure evil here. That's what the Time War should bring out of them and I'm a big fan of that. I thought the harvester being within the vault was intriguing and Case knew that her kind were going to be used and he wanted her to help with the interface. She felt hurt which I could understand and I think more of that comes from the Doctor's secrecy. He sounded guilty for a lot of the episode which was a good dynamic. I thought the ending with Case and Salvin combining was strong and certainly explosive! The emergency temporal shift to bring the Strategist along with Case to Skaro was unexpected, but it sets things up nicely for the next series where I'm sure Case will really be put to the test of what she really is! Overall, a great listen to conclude a very strong boxset. I'm loving this range.

Rating: 8/10