Enemy Mine: Exit Strategy

"If you can't put your faith in a doctor, at least listen to your nurse."

Writer: Matt Fitton

Format: Audio

Released: December 2023

Series: The War Doctor Begins 6.03

Featuring: War Doctor, Case, Eighth Doctor

Synopsis

Case is with the Daleks – but the Emperor is yet to be convinced of her effective as a weapon. The Dalek Time Strategist will not give up and takes Case to a secret facility for readjustment. The War Doctor will not give up on Case either. He hopes she can still be rescued. But he is not the man he was – and he may not be the man to save her...

Verdict

Exit Strategy was an excellent conclusion to the Enemy Mine sixth and final series of The War Doctor Begins! A multi-Doctor story is always going to be a fun listen and the prospect of the Eighth and War incarnations meeting was very exciting. The Eighth Doctor is obviously no stranger to the Time War and reasserted his position of just trying to help people displaced and impacted by the conflict without getting involved and that’s a stark contrast from that of his successor. The War Doctor is a warrior and whilst he is hesitant a lot of the time, he does show a different sign of the character that is definitely darker. With that being the case and the War Doctor almost ashamed of himself, that beacon of hope in interacting with his past self and how he was so hopelessly full of hope was tremendous. It was a very strong character piece for the Doctor that was really good to explore. Of course the backdrop of the Time War and a temporal battlefield make their meeting entirely possible and I think that’s great. The difference in the pair's interaction with Case was startling and it really was difficult at times to imagine that these in some far about way are the same person because the differences really do scream out here. I thought that was really good to highlight and as the War Doctor's beginning comes to an end here, this was a nice reminder that not all is lost. It was good for him to see that his previous self still was the man he remembered and represented all that he stood for which I'm sure will do him well moving forward. The role of the Dalek Time Strategist in this episode was fantastic and I loved the journey that he's been on. He was very much acting alone and was doing everything for Dalek victory at any means, but that went against the instructions of the Dalek Emperor who demanded victory came in a pure form. That was fascinating and quite ironic given what we saw in The Parting of the Ways with how the Dalek army was rebuilt but the Emperor here was deranged and maniacal in the best way possible. He wanted to revered as a god and the concept of the Daleks having faith seems alien to them, but it's all for pure Dalek victory and that tied in nicely. I thought the Nurse was a superb character and I loved that he had a history with the Eighth Doctor and didn't take long to recognise the War incarnation as the same man. The little flashback and then bringing things into the present was very clever, as was the tracker in the leg to communicate in a trojan way. The Doctor harking back to the Trojan Horse and The Myth Makers was a real delight. The way Case's story comes to an end here is bittersweet and almost has River Song vibes in that she lives on in a kind of artificial way. The memory engram of the Eighth Doctor getting to travel with Case as she was on the verge of death was very emotional. I like that she thinks she gets a happy ending and it could even open up a pathweb spinoff audio series which I'd be well up for! Veklin was strong once again and I'm really enjoying her alongside the War Doctor here and the same goes for Tamasan but for very different reasons because of her role in the Time War. The fate of the Dalek Time Strategist in being punished by the Emperor and then being permanently mentally connected to the Emperor was sublime! No secret strategies or schemes anymore. The Emperor would know the Strategist's every thought and that just makes him even more powerful as the god of the Daleks. I'm excited for what comes next in the War Doctor's rise and this was a very strong conclusion to the series! A fantastic listen.

Rating: 9/10