Agents of the Vulpreen: The War Factory

"His daughter's in charge of future UNIT!"

Writer: Lizzie Hopley

Format: Audio

Released: March 2022

Series: UNIT: Nemesis 2.03

Featuring: Kate, Osgood, Bambera

Synopsis

Temporal anomalies strike in the present and the past – 19th century infantry at Belmarsh Prison in the present day, and Brigadier Winifred Bambera is confronted by Tudor warships on the Thames in the late 20th century.

Enquiries by UNIT past and present lead them to the site of Woolwich Arsenal, where the Eleven is trying to create a bridge to another world. And UNIT will learn he's not the only one on the side of their alien adversaries.

Verdict

The War Factory was another great episode to continue my way through the Agents of the Vulpreen second series of UNIT: Nemesis! I must admit this one caught me by surprise as I figured that after basically a break from the entire story arc with Power of the Dominators last time out that this was going to be another 'filler' of a kind with Brigadier Bambera returning. Instead, it was very much crucial to the ongoing story of the Eleven and the Arch! That's no problem I was just more expecting this series to be a bookend type of thing but alas we're well on our way. I thought the concept behind two eras of UNIT clashing was wonderful and who better than Bambera and Kate? They're two incredibly strong lead characters as the leaders of their respective UNIT teams which I really admire. It's clear that this encounter for Bambera is sometime shortly after Battlefield as she's recently encountered Kate's father and the prospect of her contacting him was tantalising. The prospect of Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart seeing his daughter head UNIT sounds pretty delightful. Maybe we'll get that one day with the brilliance of Jon Culshaw? Bambera and Kate were fantastic together though and I loved how they had mutual respect right from the off. Kate obviously has the benefit of being from the future but Bambera soon shared similar sentiments knowing who she was the daughter of. The Eleven being responsible for the window into the past was intriguing and I like how his efforts to free the Vulpreen saw things go awry on a smaller scale here. The prison and focus on Woolwich Arsenal was really strong and an entire wall of the former going missing temporarily is obviously a concern! Osgood and Jacqui staying in the present was good and I really liked how the story was being told across numerous timezones without getting too convoluted or confusing. That's an impressive feat to accomplish! We had Tudor warships and gunpowder from the sixteenth century to go alongside everything that came from the UNIT of the present day and meeting Bambera in between. The firework show of the Eleven was impressive and I liked how he was still as maniacal as ever. Jacqui firmly being on the side of the Vulpreen was difficult for Osgood to accept but after three months of brutal indoctrination and subjugation, it's not exactly a surprise. Especially considering she's not a UNIT operative. She would have been petrified on the other side of the Arch! I am almost half expecting her to be bluffing come the finale but I just can't see it now after the extent to which she helped a Vulpreen prisoner here. The role of Lauren Huff was really strong and she made a big impression right away. Her turning to the dark side made it a little predictable that she would make a sacrifice at the end – which was an incredibly powerful moment by the way! – but I'm not convinced that the Eleven is in safe hands with UNIT. They stopped him harnessing a literal atomic bomb from 1947 here which was pretty audacious even for the Eleven but even with him being shot, he still feels like he's in control. That's awfully exciting. The Vulpreen cliffhanger and them taking Kate is a great setup for the finale to come, and I'm looking forward to hear how things conclude! Overall, a very good listen! 

Rating: 8/10