Masters of Time: Traitor's Gate

"I can take him from the moment of birth to the moment of death."

Writer: Sarah Grochala

Format: Audio

Released: July 2023

Series: UNIT: Nemesis 4.02

Featuring: Kate, Osgood

Synopsis

Osgood is a prisoner in the Tower of London, which is now a Vulpreen base. To rescue her friend, Kate must devise a plan to raid her former headquarters. 

Inside the Tower, the Vulpreen are determined to access the Black Archive and the hugely dangerous alien technology it contains. How long can Osgood keep them out?

Verdict

Traitor's Gate was a great episode to continue my way through the Masters of Time fourth series of UNIT: Nemesis! This felt like an improvement on the opener but still had a feeling of filler with the wait for Missy's arrival continuing, but it was good filler nonetheless. I thought Osgood had a really strong outing here and despite being in the capture of the Vulpreen for six months as a prisoner by now, she was staying firm and strong. I love how she always uses her intelligence and it's no surprise that she has followed in the Doctor's footsteps in becoming Scientific Advisor to UNIT. Hell, by publication date she's head of the Black Archive and that's quite fun given her proximity to it here. Sorgan was a decent character and it was nice to put another name to a member of the Vulpreen, but he wasn't quite as domineering in his presence as Lord Varliss. The way things developed between those two was strong though as Sorgan wasn't exactly impressing in his service considering he had been inside the Black Archive with Osgood some fifty times over the course of ten days yet still believed she had just arrived! That was wonderful and Osgood keeping a straight performance each and every time was impressive. She knew what was happening and ensured that Sorgan just kept on forgetting. That obviously didn't go down well with Varliss and he made it known. He also told of how Sorgan's brother was execute for his own failure and Varliss was there when it happened. This was new information and it seems not all Vulpreen are in his service unto eternity. I thought it was good to suggest strife amongst the Vulpreen camp and I wonder if that is due to Missy's involvement as partner. I'm suggesting a lot here without much evidence but the Vulpreen come across as a race that won't take instructions and orders from a woman too kindly. She has provided them with the technology to have an arch field though which is helpful and I like the concept behind trying to make them genetically coded to just the Vulpreen. If it's only them that can travel from place to place instantaneously around a half time-frozen planet then they really would be unbeatable. It scarcely bares thinking about. I thought Ashley was a really strong character and I liked how he was one of UNIT's members impacted by the time control that the Vulpreen have. The level of that is pretty staggering and I don't think the scale of that has been demonstrated to the full extent yet. No wonder Missy is revelling in the shadows! Lorraine was a fun character too and it was clear she wasn't all she said she was when she was interacting with Kate. Osgood working out she was a traitor was excellent and again showcased her fine qualities. She really led this episode well. I thought the use of a time knife was good and allowed Kate to one up Varliss who was both impressed and shocked by her tenacity. The use of a raven as a cloaked communication device was certainly unique too but Osgood knew right away what it was. She got the knife out and now all roads lead to Missy. It's still a reunion I am very much anticipating but I hope we don't have to wait until the finale! Let's have an episode of Missy in full control. The hunt for Lorraine to fix her is good and they know it's a trap, but they've still got to follow. Overall, a great listen to continue the series!

Rating: 8/10