Run Fast, Be Kind: Duty of Care

"I have murdered so many people."

Writer: Christian Markham

Format: Audio

Released: August 2026

Series: Twelfth Doctor Adventures 1.05

Featuring: Twelfth Doctor, Ash

Synopsis

The Doctor doesn't kill. Not intentionally. Even his worst enemies are offered mercy. Go up against the Doctor, and while your plan will be ruined, there's a chance you'll live.

Someone doesn't agree with that. Someone's travelling across all of time and space putting that right. Someone's killing all the villains who survived the Doctor.

Verdict

Duty of Care was another very strong story to continue the Run Fast, Be Kind ongoing Twelfth Doctor Adventures! I continue to really enjoy the weekly release schedule and I think it's been terrific to have an ongoing story arc released in this way, rather than just bundling all the stories into one or two boxsets released at the same time. It definitely makes things feel episodic and I think that's Doctor Who at its best. I hope this is far from the last of a weekly release schedule as it just works brilliantly! This one starts amidst a lot of tension following the ending of Wings of Steel and Ash killing in cold blood. The Doctor was not happy and Ash quickly acknowledged that anger and that this surely meant the end of his travels in the TARDIS. That wasn't quite to be which was somewhat surprising despite knowing that he wasn't actually departing but maybe because Ash was almost going to do it again later in the episode! I'm not sure the episode fully lives up to its synopsis in having someone out there killing the villains the Doctor let survive, but that's a pretty amazing concept. I would love for that to be explored further in the future on a much grander scale because the potential there really is astonishing. We've had numerous efforts of attempts to change history, but specifically targeting those villains that the Doctor doesn't kill? That is exciting. It was on a more nuanced and series specific level of grandeur here but it still worked. I thought the Doctor's history with Nne was intriguing and I liked her discussions with Ash. The mystery of her actually being in her cell was good stuff and was certainly something different for Ash when he realised! Ash also being mistaken as the Doctor upon exiting the TARDIS was good fun and the Doctor claiming he had no further need for regeneration now because he had reached perfection in this incarnation was just glorious. That was perfectly the Twelfth Doctor and Jon Culshaw was sublime once again. This might be the best episode yet in terms of nailing the impression. Amaya was a really good character and I liked that we encountered her at two different points in time. I'll be honest though, the plot kind of became a backdrop for me and the focus of my attention was all on the Doctor and Ash. Their discussion was deep and the Doctor acknowledging that he had murdered so many was a powerful moment. It took Ash by surprise and made him quickly realise that he had no idea who the Doctor really was. That was a stark moment as he was shocked by what he had gotten himself into. The Doctor begging Ash to shoot him because he was the one that – albeit in a roundabout way – killed Sky was really strong stuff but his companion wouldn't kill because of an accident. Ash still wasn't sorry and even as a Krillitane that would kill again, the Doctor was not accepting of the situation. But he was still wanting to travel with Ash and claiming that the offer was still on the table because he was interested was very intriguing indeed. I'm really enjoying the dynamic between these two and it's far from a traditional Doctor-companion relationship which I like! This is far from the status quo and now we head into the finale. I'm very excited indeed! A great listen.

Rating: 8/10