Vespertine

The Time War #5.2

Released: 18 January 2023

Listened: 2/3/23

At the end of the last story, Cass joined up, which both the Doctor and Alex are happy about; the Doctor because he feels a connection, and Alex for obvious reasons. For her first trip, they get what appears to be a pretty standard story, coming across an archeological dig looking for a famous lost ship, the Vespertine, captained by Hudson Sage, a hero of Cass’s. Except, of course, things aren’t what they seem on a number of levels. The folks running the research station act shifty almost from the beginning, welcoming the TARDIS team far too readily. But worse, the Doctor gets the sense that something is wrong here, temporally speaking. As far as he knows, the ship was never found and there was never a dig for it. Worse, he can remember details about the ship, when he also knows he’s never seen it before. Which mostly leads to him muttering quietly to Alex and pondering, letting Cass take the lead. Cass was designed as an ideal companion, and Campbell-Jones plays that up. Cass is clever, brave, independent, a bit sassy, and a little reckless, which all shines through in the performance. Alex, unfortunately, doesn’t fare so well, being the only one out of his depth. Most confounding of all, there’s a big hint about Bliss, whom the Doctor doesn’t remember at all. This can’t end well.