Darkness and Light

War Master #3.4

Released: 3 July 2019

Listened: 1/14/22

This boxed set comes to a close with this story, where it’s become clear that the Master is hiding back in the mists of time building a weapon for the Time Lords, one of those nasty sentient, humanoid weapons that has all kinds of power and can wipe out whole planets. Naturally, the Master intends to install a back door so that he can control it himself. Also naturally, it’s gotten out of control and is rampaging around the facility. The Doctor and the Master are forced to combine their abilities to shut the thing down, or at least limit its power. Derek Jacobi does just enough to make the Doctor think he’s panicking and actually needs help, while letting the listener know who’s really in charge. There’s some wistfulness here on the Doctor’s part, as he misses his old friend. It must have been a while since they last met, because he never acted that way toward the Alex MacQueen Master. But then, the Doctor is searching for hope in the midst of the war, so he’s likely to clutch at straws. It’s highly likely the Doctor would be quite angry at being used the way he was, but fortunately he won’t remember any of it.