Purification

Purity Unleashed #2

Released: 23 May 2023

Listened: 5/27/23

This is one of those stories that would be murder to do on TV, because it hops around to many different places and time zones, and the actors play the same characters at different stages of their lives. The Doctor is trying to follow the time distortions again, and they end up in New Zealand, 1910, about to watch Robert Falcon Scott’s ship depart for the antarctic. Oddly, nothing tries to interfere with the trip, but a deckhand decides not to go at the last minute. Then it’s London 1911, Hull 1916, Cambridge 1929, and Westminster 1935, where they eventually realize that Patricia McBride is who they’re chasing. She’s got a mostly functional time-suit, with an AI that’s helping her make changes to achieve her goal of a “better world,” which as we saw a couple of stories ago, is basically a fascist, eugenicist state. Patricia still thinks she’s doing the right thing, and the Doctor is once again shocked and appalled in a way he’s rarely been before. While he’s disgusted by Patricia’s beliefs, he’s more concerned right now with trying to get her to stop changing the timelines, because that never ends well. This one takes a bit of mental energy to follow because Patricia’s plan is amazingly convoluted, and the Doctor and Mel are a step behind most of the time. Still, it’s a decent middle episode.