Consequences

The War Doctor Begins #2.1

Released: 8 December 2021

Listened: 8/24/22

As it turns out, the first boxed set was more or less a prequel for this, the story they really wanted to tell, called “Warbringer.” That’s clear in the fact that this is a complete story, or three very tightly linked stories, your choice. We’re still in a Time War, though, so the stories happen out of order. The other big change is that Veklin is here, played by the wonderful Beth Chalmers. This Veklin seems a little more hardened, and definitely ticked off at the Doctor. Whatever moderating happened during her time with Susan, it seems to have worn off (or maybe not happened yet?). We’ve got a pseudo-companion in the form of Case, a cyborg clearly built as a weapon, but she’s lost her memories. Unfortunately, she’s still got a tactical computer nattering away in her head, giving her all kinds of strategic info, and threatening her sanity. She’s played by the wonderful Ajjaz Awad. There’s also a wonderful minor character played by Angela Bruce, doing a Southern / Cajun accent quite well, so it’s just quality voice acting all over the place. The plot starts with our main characters tossed back in time 24 hours from…something we haven’t heard about yet. They’re on a planet that glorifies war. Like, really, really glorifies war. Except it’s doomed for some reason, something that the Doctor wants to save the population from, and Veklin insists must be allowed to happen. The Doctor tries to fill in as a messiah figure called “the Warbringer,” except he’s still acting too Doctor-y. He does mention some “victories” he’s had in the past, which sound pretty much like atrocities, but there’s no saying whether they really happened.