1.3 - The Heart of Battle

More of a part 2 than part 3, The Heart of the Battle is a satisfying conclusion to the first War Doctor set. The Dalek scheme is serviceable once revealed but as they are still reeling from the Doctor's attack in The Innocent it's understandably not a peak campaign in the Time War. As with the rest of the set the acting and character dialogue is the real highlight and John Hurt easily cements his status as one of the stronger actors to take the role. It doesn't quite hit the emotional depth of the first part of the trilogy but we get a good taste of the war and a solid story that examines both sides and those caught in between.

Fantastic return for the War Doctor. You cannot ask for better acting than what you get from Sir John Hurt and Jacqueline Pearce in this one. And the new martial sounding theme and the soundscape are absolutely fantastic. Gives the whole thing a much deserved epic quality. I would only slight this one for being a not particularly imaginative Dalek story but I wouldn't expect them to get tricky with the first episode of a new series. I highly recommend this one.

Great end to a great entry in what I hope to see as a long series.

So we learn of a peace movement on Gallifrey that's willing to sacrifice a thousand worlds in the name of peace and it's led by Seratrix, the man the Doctor is sent to rescue.

Overall, the whole story works as an exploration of the War Doctor's character and it does a good job of establishing who he is. The War Doctor is filled with the self-loathing that led him to reject his own name, yet what the Tenth Doctor said, "you were the Doctor more than anybody else," also is true. So many of his actions in this story don't earn the audiences condemnation and may seem perfectly reasonable to the audience but monstrous to the Doctor as he has to sacrifice the lives of brave men (at their request) to stop the Daleks' latest mad plan. For the man who desire peace, the Time War is a nightmare of an inescapable war that can never end. The Doctor finds himself against the man who wants peace because he knows it's impossible because he knows the Daleks. He finds himself on the same side as Cardinal Ollistra in knowing this War must go on despite its impossibility and that's a lot for the Doctor to stomach.

We also get strong acting performances and probably the most exciting moments of the series. However, the Daleks' plan is nothing original. Rather, it's their prior plan from, "The Dalek Invasion of Earth" taken to ludicrous levels and Seratrix believing their cover story makes him look like a particularly dense fool. And the Daleks aren't immune to making some dumb decisions either which much of the plot hinges on.

But still, I find most of the plot problems forgivable because this still works as a very rich character piece supported by superb acting. It's an emotional exploration of the Time War and it really works on that level.