10.3 - Collateral

This story is a sequel to the previous story and again focuses on the planet ysalus. A parasitic species called the sythes that feeds off of other species wars is trying to feed on ysalus. Rassilon plans to destroy ysalus as he thinks that the sythes will harvest a valueble oil from ysalus and sell it to the daleks.

Like the previous story this story shows us how the time war affects less developed planets such as ysalus in the most horrible ways. Aladra is a really good character and its interesting to hear what she, as someone whos not involved in the time war but has had her whole world affected by it, thinks of the time lords and their war. Eris also plays an important role in this story and i'm starting to like him as a character. He gets a good moment at the end of the story that is a nice reference to the doctor and is a somewhat funny moment in an otherwise bleak story, not that im complaining.

Terrence Hardiman gives another great performance as Rassilon and again he plays Rassilonn as this tyranical and ruthless figure which really makes you afraid for what he might do next. Lalla ward also gives a superb performance as romana and the performances from the rest of the cast are really good. The sythes were a bit forgettable and never really had much prescence but thats a small complaint in an otherwise excellent story.

Collateral is a story that really shows us the horrors that Rassilon and his followers would commit to simply show power in the time war. The story is a very good representation of how innocennts get harmed in wars that they arn't even a part of and the way the story concludes is very bleak. However it seems to be setting up a resistance of other species that are planning to try and stop the time lords which leaves me very interested to listen to the next story.

The penultimate story of the set continues the plot of the Time Lords’ meddling on Ysalus with the prior story ending with the planet placed in a state of temporal freeze to keep it from blowing itself to oblivion. However, that freeze has been breached by a parasitic race that threatens the goals of Rassilon who will do anything to keep it out of the hands of anyone else by any means necessary. As things grow increasingly dire, quick decisions will need to be made if the people of Ysalus are to be saved but the War Council won’t let that happen without a fight.

As the second part of the Ysalus story, “Collateral” is a powerful continuation of the that pushes everything that was set up to the utmost extreme. The soundscape remains mostly unchanged and the effects are as fine as ever but the writing by Lisa McMullin is very subtle with plenty touches to remind us how and where these characters came from. Each member of the mains that we are following from Romana to Narvin all still remain insanely good and their desperate actions are all handled well in a desperate race against the clock. Even Samuel Gosrani’s Eris really surprises you more than once by the end and the final moments in the course of the story set him up in a weird parallel origin story for his future that even Romana acknowledges feels eerily familiar to someone else we all know. It also raises strong moral quandaries that are very appropriate for this deeper series and brings out some intense words and performances from this team especially once the true nature of the time freeze removal is revealed.

The plot ends up being a truly devastating one that again pushes our view of the Time Lords and Time Lord society into less than idealistic territory. There are some minor details that I wish were expanded upon more such as the titular Sythes never being built up as a threat other than as an impetus for the plot. But considering where it all leads in the final moments, it’s fairly forgivable and it’s the smallest and least noticeable of calls for help that’s about to make a big difference in Gallifrey’s immediate future. With things tied up well with a lingering thread into the finale, “Partisans” is another fantastic story for this set and for the series ramping the stakes and setting things up for what’s sure to be one explosive finale.