50. Zagreus

Definitely overlong, filled with some lighthearted nonsense that may not mesh with some folks' taste, but not nearly as convoluted as it seems to attempt to be in parts.

My main gripe is with the sections with Pertwee. It's commendable that they wanted to include him, but he's practically inaudible, and trying to work around his dialogue unfortunately just leads to pointless and self-indulgent sections that slow the pace right down.

As a whole I find the story so entertaining though. There's genuinely interesting history and canon, and some of the spookier, unsettling parts pack a punch. Paul McGann and India Fisher are sublime, Nicholas Courtney is a treat, and the sections with Davison, Baker, and McCoy are an absolute hoot.

It feels celebratory. Daft, lengthy, fun, and worth a re-listen.

Zagreus is a mess and a long one at that!
But it does have its moments. And it also has pertwee and many other loved classic who actors.
If not for the story , listen for a little joyous nostalgia. Also to better understand the divergent arc that follows!

It baffles me that anyone likes this story. It is awful. It's at least two hours too long, it doesn't make any sense, and it's completely lost up its own backside.

I did not like "Neverland" much either, but one of the high points of that story was its cliffhanger ending. After being caught in an anti-time explosion, the Doctor appears changed. He decides that he's no longer the Doctor at all, and chooses instead to adopt the moniker of a legend invented by the Never people to lure the Time Lords into their anti-time dimension. This wasn't a case of a character being possessed by an evil entity. That's a plot development. This was character development. This was the Doctor, the wonderful hero whose adventures through time and space we've been following for 40 years, deciding not to be a hero anymore. It was chilling.

But it's totally ruined in the opening moments of this story. Zagreus calls Charley "girl", and he calls the TARDIS "ship". He doesn't know anything that the Doctor knows because, suddenly and with no explanation, he is an entirely different person. He's a separate entity who has temporarily taken over the Doctor's mind. How boring! There are even scenes where the Doctor and Zagreus struggle for control. It's a complete and devastating retcon of the end of the previous story.

And what does Zagreus do in this story? What are his goals? What does he want? Nothing. He's just a monster, and he doesn't even get to be the villain. After wandering around the TARDIS aimlessly and without purpose, having a pointless conversation with barely audible, previously recorded dialogue from Jon Pertwee, he accomplishes nothing and ends up being the secondary henchman to Rassilon and the TARDIS. But that bloody rhyme is still supposed to have some significance, despite the fact that it was all a ruse. This story can't even decide if Zagreus is real or not, so it plays it both ways simultaneously and expects no one to notice.

Charley is the main driver of the plot, such as it, but she spends most of the story passively wandering around from one dream sequence to another. Three of those dream sequences represent three episodes of new backstory, and having Charley experience them directly is slightly better than having them explained in exposition. But only slightly. We're still watching Charley being told a story. In terms of structure, it's very reminiscent of "The Sirens of Time", with three episodes each involving one of the Doctors (so to speak), and each shedding a little light on the overall story. And just like "The Sirens of Time", it doesn't work at all.

This isn't the worst "Doctor Who" story Big Finish has ever done, but it is by far the most disappointing.

Super convoluted, definitely didn't need to be as long as it is. Still a lot of fun. Gets a bit lost up its own rear end, but ultimately a riveting and fun story with high replay value.