*A few spoilers.*
Though this serial ultimately seems in service of setting up the story that follows it (and not in the most organic way—both this story and “Planet of the Daleks” might have been better off without being linked together,) it’s a worthwhile tale in its own right, offering up an intriguing conflict, the return of an old enemy, and a strong showing from our heroes.
The Third Doctor and Jo arrive inside a human spaceship during the middle of a period of hostility and mistrust between the Earth Empire and the Draconians. It’s immediately clear that something is off when the humans who discover the Doctor and Jo call them “dragons” (a slur for Draconians) and react in self-defense. It’s obvious that the current clash, and perhaps the entire human/Draconian war, isn’t what it seems to be, and team TARDIS needs all their wits to get to the bottom of it.
I’m a little reminded of “Colony in Space” from series 8, in that fear is used to manipulate people into certain actions more so than the actual threats they’re afraid of. I think I like the use of the device even better here. Rather than just one group manipulating another, it’s a group operating in the shadows to manipulate two different groups and pit them against each other for its own purposes. It’s a nice exploration of how artificially creating a climate of fear and suspicion can lead to real, deadly consequences, how these worries can spiral out of control with volatile rapidity.
While the Master grows repetitive with his constant appearances in series 8, the show has found more of a balance with him by this time, so he’s more of a welcome sight when he makes himself known in the middle of the story. It’s also interesting to see him as more of a middleman here, being in charge of the Ogrons while at the same time working on behalf of the Daleks. It’s nice when his efforts aren’t all megalomaniac world-domination plans of his own devising but rather self-serving deals with devils and operating within someone else’s larger scheme. This changes things up a bit and keeps the Master from being too much of an unstoppable super-villain.
Our heroes do well as they fight to avert interplanetary war. It’s a nigh-impossible situation, because it requires convincing two different groups of very distrustful people to a) accept an insane-sounding hypothesis and, more significantly, b) work together when they’re in no way inclined to do so. The Doctor has his hands full trying to circumvent hallucinogenic technology, carry out a prison break, and liaise with presidents and ambassadors. Meanwhile, Jo doesn’t do too badly herself. She withstands the Master’s hypnotic tricks, handily does her part in facilitating a separate prison break (a good chunk of this serial is Jo and/or the Doctor being locked up by various people and trying to devise ways to get out,) and attempts to get the word out about the Master’s machinations. I feel like it’s not too often that Jo gets a really strong serial, and while she still fumbles here and there in this story, it’s a good reminder of what she can do. I particularly like the plan that requires her to stay in the cell and create a distraction so the Doctor can escape; I pretty much always enjoy moments like these, because they show the faith the Doctor has in his companions, in their ability both to carry out an important plan and to look out for themselves when he’s not there. Leaving Jo imprisoned isn’t callousness on the Doctor’s part—it’s an acknowledgment of his belief that she can handle herself. Jo needs more of that.
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