Released May 2023

SOME SPOILERS FOLLOW

Following the events of ‘Berserker,’ Case has become arguably the greatest potential asset for both the Time Lords and the Daleks, one the former can use to get through Dalek defences undetected and one that the latter can use to inflict untold damage across the universe. In Phil Mulryne’s ‘Memnos,’ the Doctor has taken Case to the Time Lord project charged with recording everything lost to the Time War, and the Dalek Time Strategist and he take up a very personal battle to win Case’s soul and allegiance.

Memnos as a concept is a brilliant one that in a certain respect humanizes the Time Lords who as a whole have been increasingly callous with their wartime efforts and the consequences and losses left in their wake. While obviously not every Time Lord will care about keeping any sort of log about people, civilizations, and locations lost to the Time War, the fact that even the smallest group is dedicated to acquiring records and memories is profoundly resonant while also opening an intriguing line of questioning about whether the Doctor just might want to be remembered as a war criminal when all is said and done as he uploads his own memories and actions. This thought is one that never really receives any further exploration or even discussion from the Doctor himself, but it is one that strikes at the heart of this incarnation who has seemingly stopped trying to reconcile the actions he must take within the Time War with his previous incarnations’ morals.

Indeed, with a companion of sorts as uniquely troubled and important as Case alongside the Doctor, Comrades-In-Arms as a whole has been able to explore the duality of the War Doctor’s intentions and his hidden ulterior motives much more directly than in most situations. There’s little doubt that the Doctor truly cares for Case as a person, but he’s not above studying her and hoping to use her unique physiognomy to further the Time Lords’ cause, and Jonathon Carley plays these layered shadows exceedingly well as the Doctor tries to retain Case’s trust even as his ultimate motivations are questioned and criticized. Unfortunately, because the battle between the Doctor and Time Strategist quickly comes to dominate affairs, Memnos as a whole doesn’t have nearly the time needed to fully show its potential, Case’s emotional look into a family’s everyday life on her homeworld before it was destroyed offering only a tease of the immense narrative opportunities available here. Nonetheless, Ajjaz Awad continues to impress as Case is confronted with per potential past, her present, and conflicting avenues for her future, giving an incredibly raw performance as she tries to determine her sense of self and her position in this universe with two such overt evils vying for her abilities.

Naturally, much of the story comes to centre around just how alike the Time Lords and the Daleks are at this point, something that has been explored many times previously. Regardless, in this battle of truths and half-truths, Nicholas Briggs gives an incredibly impressive performance as an array of Daleks and particularly when emphasizing the sinister guile of the Time Strategist. ‘Memnos’ is ultimately a fairly small and intimate story despite the monumental ending that will assuredly set the stage for further tales in the future, but the incredible trio of lead performers and the focus on Case add a strong layering of emotions and nuance to make a story steeped in so many familiar elements feel vibrant and fresh and the future of the Time War all that more dangerous and uncertain.