Alex Hewitt reviews the latest in the adventures of the Eleventh Doctor and Valarie Lockwood. Haven’t listened to this yet? Also check out our preview of this special release.

---

At the end of the last boxset, All of Time and Space, the Doctor had taken Valarie apart piece by piece to stop a terrible war. Lisa McMullin‘s follow-up deals with the emotional consequences of that story.

Safiyya Ingar nails it right from the word go here, and as soon as the Doctor rushes into the story the tension between him and his companion is palpable. Jacob Dudman matches Ingar, creating a Doctor who feels regret but doesn’t know how to show it. Meanwhile, Valarie’s raw anger at the Doctor is communicated excellently.

Once out of the TARDIS, the pair land on Iptheus, a planet last seen in McMullin’s Time War episode, The Famished Lands. The fallout of that story is dealt with here, a great statue to the Doctor having been built despite the planet now seeming a lot worse for wear. The Doctor’s history here – particularly with the Time War cropping up in conversation – gives Valarie ammunition to challenge him, and these moments are glorious.

Running parallel to the Doctor and Valarie’s story, we get a glimpse into the lives of Augustus and Lionel, two rescue-and-recovery bots who are dealing with the fallout on Iptheus. The pair are also played by Dudman and Ingar, who inject equal amounts of pathos and character as they do into the Doctor and Valarie.

In terms of what’s going on on Iptheus, the concept of weaponised weather is fascinating and, although not the main focus of the story, is explored in an interesting way, and the climax to the episode tying together the Doctor, Valarie, Augustus and Lionel, and the emotional weather is a marvel, and it absolutely sticks the landing.

Broken Hearts is a success on every level, and provides a much-needed confrontation between the Doctor and Valarie after what he did to her. This is an outstanding entry into a series that already hits so many highs, and sees powerhouse performances from both leads. Not only the definitive Valarie Lockwood story, but the definitive Eleventh Doctor story.