Scott Lopes reviews the latest Twelfth Doctor Chronicles release: You Only Die Twice
The Twelfth Doctor and Keira are back! The Twelfth Doctor Chronicles: You Only Die Twice sees the Twelfth Doctor (Jacob Dudman) reunite with Time Agent Keira Sanstrom as a new recruit helping the agency deal with threats from galactic weapons dealers to Satan himself.
Like with the last boxset, Timejacked!, the first episode Sunstrike starts with Keira once again showing up at the Doctor’s doorstep to “ask” for his help with a Time Agency mission. The two are sent to infiltrate a party hosted by the Quartermaster, one of the biggest weapons dealers in the universe, with the goal of retrieving a super weapon called the Keystone. Priorities quickly change however when guests start dying and it’s revealed not everyone has been telling the truth… even the Agency.
The story, written by Georgia Cook, acts as a major set up for the rest of the set, mainly being used to introduce the overarching story and to introduce the main themes, those being the Doctor’s struggle with his own morals and Keira having to face the reality that the Agency isn’t what she thinks it is. That isn’t to say the story isn’t good on its own however. It does a great job at being a very fun James Bond-esque spy thriller that fits perfectly as a Twelfth Doctor story, and it’s something you can definitely believe would have been in Series 9 or 10.
Episode two, Never The End Is by Ben Tedds, sees the Doctor and Keira seemingly pulled away from their mission to answer a distress call sent to the Tardis. Arriving in 1600s Mariazell, the two discover that the city’s people are dealing with what appears to be the consequences of a very real deal with Devil and once again it’s shown just how dangerous the Time Agency can be, even to its own agents. Never The End Is might be the weakest of the trilogy, but it’s still a great story. Doctor Who mixing sci-fi and religion is always a really fun idea with stand out episodes like The Satan Pit and The Metaphysical Engine, and it works well here too. Never The End Is also acts as the set up for the finale and, without spoiling anything, the ending is a very unexpected plot twist that gets you on the edge of your seat for part three and also shows us one of those rare moments where the Doctor isn’t fully in control of the situation.
Fio Trethewey‘s finale, You Only Die Twice, is without a doubt the standout of the set. It’s hard to go into too much detail with this one because there are just so many plot surprises here, from a returning enemy to twists that would fit right into a spy movie, but it definitely feels like the perfect conclusion to the set. Keira specifically gets a lot of time to shine here. The set as a whole gives her a great follow up arc to Timejacked! but this episode specifically really shows just how much she’s grown. It was really fun seeing her constantly surprise and outdo the Doctor to the point where even he’s impressed, and it really gives a sense of just how clever she really is. Again I don’t want to spoil anything but I really hope her ending is going where it seems like it is because she has so much potential.
Overall You Only Die Twice is a really fun set and a great sequel to Timejacked! Jacob Dudman gives a great and in my opinion very underrated performance as the Twelfth Doctor, and Bhavnisha Parmar once again does a fantastic job as Keira and continues to prove herself as possibly Twelve’s best companion. The whole set feels like such a natural part of the era that you really feel like it could have been on screen as a Series 9.5. I’d recommend this (and Timejacked! if you haven’t checked that out yet) to any Twelfth Doctor fans looking for a natural expansion of that era. You won’t be disappointed.
You Only Die Twice is available on CD or as a download from http://www.bigfinish.com
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