Philip Scholes reviews the second instalment in the Susan’s War series

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Ever since 1963, Susan (Carole Ann Ford) has often lingered in the Doctor’s shadow. She always seemed to be a character with so much warmth and kindness in her, yet was always held back by her grandfather. Several Big Finish stories (An Earthly Child, Relative Dimensions, All Hands on Deck to name a few) have tried to change this, yet I think we only see Susan become truly independent in 2020’s Susan’s War 1. That boxset made Susan stronger and gave her time in the spotlight. It made her an active player in the Time War who – like her grandfather – doesn’t feel right picking up a gun, but – unlike her grandfather – is prepared to protect Gallifrey at whatever cost. The ending of the first boxset left Susan back on Gallifrey, apparently gaining the interest of Rassilon and the War Room. 

The first story in this mini-set – Family Ties – is Sarah Cassidy’s The Lost Son. There’s a distinct time jump from Susan’s War 1, meaning this doesn’t acknowledge that boxset’s ending, which feels somewhat disappointing. I’m tempted to think this time jump is designed to make Family Ties appropriate for new listeners. However, I’m not sure this is the best release for individuals new to “post-Dalek Invasion” Susan’s life to start off with, given how knowledge of the latter half of the 2007-11 Eighth Doctor series plus 2020’s Susan’s War 1 is needed to understand why Susan behaves in the way she does in this story.

Regardless of this, there’s lots to enjoy in this story as we follow Susan and Veklin (Beth Chalmers), who head off to Materos to find a prince who has, apparently, been kidnapped by the Daleks.

But even before Susan and Veklin land, Susan is haunted by visions of her dead son, Alex (Sonny McGann). McGann’s presence in this story may, at first glance, suggest he is reprising his role as “alternate universe Alex” (from 2023’s Cass), but, thankfully, this is not the case. Cassidy successfully makes us wonder whether Alex is really who he says he is and, when all is revealed, we feel as heartbroken as Susan.

Carole Ann Ford, as ever, sparkles. In the behind the scenes material, you can hear how pleased she is to play Susan once again and that enthusiasm shows in her performance. From when she’s listening to guitar music in the TARDIS (echoing her first appearance in An Unearthly Child) to when she’s in shock at the sight of her son, it feels as if this version of Susan is the same person we first met in 1963. When she “reunites” with Alex, this reunion is played perfectly by Ford and McGann, the former conjuring an appropriate mix of shock, love and scepticism. The latter’s bitter takedown of his mother adds a touch of pain to this reunion, making it all the more beautiful.

There’s some good world-building in Cassidy’s script, with Materos’s healing lake and gentle forests. We get to explore that world in some detail, with Susan recovering in the healing lake while Veklin adopts a sleuthing role, interviewing guards and finding secret rooms to explore. Veklin being portrayed as a sleuth feels especially appropriate. Beth Chalmers continues to imbue Veklin with a cold, arrogant, impatient air yet also gives her an subtly caring side (Veklin even admits Susan is her “friend” at one point). This feels very refreshing for a character who could so easily be portrayed as just another cold and arrogant Time Lord.

And the same could be said for The Lost Son itself: it’s a breath of fresh air. While the background characters may feel a little generic (I found myself losing track of who was who while listening), this story evokes classic Who stories like The Brain of Morbius while also adding a moody undercurrent of Time War storytelling to the mix. This feels like a strong formula to adopt, since Big Finish have been exploring the Time War since 2015 and it’s very easy for them not to explore new ground at this point. Cassidy’s script shows that there is more to explore in this well-explored war, making for a very entertaining hour of storytelling.

The second story, Peter Anghelides’s The Golden Child, is a little different. Veklin only has a small appearance in this story. Instead, Susan’s “companion” is Tania Rodrigues’s warm and nicely new Andolar. Anghelides establishes Susan and Andolar’s relationship perfectly within the first few moments, with Ford and Rodrigues making the listener truly believe that these are old friends. Then, an intriguing mystery is presented to us – who is Maxor and how can he have disappeared from history? To investigate, Susan and Andolar decide to travel to Gostan in the distant past. It feels a little strange that this set contains two stories about important people going missing, but thankfully The Golden Child differs itself enough from The Lost Son. 

We soon meet Maxor, given a strange combination of menace, paranoia and charm by Sebastian Humphreys. He is at the heart of this story as Susan and Andolar attempt to manipulate his life to ensure he becomes the person Andolar thinks he’s supposed to be. It’s an intriguing and somewhat terrifying idea, particularly as Susan’s never been portrayed as a manipulator before. However, thanks to Anghelides’s script, this is a strong tale, a little stronger than The Lost Son.

Anghelides’s script is very entertaining, with a very clever, if a little rushed, twist at the end. Granted, the problem isn’t solved perfectly, but that’s to be expected from a story this timey-wimey. This is a story that you have to pay close attention to in order to acknowledge every narrative beat and every repeated scene. Once you do start to acknowledge that, you begin to see that Anghelides’s script both unites Susan and the War Doctor and explores that age-old Who-adage of “You can’t rewrite history, not one line” (that quote, incidentally, is repeated several times throughout this story).

And soon, Jonathon Carley’s War Doctor enters the fray. Carley brings the expected mix of gruffness and coldness to the role. What makes his take on the character so interesting is that he also brings elements of past Doctors to the role, most notably flippancy and, in this tale, the manipulative nature of the Seventh Doctor. Carley and Ford have strong chemistry together and, refreshingly, the Doctor and Susan don’t appear to have that Doctor-companion relationship they once had. They are equal individuals, with the War Doctor, at times, being in direct conflict with Susan’s peaceful, compassionate and noble beliefs. But their tender familial relationship still remains true with the War Doctor’s admission of “I love you, child” being bound to warm the hearts of many listeners. Gladly, it seems the ending of this story hints at more episodes featuring the War Doctor and Susan to come. Hurrah!

Overall, this is a strong mini-set. The plots of the stories are a little similar, but beyond this, there is lots to enjoy. The Lost Son is an entertaining tale exploring motherhood and empathy, while The Golden Child takes the idea of rewriting history in a new direction. Whatever may feature in the next set – Grandfather Time – I can’t wait for it.

Family Ties is available on CD or as a download from http://www.bigfinish.com