Following the events of The Perfect Prisoners Part One, the Fourth Doctor is not happy, not happy at all. Someone is killing off the Syndicate and he’s realised just who that someone is. In The Perfect Prisoners Part Two the truth will finally be uncovered, and we may not like what we find.

Huge spoilers follow, please don’t read if you’ve not listened to the first seven stories in this series. You were warned…

The Perfect Prisoners (Part Two)

By the end of this story the various titles used in the Syndicate Masterplan become clear. The Prisoners are everyone in the galaxy, Time’s Assassin is Anya Kingdom and the whole is a direct, Dalek-free, follow-on to The Dalek Masterplan.

In this final instalment, writer John Dorney starts from the reveal of Ann Kelso’s true (and buried) identity, ducks any relationship to Sara Kingdom and gets on with pitting the Doctor, K9 and policeman Jodor Colwyn (Simon Bubb) against everyone. We find the truth behind the setup of the Syndicate, final members get assassinated and it all comes to a head back on Earth. Enter the true villain Zaal (Ronan Vibert).

There’s continued deception and clever twists before the defeat of the masterplan and with her newly returned identity (with twists), Jane Slavin does a good job at conveying various versions of her character with real depth. That said it’s Tom Baker who deserves much of the credit as we get a rare version of the Fourth Doctor who is both disappointed and angry, the situation stripping him back to core values.

It’s an excellent end to an intriguing set of stories (I wish I’d been part of!) and the regret the Doctor feels over the loss of Ann Kelso is authentic and moving. Having reached the end I understand why this was released as eight stories in two months – boxsets sell better and this story needed telling once it got rolling.

Next year (2020) sees Adric in the TARDIS with Tom’s Doctor for the first time for Big Finish. Will Anya Kingdom make a return one day? We shall see!