Doctor Who - Dark Eyes 2: Reviewed

After the success of Dark Eyes, Big Finish went and made 3 more, which is weird because Dark Eyes kind of told its own story, but it works sometimes. Dark Eyes 2 is an occasion where it actually mostly works.

2.1 - The Traitor by Nicholas Briggs

The Traitor is a lot like a standard 'Daleks have a planet under control and use the people as slaves' but it has enough unique to it to make it stand out. The first of this is Nicola Walker's return as Liv, who was last heard in Robophobia with the 7th Doctor. She is, quite frankly, stunning, and her performance is the clear highlight of this story. She lends so much sensitivity, anger and frustration to this story and to the character of Liv. She's a joy to listen to. I also enjoyed the Doctor faking becoming a Robo Man here, and his pathetic 'noooo stoooop' while he was being 'converted' was very funny. Dark Eyes 1 had fantastic sound design, and this story is no different, The Traitor is again very atmospheric and has a great soundtrack. Overall, a really great start to Dark Eyes 2.

8/10

2.2 The White Room by Alan Barnes

The White Room is the first Dark Eyes story not written by Nicholas Briggs, and also sees Molly return to Dark Eyes. The White Room is a bit of a weird story that I didn't really enjoy. After the cliffhanger of The Traitor, The White Room ignores it completely and tells a different story instead. This is a...weird choice that I'm pretty neutral on, although this story not being great has me leaning more towards it being a bad idea. The White Room is my first story with The Viyrans, and I like them! They're unique enough to be interesting as well as being a threatening presence. I didn't really enjoy the rest of this though; the side characters are uninteresting and the plot felt very muddled. Also the Viyrans get a bit PEW PEW LOUD and it hurt my ears. This also takes place near the end of the war for seemingly no reason, it's just thrown in there for an inconsequential line or two. Either way, The White Room is a mess and the first misstep of Dark Eyes.

5/10

2.3 Time's Horizon by Matt Fitton

Well done Matt Fitton! In his Dark Eyes debut, Matt Fitton gives us an absolute belter of a script. A horror base under siege at the edge of the universe, with some very strong side characters and an intimidating villain. There's some great tension in the first half of the story, culminating in a genuinely terrifying scene featuring some radios (oh hello We Always Get Out Alive, radios are becoming a bit of a thing for scaring me aren't they). David Sibley is fantastic as The Eminence, his booming voice shakes you to your core. Molly and Liv continue to be favourites of mine, and their interactions together here are a lot of fun. This story also takes place after The White Room and reveals that this is before The Traitor for The Doctor, but after it for Liv. This allows for some interesting conflicts and interactions with Liv and Molly, and The Doctor is confronted with his future actions. Time's Horizon is a really fantastic story and a great way to bring Liv and Molly together.

9/10

2.4 Eyes of the Master by Matt Fitton

Eyes of the Master is a bit weaker than Time's Horizon but still a great story and end to Dark Eyes 2. Eyes of the Master sees our team back in London, catching up with the Ides Institute, now under the control of The Master! I love MacQueen's master and he's excellent here, he plays off his assistant Sally well and he's always a joy to listen to opposite the Doctor. This story would definitely have been stronger if it was strictly a Doctor vs Master story, but the presence of The Eminence doesn't mess up the story too much. I enjoyed the Doctor going to confront his future at the end and everything tieing itself together. Overall, a great story and box set.

8/10