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Gallifrey series 2 carries on a couple plot points from series 1, as well as, of course, the characters and their emotional positions. However, the major plotline of this series is quite separate from series 1, and in my opinion, much more interesting. Let's take a look:
2.1 Lies
Lies lays the groundwork for the plots of this series, Pandora Imperiatrix, and some politicians hatred of Romana and her liberal policies (Darkel in particular is not a fan), as well as continuing the Andred storyline from last series. This is another very enjoyable Gallifrey episode, delving into some Gallifreyan history, as well as that of Romana's, we even get Mary Tamm as Romana I! The Pandora stroyline is intriguing and I continue to enjoy Braxiatel's exploits. The three leads are brilliant as always too. A great start to series 2.
8/10
2.2 - Spirit
Spirit is a very character-driven story, focusing on Romana and Leela's relationship as they holiday on the private presidential planet of Davidia (bit of a bonding sesh, if you will). Romana tries to repair their strained relationship after the fallout of series 1. There is a decent mystery here too, but the character focus was my favourite part, although the whole third act was a bit tedious and brought this story down a notch for me. Romana is definitely my favourite character in this series, and her and Leela continue to be a fantastic pairing.
7/10
2.3 Pandora
Pandora is another great Gallifrey story with huge ramifications going forward. Pandora furthers the 'broken man' plot from Spirit, and (as you might have guessed from the title) also continues the Pandora plotline from the first part of this series, Lies. Romana, Leela and Brax are great as always, and Darkel is at her most delightfully conniving here. I was also pleasantly surprised at the development of the Andred plotline, I thought it would be meandering along throughout the series, but instead it becomes much more interesting! There's a seemingly bloated scene of listening back at K9's recording, which I should have been annoyed at, but I quite liked it, and there are some really fantastic moments here that helped this episode a whole lot too. My favourite one so far!
9/10
2.4 Insurgency
Eh, mostly uninteresting, meandering Academy drama. Potentially infected Romana getting increasingly angry at Narvin is hilarious but there wasn't much here for me to latch onto. I didn't really care about the students, although Leela as a teacher and as annoyed as the students is a fun idea, but this is a big letdown after Pandora. I'm also missing the wonderful presence of Brax :( (that's not a fault of this story though).
6/10
2.5 - Imperiatrix
The finale of Gallifrey series 2 is a long one, and a lot goes down! Romana is under an awful lot of pressure, and struggling with Darkel, Pandora and terrorists. These threads come to a head here with an explosive climax that leaves shocking developments for series 3. It's not looking so good for Romana.
Everyone gives it their all here, with Louise Jameson in particular giving an incredibly emotionally resonant performance and Lalla Ward being a standout as Romana as usual, as everything seems to be crashing down around her. Her struggle is real. I still miss Brax but everyone else is so brilliant and the plot so interesting that it's not as much of a problem here. A fantastic end to a strong series!
9/10
Gallifrey series 2 is significantly better than series 1! The Pandora storyline is excellent and the performances are even better. Looking forward to more!