Gallifrey 2.04: Insurgency (spoilers) | The Divergent Universe

Digi
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Gallifrey 2.04: Insurgency (spoilers) Jul 12, 2022 0:09:51 GMT Star Platinum and Kestrel like this

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Post by Digi on Jul 12, 2022 0:09:51 GMT

Another week, another chapter of Gallifrey...

I just finished re-listening to this one and have to say I very much enjoyed myself again, just as I did with the previous story.

Scattered thoughts I jotted down while listening:

Between the Valyes thing at start and the Leela/Romana conversation, the way this episode opens makes it feel like a series premiere rather than it being partway through series 2. Not a criticism, just an observation

Narvin's caution about Romana speaking to Pandora feels very very warranted, and K9's dismissiveness misguided and arrogant. Interesting how a character who has generally been antagonistic so far at this point in the series is actually correct where the protagonists are wrong.

Pandora speaking through K9, telling Romana exactly what's coming in the civil war in the next episode and series 3, becomes extra chilling since with the benefit of retrospect because we know that no lies are being told. What Pandora says to Romana isn't dishonest in the slightest -- she's being taunted with the truth.

The academy's descent into factionalism and chaos feels a little rushed, especially since we're seeing it through the Lower Decks character POV and have only just met those characters. Which isn't to say they're bad, every actor there brings their A game to the table. It's just that the characters and setting are so new that it feels a little unearned.

The final conversation between Leela and Andred is really lovely and beautifully done. It's touching, in no small part because of how wonderfully heartfelt the performances are by both actors.

The overall sound design at this point is MUCH better than it was at the start of the range. This may have happened sooner, but it didn't really jump out to me till I was listening to this one.

Darkel announcing her power play toward the end of this story is an awesome moment. The way it builds on previous stories, that ever-rising 'oh no' dread because you can see exactly what's coming doesn't detract from the moment in the slightest; if anything, it enhances the moment.

Romana sounding increasingly unhinged in the last minutes of the episode is good stuff but maybe should've been held to the start of the next episode as the cold open.

Anywho, good stuff! Looking forward to Imperiatrix next week!

Last Edit: Jul 12, 2022 0:10:34 GMT by Digi

Star Platinum
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Gallifrey 2.04: Insurgency (spoilers) Jul 13, 2022 4:09:05 GMT Digi and Kestrel like this

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Post by Star Platinum on Jul 13, 2022 4:09:05 GMT

Thanks for getting the topic set up Digi!

Another week, another excellent hour of Gallifrey!

Narvin has already come quite a long way, he's more shades of grey at this point than the force of opposition he was in the first series. His arguments throughout the episode make perfect sense, especially when it comes to Romana accessing the future aspect of Pandora.

Lalla Ward's performance is excellent in this story. While she's the grumpy Romana that is often criticized in the 4DA's, in this range it's entirely warranted. The harder she's working to hold everything together, the faster it's falling apart. She's dealing with crisis after crisis at this point and frankly, it shows quite clearly.

I could have sworn from previous listens to this range, that the Academy subplot was spread throughout the season, but I guess not. I will admit that it moves a little quickly for my liking, the whole subplot has a very rushed feel in this story.

I do like Leela's role in the story as someone working at the Academy, I think it's a great role for her, and perhaps under different circumstances she'd have thrived there. Still, Louise Jameson act's her heart out in this story, and her moments with Andred absolutely shine.

Darkel's manipulations begin to come to fruition as the events she's manipulated start to fall into place, Lynda Bellingham is exceptionally captivating this time around. I can't wait to hear her get her comeuppance.

Looking forward to Imperiatrix, and the extreme measures Romana is poised to take.

Kestrel
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Gallifrey 2.04: Insurgency (spoilers) Jul 16, 2022 14:57:17 GMT Digi likes this

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Post by Kestrel on Jul 16, 2022 14:57:17 GMT

Insurgency has a great hook -- essentially a Gallifrey-version of the classic TNG episode, Lower Decks. Unfortunately, it fumbles the execution, being unwilling to fully divest focus away from the main cast to tell its story wholly from the POV of the newcomers. The result is a bit of a mixed bag, with neither the main characters nor the new characters given sufficient time in the spotlight to make this story "theirs." An issue that was either a product of revision, or a consequence of needing just a bit more revision, I'd wager.

But even so, there's a reason why that TNG episode (eventually) spawned an entire spin-off series: it's a really good hook! We get to see our heroes from not just the perspective of the young and powerless, but alien as well--since none of the students are Gallifreyan, this is just about as much of an "outside perspective" as is possible, and it's great fun. Unsurprisingly most of their POV is directed at Leela and Romana, the former of whom really ought to have been the only series regular to have a significant role in this story. Leela is fantastic as a teacher, and it would have been delightful fun to actually see more of her in that role--interacting with students, mentoring our POV characters, giving lectures, etc. But instead we mostly just see Leela dealing with the same-as-always political drama. A deeply unfortunate missed opportunity! Made all the more maddening by Louise Jameson's unquestioned status as GOAT.

Quote of the story: "I am becoming a liar like you -- and it disgusts me!"

Speaking of one of Doctor Who's very best actors, it occurs to me now (perhaps a little late) that Leela suffers a bit from the Worf Effect: she's supposed to be this bold, highly skilled warrior woman... and she's constantly threatening other characters with violence, but we very seldom actually get to see her making good on these threats. As a result, she's rather like Worf: a paper tiger who is never properly allowed to demonstrate her skill because all the scripts are interest in exploring is her theoretical capacity to be skilled. Look, it's just a weird dynamic, is all I'm saying.

Also interesting -- and likewise disappointing -- is that Leela's is the POV through which we see most of Valyes and Inquisitor Darkel's xenophobic policy and political maneuvering. Much of which would be more interesting to see through the eyes of, you know, those who would be personally affected.

And lastly,mits time to once again dive into the villain of this arc, Pandora. And boy oh boy, what a letdown she is. Insurgency gives us her backstory proper: according to Gallifreyan histories, Pandora was the immediate successor to Rassilon. But where he was venerated as the great and glorious founder of Time Lord society, she was vilified. Just another in a long line of powerful women vilified postmortem. And the Pandora we have now is just as the histories describe her: little more than a generic, power-hungry egocentrist. How boring. Since we know how wrong those histories were about Rassilon, wouldn't it have been far more interesting to paint Pandora similarly as a historical figure whose history was not faithfully passed down through the generations? How much more interesting would it be if Pandora were the true mother of modern Gallifreyan society -- a wise and just ruler who reforged Gallifrey into something better and more noble after Rassilon's despotic reign came to an end? What if her banishment to the Matrix was not a consequence of her being evil, but an accident that none of her contemporaries could fix? And what if she sought not conquest and domination, but simply to escape after millennia of isolation? With Romana as her only hope? Hell, how interesting would it be if Pandora was just as progressive a thinker as Romana, with the two sharing similar goals for Gallifrey's future, the difference only being that Pandora--a product of a harsher and more brutal era--would choose more extreme methods? Which would give Romana herself a fun conundrum to wrestle with, as Pandora would make a very appealing potential ally, albeit one who would come at a high cost.

But instead she's just evil.

Oh well.

So, yeah, that's essentially everything I have to say on Insurgency. If I had to sum it all up, I'd say this story is little more than a pile of potentially great ideas and consistently fumbled execution. Pandora could so easily have been a great and memorable antagonist, and our exchange students could have offered intriguing new perspectives on not just our heroes, but Gallifreyan politics and society as well. Alas, neither is the case. A classic case of a story that needed just a bit more time in the oven, and as a result comes to us feeling unfortunately undercooked.