"You made a mistake. A stupid mistake, yeah. But show me someone who hasn't! You cared so much about fixing it that you highjacked a Time Lord and his TARDIS. Mistakes don't make you a monster. They happen. What matters, is what you do next."
Gosh, I liked this.
It's really probably closer to four stars -- but I rounded up. Because I have so missed the Twelfth Doctor, because Jacob Dudman (and the writers) bring My Doctor so beautifully to life, because Keira Sanstrom is my new favorite audio-adventures "Who" Companion, because the arching plot threading through three adventures balanced the fun of time adventures with real character development.
My favorite of the three was absolutely "Split Second," a two-hander that managed to keep the action going because the plot was willing to keep hopping. (Honestly, much as I love time travel as a vehicle simply to get the characters to a new setting each adventure -- it was refreshingly fun not to spend the whole story in one place and time, and to actually time-hop across history as Keira and the Doctor race to complete their mission.) There was *character* here, and character development, as much as for Keira as for the Doctor himself. If Keira's story is about her deciding to care, to make amends, to become something more -- the Doctor's is about seeing something of himself in this Time Agent, and finding some forgiveness for her own mistakes even as he's still grappling with forgiving himself for his own. There was real emotion here, real growth, real *friendship*, and it just delighted me.
(And, *man*, do I love Jacob Dudman as Twelve. It's not so much the accent that clicks for me -- my silly American ears can't hear in the nuances whether or not he's doing a perfect job. What blows me away is his *delivery*. It is the Doctor I see in my mind's eye as he delivers his lines, capturing the heart(s) of my favorite incarnation.)
The Twelfth Doctor audios from Big Finish have each and every been a joy for me, but this was a particularly special offering. It was an epic in stakes -- but still kept the emotional and character growth in focus. I know I'll be re-listening to this soon -- and fingers crossed for more adventures with the Doctor and Keira.
I even loved the background music! <3