The Tertiary Console Room: Review - Dalek Empire III - Chapter Five

"And what exactly have the Daleks got out of this?"

The penultimate episode of a serial is traditionally where a story reaches a high point of revelation, setting events into play to bring about a resolution in the finale. After the heavy exposition of the previous instalment of Dalek Empire III, series supremo Nicholas Briggs finally beings to draw the various story threads together and take the narrative forward but given that there's only one more chapter to go after The Warriors, it's disconcerting how little this play actually accomplishes...

Part of this comes from the way The Warriors is structured with three distinct phases. The first of those brings back Kaymee, the likeable trainee Warden who's barely featured since the conclusion of The Healers. Now cured of the plague, we find her haunted by disturbing images of her past and future in the new Graxis Healing Zone. The other stages revolve around the integration of Galanar and Tarkov's storyline with that of the Wardens and a subsequent attack on a Dalek fuel station as they prepare for the journey that lies ahead of the united group to Velyshaa.

Kaymee's abrupt disappearance from the drama confounded the early chapters' implicit suggestion that she would be one of the most important characters in the series as it seemed her story (and everyone's got a story) would be about learning what her place in the universe was. Briggs' decision to bring her back and devote the first third of the play to exploring her condition is a welcome one. This section finally confirms the nature of the Daleks' plan by showing how Kaymee is affected by the Variant 7 cure and by demonstrating this through such an endearing character makes the whole process all the more horrifying. This section really demonstrates the insidious nature of the Daleks as the treatment process subverts Kaymee's beliefs and intentions so much that her subconscious rejects her past and her last hope of salvation to embrace the future the Daleks have dealt her. So in that respect, Briggs has resolved her sense of belonging but not in the way that anyone would have expected.

This section is by far the most successful of the play thanks to the wonderful pairing of Laura Rees and Oliver Hume, as both their performances really convey the unnerving sense of dread as they shift their positions with the wary Kaymee slowly being drawn in by the power of the Daleks while Provost Carneill is now realising that his alliance to cure the plague may have doomed his people to an even worse fate. The tension builds emphatically through these scenes as Carneill grapples with the impact of the terrible truth and Hume portrays his desperation as comprehension finally comes fiercely.

Briggs uses the remainder of The Warriors to draw two of his other subplots together as the Wardens' ship arrives at exactly the right moment to rescue Galanar, Elaria and Tarkov from extermination and provide them with the means to get to where Siy's story began - Velyshaa. The biggest problem with this is that it was far too obvious that this was going to happen and shows up the linear nature of the plot for this part. By drawing the main characters together onboard the Wardens' ship, Briggs uses the confined environment to highlight what a hotbed of suspicion and paranoia it is. Despite rescuing them, the Graxis Wardens are apprehensive of their new passengers, while Galanar can't help but suspect Elaria's loyalties still lie with the Daleks and Tarkov cannot bring himself to believe anyone given how much he's been betrayed and lied to already.

Once more Steven Elder proves to be the star of Dalek Empire III as he shows just how battered psychologically Tarkov has become because of everything he has endured. He conjures up so much anger, bitterness and pathos that it's impossible not to sympathise with his situation as he lashes out against those who have mislead him. David Tennant's composed and sensitive performance convinces that Galanar is sincere in wanting to help Tarkov resolve these difficulties and it leads to a the beginning of the friendship between these two that has been anticipated since the opening gambit. What is less impressive is how Galanar dishes out a potted history of his life as a Demon again in order to convince Tarkov of his honesty as it comes across as needless padding as we the listener already know this having heard most of it in the last instalment. Given that this part The Warriors is plotted very slimly, it might have been better if Briggs had employed some of those flashbacks relating to Galanar's background from The Demons here as it would have made this drama far more substantial and fulfilling than it actually is.

This chapter ends with the Wardens, who make remarkable efficient warriors considering their background as gardeners, assaulting a conveniently vulnerable fuel depot. This is very typical of the inherent problems of Dalek Empire III as its plot twist (it's a trap) is blatantly obvious, and it seems that the appealing mystery of the early parts of the series were more interesting than the answers now they've been revealed. Briggs' commitment to building character is laudable but by neglecting the development of the continuing plot the series has little momentum to carry the drama through to its conclusion, which is something that could never be true of the previous Dalek Empire serials.

The Warriors escalates the tension in an adequate - if slightly perfunctory - manner and sets the main players of Dalek Empire III into position for its showdown, yet there's little substance behind it. Briggs' intent seems to be to do something very different to his past glories, but The Warriors leaves so much to be resolved that it may prove impossible to bring closure to this story in a satisfactory manner.

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