The first presidential election for millennia is about to be held on Gallifrey. But in the wake of the civil war that has torn the Time Lords apart, can even an election restore calm and order?
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5 Likes
Yeah this one slaps. this should have been the finale…
8 Likes
Absolutely amazing.
That is all.
7 Likes
8 Likes
I never finished the box. I need to do it before next week.
7 Likes
Darkelatraquisterastred thy have been hoisted by thy own petard! Quite literally 
Let’s do a quick recap:
Devious Brax be all like
And shouty Darkel be all like
And Romana be all like
And Brax be all like
And meanwhile Leela be all like
9 Likes
I loved this one so much, it is literally mind-blowing! And something I really adore here is just how rich this whole world feels, like there are so many characters, and you get to see what they think of this truly insane political situation. And like I am freaking out about everything that’s happening in this chapter, but I’m not even freaking out about Romana or Leela or Narvin that much rn, who I am always ready to freak out about but about everything else!! Like Brax coming back!! I was hoping so badly from the first time they mentioned him, and he actually did! And his plan to get rid of Darkel is so ■■■■■■■ genius, I did not see it coming at all. And actually the way Darkel gets beaten here is so unbelieveably satisfying, like a lot of stories tend to go the ‘revenge is bad’ way, but sometimes you just need to cheer because some villain got precisely what they deserved, and I absolutely despise Darkel, amazing villain. And it was really good that I relistened to Appropriation the day before this one, because it really does set the stage very well, and familiarised me more with Matthias as someone with complicated manipulative plans too
live blog
- yay Gallifrey time!
- I love that the way Valyes addresses them as ex-presidents, the political situation is just so messed up
- god I love the way Narvin explains this to Leela
- I was joking Leela and Narvin autism moment
- I love the way this just ends up being legal spats
- oh Morbius interesting nice mention
- I hate Darkel so much
- oh the ■■■■ is she doing now
- oh that is amazing
- they are the high council that is so weird I love it
- on a technicality I love it, this is all just technicalities
- well that’s bad
- this politicking is so cool
- I wonder how Romana was right at the beginning of her presidency
- Matthias is so ■■■■■■■ manipulative, I did not guess this before last episode
- yes Leela!
- Narvin stop it with the ■■■■■■■ law, you had it all figured out last episode, you are Romana’s man just accept it
- even I don’t what side I’m on it’s so compelling, his identity, what he’s loyal too
- I adore how protective Leela is
- they really need to stop imprisoning Romana
- that is so mean
- good grief Narvin
- oh they’re using K9
- I love that
- oh that’s good of him
- the stupidity clause
- calling her naive, he’s not wrong in regards to politics but this is again so interesting
- there is no one else
- Leela and Romana both seem very sad
- it’s so interesting how Romana too has now been isolated from all her allies
- so they really only have each other and Narvin
- and Leela has lost so much!!
- I love the way they talk about him, with contempt and appreciation at the same time
- a metaphorical knife I adore her
- Romana is really a rare honest politician
- I love how Leela is so loyal to her
- oh he is good
- Darkel is so ■■■■■■■ evil
- affirmative by Leela
- oh that’s odd
- K9 please mention your conclusions
- like things on Gallifrey constantly don’t make sense so don’t dismiss anything as illogical
- he did that with Wynter too
- Edit: this is the point where I thought it might be Brax for the first time but I didn’t want to jinx it by writing it down
- I hope Narvin’s trying to make her incriminate herself
- I feel like Narvin really shows his sides in opposition only
- like he figures out what is important to him when it’s threatened only
- which is why he was so completely on Romana’s side the last three chapters
- I hope Brax comes back soon
- I miss him yeah me too Leela
- Gallifrey’s type of government is very interesting
- I like seeing someone in a bit more normal position and what they think about this
- Darkel is a bitch but a very good politician
- what’s happening
- oh I bet she arranged this
- she’s totally the type to do it
- thank you Narvin she sounds so surprised
- and Narvin defending her>>>>>>
- I love how Leela does that, it’s how I react to sarcasm
- K9 being pedantic I love it
- apart from everyone who’s met her so true
- I want to shoot her
- yes Leela do violence
- oh yeah this is precisely what Darkel wants
- whether or not she organized it she’s so going to be using this
- it’s someone else
- I feel like it could be Brax
- I hope it is
- I did not look at the character list btw, I genuinely don’t know if he’s in this one
- ha I love Annos
- who says it’s a man
- I love that Romana still calls the shots even in so bad situations
- yeah Narvin gets it
- I love their discussions
- they are so full of tension and layers
*please please - please tell me it is him
- yes
- yesyesyesyesyes
- I love him he’s back
- oh shit that’s bad stuff
- no she already said it, Romana listen Leela!
- yes
- I’m so happy he’s back
- yay I love it
- it explains perfectly why they wanted it removed
- oh her plan is backfiring I love it
- I did not expect this at all
- oh ■■■■ her
- oh shit what’s happening to him
- wtf
- this is bad
- Is it Pandora
- oh she really cannot stop can she
- now what will Narvin do to that
- oh that was the Doctor I remember, in Invasion of Time
- I hate Darkel so ■■■■■■■ much
- she’s so ■■■■■■■ evil
- oh now to examine Narvin’s brain
- oh very good
- I love this
- it’s incredible that Darkel still expects Narvin to follow her orders
- yes she needs to get her ■■■■■■■ due
- oh it’s left him
- it’s gone elsewhere
- Darkel?
- please tell me it’s her
- oh yes
- yes
- ■■■■■■■ finally
- that’s precisely what she deserved
- that is what I meant Leela I love you
- no Brax stay please
- oh what the ■■■■
5 Likes
Okay, you’ve got me, I love Gallifrey, and I love Narvin
Mindbomb - 10/10 (Spoilers)
My god was that good.
Everything, and I do mean everything, about this story was just spectacular from start to finish. Again, I love political stories so much, and this is just a perfect one.
We start right off the bat with a twist of expectations, Romana being taken out of the running immediately is a turn I at least didn’t see coming at all, and just set the ground spectacularly. Then having the Darkel and Matthias conspiring together to remove any and all political power that Romana had at the end of her tenure. Darkel is a spectacular villain here, especially shown in this moment with her taking Matthias’ plan and then twisting it for her own popularity (as far as she suspects).
The assassination attempt on Darkel is a brilliant subplot, one that you can see where it’s going right off the bat, but are never quite 100% sure, and even when you are, what can our cast really do about it? It’s a great way to give the rest of the cast something to do, even if they can’t directly affect the vote. Also some people will be pleased to know that with the way that subplot goes, you can now officially consider me a Narvin lover.
Then Brax! His return alone is spectacular enough, but everything on top of it just makes it even moreso. The realisation of what Romana’s anullment meant for Brax had me whooping for joy, the way Darkel twists his new presidency, letting her get away with everything she’s done reminded me why I love to hate her, the twist of what actually happened with the Pandora entity had me in shock, and I love how Darkel’s fate is entirely because of her schemes and cunning. A very literal pride coming before a fall.
All in all, I don’t think there’s a moment of this I disliked, and I’m not fully converted and on the gallifrey train.
8 Likes
Yeah this is phenomenal. It’s so good to see Darkel finally get what’s coming to her, Brax returns in style, Romana continues to try her best, and Narvin continues to dominate. Leela has been more of a supporting character since her blinding which is a downright shame. 9/10 had we gotten more Leela I’d give it 10 though.
1 till mate.
9 Likes
Gallifrey keeps on giving. What’s great about this has already been said above, but I can’t stress enough how utterly superb the performances are, how intricately plotted and excitingly executed the political thrills and twists are, and how tense this episode is.
Still, I ended up giving it an 
8/10 after my first listen.
Oh, and ■■■■ you Darkel
5 points
Mindbomb excels as a political thriller, showcasing the intense rivalry between Romana, Darkel, and Matthias during Gallifrey’s presidential election, with timely parallels to real-world political manoeuvring.
Romana’s resilience, Darkel’s cunning, and the teamwork of Leela and Narvin to protect Gallifrey’s peace add depth and tension, while K9 and Leela as Romana’s legal counsels provide both humour and strategy.
The candidate debate effectively ties together overarching themes from the series, while Braxiatel’s dramatic return and manoeuvring to defeat Darkel deliver a satisfying twist and narrative climax.
The assassination subplot, while urgent, feels repetitive and lacks a strong resolution, slightly diminishing the impact of the otherwise engaging storyline.
The surprise appointment of Matthias as President sets up an uncertain future for Gallifrey, leaving Romana and Leela’s fates unresolved and building anticipation for the finale.
7 Likes
Between his worming his into the Vice Presidency last episode and then his subtle chess game with Brax, Matthias is fast becoming a favorite of mine. Once you see the chess pieces put in place, you can’t help grinning as the implications of his game become evident. Darkel is the villain of this phase of the series (Series 1-3), but Matthias is an antagonist… to everyone.
3 Likes
This did not live up to the hype. By this point, twists and turns are expected and therefore less impactful or can be guessed ahead of time. Darkel setting up her own assassination attempt was so obvious; it was a chore listening to all the characters catch up. After that, having Braxiatel come back was a welcome addition, but it would not make sense to have him return if he was in any real danger. And they delayed Romana’s pardon for “suspense” when it was obvious she would get pardoned along with Darkel. Still, it was nice that through him, Darkel could inadvertently kill herself off. So, after all this, it was no surprise that Braxiatel chose Matthias instead of Romana. Of course he would not choose her. Romana and Leela have been sidelined in their own audio series. At least we have Narvin.
6/10.
9 Likes
Honestly this is my biggest issue with Gallifrey 1-3, especially s3. People often hold this era up as the golden days of the series, and I do see why because I do love them, but by s3 they’ve basically run out of plot for Leela so she’s sort of following everyone around, and I’m not sure that having Romana utterly incapacitated and ineffective for most of the season is that fabulous of a move.
S3 for me definitely gets worse as it goes on, even if I do like Mindbomb a great deal.I was surprised to see the love for Appropriation tbh - I’m glad people go lots out of it, but until TW4.3 Beyond came out, I would have called Appropriation my least favourite episode.
I’ll be interested to see what you think of Panacea.
6 Likes
The big problem here for me is not that they’ve run out of plot for Leela, but rather that they aren’t using it! I mean Fractures introduces Leela’s blindness and that is a really compelling choice and something you could do a lot with, how she grieves that, how she adapts, but they’re barely making two comments in that every story. And her relationship with Romana too!! By Imperiatrix that had all these big scary cracks in it, because Romana murdered Andred, and yet that isn’t even acknowledged, they’ve practically gone back to how they were before, at least after Fractures (which again, is an absolutely amazing episode). I feel like this series could have used another episode in the type of Spirit, something to really explore interpersonal relationships, add Narvin to it now that he has grown on everyone so it’s less of a repeat and there you have it!
I think this was a good move for Appropriation actually, but a bad move for Mindbomb. Because in Appropriation, Romana is very much still a part of the narrative, she’s working herself to the point of literal collapse repeatedly but she does not back down and that’s just such a Romana move. But in Mindbomb she had literally nothing to do, she’s in prison the entire time, and really only being used by all the different players. I feel like this episode could have been improved by keeping her in the election longer, maybe cut out Darkel’s plan instead, increase the tension and let Romana play to her strengths! She is a really good politician too but we rarely get to see that
In short, there should definitely have been more Leela in these last episodes, and more Romana in this one.
3 Likes