Doctor Who: Time Lord Victorious review: Defender of the Daleks is wrapped up in its second issue

The comic mini-series for Doctor Who: Time Lord Victorious concludes with part 2 of Defender of the Daleks. Is it a significant part of the multi-platform event?

After a slightly slow start in last month’s previous opening issue, the pace picks up in the second part of Defender of the Daleks. Actually, it really needed to, considering that the mini-series ends with this issue!

We find out a lot more about the story’s main threat, the Hond. After being heavily talked about last issue, it’s nice to actually see them show up properly in this one. We find out how strong just one member is, which puts into perspective just how major a threat they really are. It’s a shame that this aspect of the story wasn’t explored better in the previous issue, but it’s nice to see them fleshed out more here, at least.

How well is the story resolved? Pretty neatly on the whole. Surprisingly, the ending wraps up the story rather nicely, although it does feature a surprise appearance that almost comes out of nowhere. But overall, the second part of Defender of the Daleks does a decent job of wrapping up the Tenth Doctor’s little comic adventure in this event.

However, there’s a bigger question to ask: how well does it tie into Time Lord Victorious as a whole?

Defender of the Daleks is just one part of the multi-platform event. But is it a significant part of the story, at least?

Image Courtesy Titan Comics

More from Winter is Coming

• For All Mankind finally gives us information in Episode 405, “Goldilocks”
• Watch a stunning VFX breakdown of The Wheel of Time season 2
• Of course Steve Toussaint (Corlys Velaryon) thinks Eve Best (Rhaenys Targaryen) should rule Westeros
• Confirmed: The Last of Us season 2 will air in 2025
• Final season of Star Trek: Discovery will have “a lot of action, a lot of adventure, a lot of fun”

Major ties?

When Defender of the Daleks began, it seemed that – while it was connected to the event – it wasn’t too directly. To be honest, it felt more like a prelude than part of the event itself. Since then, we’ve seen the release of the novel The Knight, The Fool and The Dead. That story not only revealed the cause of the whole event, but it also confirmed that the Tenth Doctor’s comic story – which is set much earlier – is only loosely connected to Time Lord Victorious. And honestly, that’s confirmed even further by this new issue.

I’m not saying that Defender of the Daleks is a bad story overall. It’s pretty straightforward, but enjoyable, and picks up in its second half. But keep in mind that, if you’re looking for stories that are closely connected to Time Lord Victorious, then this isn’t one of them. It offers a glimpse of the event at best – particularly at the Daleks and their role in it – but for the Doctor, it almost feels inconsequential, at least at this point.

That’s not to say that it has no connection to other Time Lord Victorious stories at all. In fact, the final panel makes it clear about where the Daleks go from here – and who’ll they’ll be meeting next…

Have you read Defender of the Daleks? What are your thoughts on it? Do you think it’s a good tie-in to Time Lord Victorious? Do you think that it’s a good story in its own right? Let us know in the comments below.