Graceless II: No Rest for the Wicked

In this second “season” the sisters have taken to travelling the universe, saving people from both natural and man-made disasters, albeit with varying degrees of success. As before, the emphasis of the stories is more on character relationships than on traditional action, and there is no meaningful link with the Doctor Who origins of the series beyond the occasional verbal reference.

The Line - The sisters enter Marek's past when they travel to his homeworld days before its destruction. Fortunately, Marek is more likeable here than he was in the first season, his new responsibilities having changed him for the better. The looming threat of planetary destruction is rather underplayed until the closing section of the episode, which focuses instead on his relationship with his father and with the sisters (most notably Zara). The sisters are eventually faced with a choice that will have disastrous consequences either way; in a regular DW story, you know that the Doctor will somehow come up with a third option, but that's not the case here, and the fallout is delivered in full. 4.5 stars.

The Flood - The weakest story of the three sees the sisters arriving on a rain-drenched planet just as alien monsters rise from the sea to threaten the locals. It's easy to see that this was originally proposed as a story for the Doctor, although the details of the resolution have presumably been changed. I'm guessing that the setting may have been changed, too, since, while it's supposedly set around the 5,000th century, there's precious little to indicate that it isn't the 21st. There are a couple of good supporting characters that raise this above the average, and some good interplay between the sisters, but it's not quite up to the quality that Graceless usually has. 4 stars.

The Dark - The repercussions of the events of the first episode are more fully explored as the sisters find themselves trapped on a desolate planet with two other, similarly marooned people. As they face their bleak surroundings together, past secrets come to the fore and little is quite as it seems. This is a strong character piece, taking advantage of a limited cast to develop its themes, although if you don't like “talky” episodes, this one is even less for you than the first in the season. It closely ties in with the larger story arc, and ends on an unexpected cliffhanger, although the third season was a long time in coming. 5 stars.

Overall, that's an average of 4.5 stars, which rounds up to 5.