The Daleks have had to learn the hard way that humans can't work 24/7 without respite. They need food, rest, and hope. The latter of these items is provided through the inspirational speeches of Susan "Suz" Mendes, known throughout the Dalek empire as the "Angel of Mercy". Meanwhile, Alby, whom she thought was dead following the Dalek invasion of Vega VI, is alive and well and confused as to why the woman he loves appears to be collaborating with the agents of their destruction.

This was a solid second installment in this Dalek Empire arc. I thought the Daleks sounded more intelligible than in the first one. The Dalek emperor was a hoot, with his deep voice and his mannerisms that were similar to the Cyber Leader from Earthshock -- "Excellent!" will always crack me up when a Doctor Who baddie says it in a robot voice. Overall the sound design was good, although I thought the spaceships landing totally sounded like passenger jets :) The levels were a bit hard to balance as well; the Daleks were really loud but the people were quiet, so I was having to juggle the volume a fair bit.

Story-wise, this had some good moral complexity built into it: doing what it takes to live another day and biding your time for a bigger payoff, or going out in a blaze of glory? And the ending had a really good cliffhanger. Looking forward to the third installment! ( )