Embrace the Chaos (TV story)

*"That's it. It's all over now, isn't it? Funny that, when you're top of the world, you forget what it's like at the bottom until you're forced to go back. It's a pity really; all that effort for naught and all because... of you. You and your poxy little gang. I hope you're happy with yourselves, I really do - at least something good might finally come out this then. But that's it for me. There's no hope, not anymore. And that is all on you."*
―Revir Ctharcourt to the Seventeenth Doctor after hearing that Mera Rakhal has died

***Embrace the Chaos*** was the fourteenth and final episode of Series 18 of *Doctor Who*.

## Synopsis

War is finally upon the Temporal Intelligence Agency!

With the Axos time machine now fully functioning and at full power, Revir and Mera have seized the planet and gathered their Cyberman-armour wearing armies from their training grounds - ready to execute their plan for restoring Tosan as a time travelling superpower in the universe and assert their dominance over both the higher and lower species of the cosmos, with their first objective being to crush the Agency once and for all; even if their infantry aren’t at the biggest numbers they could be, thanks to the TARDIS team’s previous efforts...

The Doctor, Taylor and Luna meet with Kylita at Vallaly who has received a warning from a secret defector originating from the Tosans’ side and has chosen to respond by collecting forces from across the entire Alae Republic; getting ready to take the fight to Axos and lead the Agency through its most defining hour - but even this campaign might be too much for this battle-hardened leader.

As the battle begins between the two armies on Axos, the soldiers on both sides are met with a wildly chaotic playing field - effects from being so close to the core of the time machine cause both time and the normal laws of physics to grow beyond their original restrictions and become turbulent, so be careful where you step...

Meanwhile, the cautiously optimistic trio are tasked with accompanying Kylita in her quest to infiltrate the Tosans’ base camp, locate the defector and get past the many lethal traps in their way, in an attempt to reach Revir and Mera and temper them into standing down, but will they ever be able to be persuaded to do so, without escalating the situation even further?

It’s the endgame and this war will only end once either the Agency is entirely wiped out or the energy core at the heart of Axos is destroyed, but either way, not everyone will be survivors...

## Cast

* The Doctor - Dev Patel
* Taylor Bennett - Adelayo Adedayo
* Luna Feng - Jessica Henwick
* Kylita Strali - Cobie Smulders
* Revir Ctharcourt - Natasha Lyonne
* Mera Rakhal - Liz White
* Moerd Bosro - Steven Yeun

## Crew

* Writer - Natalie Robyn
* Director - Bryce Dallas Howard

## Continuity

* Revir and Mera have killed the core of Axos, leaving it a corpse with Axons and Axonite henceforth also being unable to be produced. They had initially freed Axos and given them the secrets of time travel, by saying they wanted to help out - but really they had been testing if the secrets worked on a massive scale and planned to take over Axos if they did. (TV: *The Return of Axos*)
* When Kylita asks Taylor and Luna if they truly wanted to go with her and the Doctor to Axos, considering the danger they were about to face, they both agreed that they wanted to come, with Luna adding a "for Lurala". (TV: *Fugitive of the Cybermen*)
* The reasoning behind the Cyberman armour and training soldiers in the desert dimension is revealed, preparation for this war. However, these aren't running at full capability thanks to the Doctor and his companions. (TV: *Fugitive of the Cybermen*, *Another Day in the Desert*)
* Revir and Mera plan to fully restore Tosan and its people back to the time travel monolith it used to be and beyond. (TV: *On Foreign Shores*)
* The defector turns out to be Moerd Bosro, who has completely turned against Revir and Mera's barbatic plans after finally hearing them for the first time. (TV: *Another Day in the Desert*)

## Story Notes

* The episode title *Embrace the Chaos* was suggested to Robyn by writer Katie Taylor.
* The idea behind the Tosans wearing armour made from Cyberman parts was to thematically link the two - with the Tosan army being collectivist, lacking in any individual personality or free will, just like the Cybermen; whilst their Alae Republic opponents directly contrast with bright, distinct battle armour and big personalities which vary from agent to agent.

 **Series 19** | Regular Episodes | *The Skithra Entitlement* • *Work Hard, Die Hard* • *Doctor Who and the Dalek Paradigm* / *Escape of the Paradigm* • *Out of Sight, Out of Mind* • *Whatever Happened to the Crew of the SS Dahlia?* • *Meeting at Zaggit Zagoo* • *Planet TARDIS* • *Glittering Spheres* • *Submerged* • *Mechanical Heart* • *Oh Hell, It's Tari* • *I Predict a Riot* • *Doctor Who and the Moonmen* / *I Am The Doctor* • *Cryptomnesia* • *Final Destination*