Whovians, lend Rory your ears! “The Lone Centurion” volume one is here and it’s quite the adventure for nurse-turned-time-traveller-turned-plastic-Roman-solider played by Arthur Darvill. Set a few years after he first pledged to guard the Pandorica, this set of stories follows Rory as he navigates life in Rome. And it’s not without some twists and turns!
Before we talk about this release any further, just a note that there will be spoilers in this review!
The best way I can describe “The Lone Centurion” volume one is a workplace comedy. If that workplace involved a somewhat immortal Rory Williams rising from the ranks of a gladiator in the colosseum to Caesar’s bodyguard, then Caesar’s assassin, and then to, well, Caesar himself! He starts out simply wanting to avoid notice or harm in the Roman “games”. However, Rory soon finds himself in the middle of an assassination plot! Or, well, plots. And all this despite the fact that all he wants to do is find Amy and get out of there!
The stories do a great job of balancing the inherent humor of Rory’s situation with the fact that he’s taken on a huge, risky task for the sake of his love. “I Rorius” by Jacqueline Rayner does the best job of the three stories, though. With Rory installed as Caesar, it is funny to have him sort of tripping his way through ruling over the Roman Empire. He remarks a few times in the episode that the knowledge of how this is supposed to work is there somewhere in his brain. After all, he’d originally been created as a Nestene duplicate of a Roman Centurion.
However, he still very much has 21st-century ideals, memories, and feelings. He tries to stop what he sees as pointless battles. He treats and speaks kindly to those who are considered his slaves. Rory also attempts to rework the “games” to do away with the brutal and deadly aspects of them. His way of doing things does, of course, provoke the displeasure of the head of the Roman army… who then tries to have him killed. This is humorous itself since Rory escapes from numerous assassination attempts- scorpions, arrows, poisoned food… And his survival utterly baffles and confuses those around him!
But with his ascension to the highest position in the empire comes what he’s been searching for the entire time- the Pandorica. After finally finding the box, Rory has a “shrine” built to his “goddess”- Amelia. It’s the scenes where he’s alone in this “shrine” with the Pandorica that get to the heart of Rory’s story. He speaks to Amy, telling her about what’s going on and how much he misses her.
“I just mean…. You don’t have to worry, because she’s not you. And even if I search for the next two thousand years, I’ll never find another you. Oh, I miss you so much, Amy.”- Rory Williams, “I, Rorius”
Another thing that I love about this release is that, though it doesn’t come up often, the stories never forget that Rory is a nurse. And not only that, but he’s also someone who cares about the safety and wellbeing of others. In the first story, “Gladiator” by David Llewellyn, Rory’s not entirely thrilled to have his search for the Pandorica derailed, but he still does the job he’s assigned to. As the Roman Emperor’s bodyguard, he does his best to keep Caesar safe. In “The Unwilling Assassin” by Sarah Ward, he finds ways around killing the targets he is sent after. And in “I, Rorius” he’s able to rescue a new friend from drowning by performing CPR.
These are just a few moments in the stories where Rory’s kindness shines through. I also utterly adored the fact that he refuses to kill the chickens that are brought to his “shrine” under the assumption that they’re meant to be sacrifices to his “goddess”. He even goes so far as to have food and a perch brought in to make the chickens (and later, ducks as it does contain a pond) more comfortable! Rory is such a sweetheart and I’m so glad that these stories include that.
The “The Lone Centurion” is a bit different from other Big Finish Doctor Who stories that I’ve listened to. But given the setting of these stories, they have to be. There’s no threat of alien invasion or other sci-fi shenanigans. There can’t be. In the timeline in which these stories exist, Earth is alone in the universe. There are no stars, only the TARDIS keeping the planet warm and lit while history collapses. With no other stars, there’s no other life in the universe to be concerned about. There are the “fossils in time” of the Daleks and others where the Pandorica was originally, but there’s no chance of those coming into play. Unless the box opens much earlier than it’s meant to, of course. And Rory’s not about to allow that.
With these constraints, there is little Doctor Who in this Doctor Who story, but they still work beautifully in the show’s universe. Rory really gets a chance to shine in this set- plus he’s the only sci-fi element to be found! The writers have done an excellent job blending humor with heart while they play with the shrunken universe of Earth alone in the sky.
Though I don’t think Rory’s sacrifice of guarding Amy for almost 2,000 years is necessarily glossed over in the TV show, there wasn’t much time to explore it. “The Big Bang” has a lot packed into it and, for the runtime and main story of the episode, it did a good job of acknowledging what Rory did and went through. But in these stories, we really get to know and reflect on what an enormous act of love this is. Though he is mostly unkillable, Rory does face his own specific set of dangers. Not to mention the fact that he faces quite a lonely life as the centuries pass. But he will do anything, anything for Amy.
“I have to live many lives so she can live just one. But that one life, it’s worth everything.” -Rory Williams, “I, Rorius”
If you have ever loved Rory Williams, I highly recommend “The Lone Centurion” volume one. The comedy and drama in these stories are both excellent and very enjoyable. I laughed out loud a lot and had to take a few moments to be a little emotional about how much Rory loves Amy. I can’t wait for volume two next year, and I’m already hoping that there will be more volumes after that!
“The Lone Centurion” volume one is available on Big Finish’s website for the lower pre-order price until June 30, 2021. It will still be available after that, but the price will go up so get it now!
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