Continuing the eternal war from the perspective of the Rutans, the second instalment in the series features a story starring the 2^nd Doctor, Jamie and Zoe. Arriving on a medical ship, their encounter with the shapeshifting jellyfish brings about a startling case of individualism.

At the edge of the Sontaran-Rutan War, a large medical ship lingers in space. The Doctor and his friends find a group of strange survivors aboard planning something unusual to save their commander.

What new powers do the Rutans possess? What secrets does the Lockhart hold? As the conflict creeps closer, the Doctor must work out how to rescue those no longer versed in war…

Big Finish Synopsis

What does individuality mean to a Rutan? Expression through war poetry, apparently.

Created to be a slow-burning exploration of a creature typically found as part of a collective, Foley’s Rendition is more of a character study of the Rutans than anything else. Dedicating the majority of its runtime to these concepts, the story almost entirely hinges itself on the prospect that the listener will find The Rutans an interesting-enough monster beyond what they are as a hive mind.

On that front, I’m still in need of some convincing. Despite the increased time the story spends with them, we actually learn very little about them as individuals. The best that we’re given comes with their struggles to marry their old selves and new selves, and the PTSD they now have to suffer from what they’ve seen in battle without the support of the collective behind them.

What I am convinced of, however, is that the plot surrounding these heavy philosophical concepts is one that’s only feeling the motions. Outside of the Rutan character study, there’s very little story to tell. For 40 minutes, we plod back and forth between the intrepid TARDIS trio fixing the ship and helping the lone nurse on the station with her rounds. Despite the odd, interesting line between Jamie and the nurse, these scenes are no more than mere spice-less window dressing that sluggishly moves from one scene to the next without any interesting character dynamics developed between the main and side casts.  

For the last 20 minutes of the story, however, things do start to pick up. This is almost entirely due to the surprising (even if he’s on the artwork) appearance of the 8^th Doctor as the Sontarans make their advances. His introduction brings a much-needed spark of life to the pacing, as his moments are more action-oriented. Moreover, his introduction to the episode brings with it more mysteries about the future direction of the series and his ultimate involvement in each of the stories going forward.