Solving the mystery behind The Tourist in the mid-point finale, The Thirteenth Doctor and Yaz’s travels continue with an adventure a little closer to home. Following the crash of a UFO in the Hallamshire forest, The Doctor is brought back to Sheffield. There, she finds an old friend, Yaz’s older sister, and an old Martian foe.

Despite the synopsis selling the return appearances of both DS Menzies and the Ice Warriors, this story is a bit of Yaz focused serial in disguise. Not only do we get to see her in action as a police officer, but we also get a good chunk of the story dedicated to the reunion between Yaz and her older sister Sonya as well. A rather clever conflict, it plays on Yaz’s prolonged absences and her sister’s concerns and frustrations around her lack of communication.

It’s been seven months since either Sonya or her parents have seen or spoken to Yaz, and the conflict dynamic that exists between them as a result is great. We get to see, despite their time apart, just jow close the two sisters are, as Sonya’s proding for answers soon delvolves over her curiosity about Yaz’s feelings for The Doctor. I also love how Sonya goes through so much trouble just to try and see her sister again by bringing herself to the site of alien crash and getting arrested just for the chance at a reunion.

What works with Yaz in this story, besides her sibling dynamic, is her use as a police officer. When the 13th Doctor’s TV era originally aired, one of the main criticisms that I had was always that they never put Yaz’s role as a police officer to good use. Throughout her time in the TARDIS, we only ever got to see her in this capacity once (The Woman Who Fell to Earth), which was a crying shame because it had such potential. Within this story, we finally get to see just how well Yaz adapts to crises in her uniform. She takes control of the situation, even though she’s facing down a threat radiating from an Ice Warrior.

Storywise, The Hallamshire Incident is a welcome return to basics. Grounded, investigation-based and all building up towards a familiar villain, it ultimately turns into an Ice Warrior prison break adventure. While not particularly inventive, the well-known story beats give the episode time to explore its character conflicts. Also, with an easy-to-decipher villain like Lord Vaznir, it really gives Jodie’s Doctor a time to shine. Her speech against Vaznir’s thirst for war is easily her best audio moment of the series so far and possibly one of the best of her entire time as The Doctor. It’s these moments that inspire a bit of hope, especially since, up until now, this range hadn’t found its ‘wow’ moment.