Big Finish Blake’s 7 Liberator Chronicles VII
More than any other Blake’s 7 story this goes far to reveal the “method behind the madness” of Roj Blake’s hopes, dreams, and plans for victory against the Federation. This is a more introspective, thoughtful Blake than I recall seeing before. The story is told by Blake and begins in a location in space where the Liberator is waiting to meet with a rebel leader, Trel Dekkan. The rebel ships arrive and have the Liberator help them capture a freighter that moves through the system nearby. He has been given information that a high-ranking Federation official is onboard. So he wants to find that person onboard and the Liberator heads back to their base, where Dekkan shows his true colors. Murderer or leader? The crew lets Blake lead them on, despite their grumbling.
In the end, Blake is very melancholy and introspective. He is the idealistic leader of the crew but he’s also been a bit of a mystery. They didn’t explore the history of these characters in much depth from what I remember, though my memory could be flawed. This story deals with Blake’s ideals and just how he wants to defeat the Federation, what his philosophy of the methods to use. Do the ends justify the means? He has decided to take the high moral ground but it’s definitely not an easy path to take as meeting force with force is much easier. But then that makes you no better than those you want to defeat. Excellent story, if a bit melancholy overall.
Gareth Thomas (Blake), Andrew Whipp (Trel Dekkan)
Writer: James Swallow
Director: Ken Bentley/Lisa Bowerman
Release: February 2014