Second episodes can often be as important as the first episode. Your audience is hooked based on the first episode, now you have to prove that you can sustain your series beyond that. Or, at the very least, try and move the series forward.
Thankfully, The Sentinel of the Fifth Galaxy does a decent job, and manages to be better than the first episode. We open with the Daleks fleeing towards Skaro from the Entity, only for the planet to be ravaged. This forces the Daleks to go to the titular fifth galaxy to get reinforcements, where they find the “Sentinel”. However, as the Strategist speaks with the Sentinel, it becomes clear that the Sentinel is now under the control of the Entity, and in the process, the reinforcements.
There’s a nice sense of desperation in the episode, as the Daleks’ forces are slowly depleted. It makes the stakes feel real, and the end battle between both armies of Daleks much more impactful. Beyond the battles, there’s also a decent mind game between the Sentinel (who, mercifully, ended up being much better a character than the trailer suggested) and the Strategist, where both slowly reveal the ways in which they have manipulated the other. The twists this time are also given a small amount of foreshadowing, a nice change from the last episode. Perhaps this is due to the slightly longer nature of the episode, which stands as the longest of the series at fifteen minutes.
Overall, I found this episode to be pretty enjoyable, and a nice improvement over the first episode. Definitely worth watching and a nice addition to the Whoniverse.
