"I love what I do now, but sometimes, I stand at this window and look for him."
IN THIS ONE... Ace remembers her time with the Doctor.
REVIEW: An adult Ace is given a final fate for television (see Theories) where she runs an international charity (possibly something having to do, among other things, with kids in Africa) called A Charitable Earth (A.C.E., get it?). I kind of wish the setting was a high tower C.E.O.'s office - where is that money REALLY going, McShane?), but it's a proper life for the 7th Doctor's socially conscious companion. From there, it's essentially a narrated clip show, showing scenes from Season 26 (happily, for canonicity, she doesn't suddenly turn to talk of a Bluray boxed set, they let McCoy's voice do that). She DOES use the phrase "The Doctor and [insert Companion] saving the universe", which NuWho has OVERused, in my opinion. It never sounds natural.
As for the promise of the title, the Doctor apparently said he'd come back one day. And we may want to set this later than The Power of the Doctor, but he does and she leaves with him for further adventures. A shadow in the window, an unmistakable umbrella handle, a door that evokes TARDIS roundels. A nice, nostalgic moment, and every companion needs the Doctor to return down their timeline to check up on them and give them a final adventure (which the books, and sometimes the audios, have done a lot).
THEORIES: According to Peri and the Piscon Paradox (Big Finish audio), Peri has had several fates with accessible competing timelines. I would say the same is true of Ace. While the depiction here connects to Sarah Jane's comments in The Death of the Doctor, and isn't strictly contradictory with the events of The Power of the Doctor (it doesn't sound like there was the same falling out here), they certainly don't fit the Ace of the New Adventures novels (which were already at odds with her appearances in Big Finish).
REWATCHABILITY: Medium-Low - It's really about wanting to see Companions again to see Where They Are Now. Nostalgic, but low on content.
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