Stuck with a co-pilot, Missy has taken extreme measures. After all, she only needs the Monk’s brain to fly his TARDIS. But when Missy and the bodiless Monk end up on different sides of a planetary war, they may need one another to survive...
Time Lord brains are usually surrounded by amniotic fluid, much like humans. The Monk exclaims extreme concern that his brain being dumped and carried in Missy's carpet bag would result in him losing vital amounts of amniotic fluid.
This story further investigates the benevolence of Missy. In the television series, Missy's character development concluded when she entered her 'questioning' phase during series 10. The character of the Twelfth Doctor was highly instrumental in rehabilitating Missy, including her seemingly mourning her victims in The Eaters of Light, and rescuing the stranded TARDIS team in Empress of Mars. Here, in her Big Finish series, which is set before all television appearances, this is touched upon numerous times. This includes her numerous meetings (and parental role) towards Lucy and Oliver Davis, her general attitude towards River Song in The Bekdel Test (despite not being strictly in the Missy series), culminating in the Lumiat. The Lumiat is her next incarnation who is apparently all benevolent, much to the confusion of Missy.
Missy gives the Monk the alias of Borac when he was posed as a battle computer; this is a reference to the supercomputer Orac from Blake's 7.
By defeating the VAD and saving the Kalvor, Missy is made aware of the fact that she is a hero. Rather than do harm to people, she had in fact performed a good deed that will be remembered. Missy ponders this before brushing it off. Missy will later ponder the line between good and evil and will even begin to make amends for her past actions. The Twelfth Doctor would be instrumental in this. (TV: Empress of Mars, World Enough and Time)
On her death bed, with the use of an Elysian field, Missy would survive and regenerate into a purely benevolent body known as the Lumiat. Missy had previously met the Lumiat, who had thwarted numerous nefarious schemes. (AUDIO: The Lumiat)
Missy is stuck travelling with the Monk and vice versa. This is due to her having programmed the Monk's TARDIS to only operate with them both inside. (AUDIO: Too Many Masters) Missy and the Monk had previously met and squabbled twice. First when Missy meddled in the Monk's attempt to take Henry VIII's place on the throne, (AUDIO: Divorced, Beheaded, Regenerated) and secondly when the Monk took his revenge by foiling Missy's interference in the Gunpowder Plot. (AUDIO: Treason and Plot)
