H5 - A Bargain of Necessity

Barbara's new (hopeful) beau Leon Colbert turns traitor in this episode and kidnaps Ian in order to pump him for information about the mysterious James Sterling. Thankfully, Jules jumps in to save the day, rescue Ian, and kills Leon in the process. Ian and Jules go back to the hideout to, and, once Barbara is told of Leon's death, it sets up quite a heated little scene between the three of them. Jules defends his actions, and a suddenly bloodthirsty Ian agrees with him, whereas an emotional Barbara not only defends the man Leon, but the ideals of the French Revolution as a whole.

It, and the subsequent scene where everyone calms down and apologizes to one another, is nice little jolt of energy in a story that is sadly lacking any. Barbara makes a comment on she is tired of all the death. This is a rare instance of a companion reflecting on the dangers of travels with The Doctor (done most famously during Tegan's leaving scene in Resurrection of the Daleks), but it's nice to see these harrowing adventures taking a toll on our heroes, as it would any normal human beings. Barbara would see a lot more death in the weeks to come, of course...

Things finally seem to be coming to a head at episode's end as The Doctor is forced to lead Lemaitre to Jules' hideout. But who (oh, who?) is this James Sterling? I mean, who can it possibly be at this point? And what is his function in the plot?