There's not really a lot to say about this one, despite the difficulties Chris Bailey had in writing it (mainly due to issues he had with Mr Saward).
We have a reasonably well defined society, with a historical backdrop of past empires, interesting characters, and even the snake is a big improvement on the one from Kinda.
The Doctor does not come out of this story very well - having simply brushed off Tegan's earlier concerns about being truly free from the Mara at the conclusion of the Season 19 story.
Everything which happens here could be placed at his door. No-one gets killed, but a lot of people are psychologically harmed. He really ought to have taken Tegan's concerns more seriously.
The story begins with Tegan redirecting the TARDIS to Manussa under the Mara's influence. She doesn't know how to do this, and nor should the Mara itself - so you have to wonder how this was managed.
Once they've arrived on the planet, the Doctor and Nyssa - in a truly dreadful new outfit - very quickly lose Tegan, despite the great danger she poses.
She's wearing a device which is supposed to cut out all extraneous sound - but it's only got one earpiece.
There's a scene in a hall of mirrors where we see the Mara / Tegan / Lon laughing at its own reflection. But it was clearly stated before that Evil (the Mara) cannot face itself - hence its defeat on Deva Loka.
The Six Faces of Delusion hat sequence is neat - but surely one of the previous Directors should have spotted the solution before now. The audience certainly spots what the sixth face is straight away.
The story is badly structured - probably going back to the issues between Bailey and Saward - as the Doctor spends an entire episode locked in a cell, as though the writer doesn't know what to do with him for a chunk of the story.
Whilst the world-building of Manussa might work on paper, it doesn't translate to the practicalities of an all studio production. The big ceremony has only a couple of dozen people in attendance, despite it being a massive cultural event.
The Manussans would have been planning the event for months, yet it feels very much like people are making things up as they go along.
If you think Nyssa's outfit is bad, just wait until you see Lon's ceremonial gear. It's no wonder this clip is always dragged out for those "before they were famous" clip shows, designed to embarrass people.
Clunes' regular gear as Lon is pure New Romantic, so dates this story badly.
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