Episodes 21–26: OF DEATH
By: Splendid Chapette
Tags: Fiction, TV, Recap, Doctor Who

The journey across Marinus… of Terror!

TARDIS flies far into the future and Susan decided to go paddling (Radio Times, 1964)

Sounds like a delightful romp!

The TARDIS lands on a remote island, surrounded by a sea of acid. They meet Arbitan, keeper of the Conscience of Marinus who forces the travellers to go in search of five keys. (BBC)

The TARDIS lands on a mysterious island with jagged rocks and a large pyramid. The sea is as still as ice. The model shot is wonderful 😍

Sparkling sand and distant mountains — this shot is perfect!

Inside the TARDIS, our travellers look excitedly at the scanner in anticipation. Well, sort of…

Susan and Babs: Exiting new adventures ahead! The Doctor: Hmmm, yes, well… Ian: I‘m still dressed like a Mongolian man, hehe.

The crew go outside to have a look and they have a very different reaction to this alien planet than they did to Skaro. Ian and Babs have begun settling into the travel lifestyle, Susan is loving having some humans to have fun with, and the Doctor has warmed considerably to his new companions.

SUSAN: It is the sea. It’s beautiful.

IAN: Yes, absolutely calm. Not even a ripple.

BARBARA: It isn’t frozen, is it?

DOCTOR: No, impossible in this temperature. Besides, it’s too warm.

They wander around the mysterious beach, and the more weird things they find the more excited the Doctor gets. From the glass beach to the acid sea, there are answers to be found!

“Glass instead of sand, eh? Intriguing, intriguing, my boy.”

So Babs get’s clumsy, Susan loses her shoes to a pool of acid, Ian lends her his boots, the Doctor gives Ian some sass and we all have a chuckle.

“If you’d had your shoes on, my boy, you could have lent her hers. You mustn’t get sloppy in your habits, you know.”

As Susan is off to the TARDIS for some fresh shoes, the Doctor discovers some suspicious glass torpedoes on the beach. The team go investigate and Barbara finds one with something in it. Back on Skaro, she would have screamed for Ian but here she calmly calls out for the Doctor to come investigate. Babs is certainly more confident with all the weird alien things now. She’s more sure of herself and her impressive powers of deduction. She works out that weird skins in the torpedos are protective suits and that acid must have gotten in an melted whoever was inside. Icky!

I love how the Voords are human-like aliens in rubber suits but we never actually see them out of their suits. It’s a fun twist on a men-in-rubber-suit-alien trope before it was even a Doctor Who trope. The first aliens in rubber suits in Doctor Who were actually canonically in suits!

Meanwhile, back at the TARDIS…

Susan finds some odd footprints and calls after her grandfather but doesn’t hear a response. She decides the best course of action is to follow the footprints (seriously??), but ooooop!

peek-a-boo!

I was genuinely surprised when that Voord poked out behind the rock. This is probably the only hiding place in the whole story that isn’t a completely flat wall and it works really well!

Meanwhile, back at the beach…

The team decide to go find Susan but get distracted by the giant pyramid they’ve only just spotted now for some reason. The Doctor’s now determined to visit the pyramid and find answers to his questions and there’s no resistance at all from Ian and Barbara. They’ve been bitten by the curiosity bug since they last saw a mysterious alien city.

They get to the TARDIS and discover Susan’s missing. So off they go to the pyramid, no questions asked!

Once they get to the walls, Ian and Barbara (especially Barbara), geek out over the stone construction. The kids at home learn some little facts about ancient pyramids and Barbara is so happy she pretty much forgets about Susan.

BARBARA: Look at the joins in the blocks, Ian.

IAN: Yes, no mortar. Must have been built with tremendous accuracy.

BARBARA: Yes, the Egyptians did the same thing. So did the Indians of Central and Southern America.

IAN: A precise distribution of weight, that’s the key, isn’t it?

BARBARA: Yes. Marvellous, isn’t it?

DOCTOR: Yes, now before you two get carried away, I think we’d better go and find Susan, hmm?

BARBARA: Yes, you’re quite right.

Learning!

One-by-one they all get pulled into the mysterious building, starting with the shifty alien in a suit with a shifty knife and a shifty stage hand…

flaaaaaaaaail!

… then Susan…

wooooooooop

…the the Doctor…

seeya

Then Ian and Barbara

helloooooooo

Inside, the single-most confusing scene in Doctor Who happens: Susan walks down a corridor, somehow unable to see the Voord scout standing against the wall. Arbitan comes around the corner and she turns around to look at him, stumbles back into the Voord scout who grabs her and they struggle with their backs against the wall. Then suddenly he lets go and falls to the ground with his own knife in his back. HOW????

Do Arbitan or the Conscience have some kind of telekinetic power? If so, why don’t they use it to defend themselves from the Voord attack later? I’ve watched that sequence like 8 times and the Voord is right against the wall when they’re knifed. I have no idea how the knife got there and am I the only one who’s really annoyed by this?? I NEED ANSWERS!

Susan, the Doctor and Barbara are reunited in the dungeon but Ian is still roaming the corridors. Don’t worry, Ian will save them!

BARBARA: So the men from the glass submarines are intruders, like us.

DOCTOR: Yes, with one difference, which is puzzling but revealing. They died, and we’re only prisoners.

BARBARA: Well maybe we’re to be killed, too.

DOCTOR: I shouldn’t worry too much about that. That young schoolmaster friend of yours is very resourceful. Whilst he’s free, our chance of rescue is still good.

The Doctor has faith in Ian! Awwww, yay!

Back in the hallways, Arbitan is testing Ian. A Voord attacks but Ian comes to his rescue, thus proving Ian and his friends as potential allies.

Ian and Voord dance, Voord ends up down an inexplicable pit…

…Or at least it’s cardboard double does.

He takes them all into the control room and gives the tale of the planet Marinus and it’s fascist AI ruler.

I know we’re supposed to sympathise with Arbitan and see the Conscience of Marinus as a thing of good, but my God it’s a horrific idea! That thing controls peoples minds! No one should be happy about this. I’m with the Voord on this one… ….except for the stabbing. I am not for stabbing.

Still, it is quite a lovely design!

There’s one more freedom fighter left, God speed little Voord!

After sending everyone he knows, including his beloved daughter, Arbitan is desperate to get the keys to the Conscience back and implores our heroes for help.

“Through the years all my friends, all my followers, have gone. They have never returned. Last year I sent my daughter. She has not come back. All I have now to comfort me is the distant echo of her voice, the imagined sound of her footsteps. But now your coming’s brought new hope. Oh yes, yes, you must find the keys for me.”

And after this impassioned speech, our heroes are just like, “nah, fuck that” and fuck off back to the TARDIS. Well Arbitan doesn’t take “nah, fuck that” for an answer (is anyone surprised though, he’s a fascist) and puts a force field around the TARDIS.

The Doctor’s real pissed.

So back they go to Arbitan who gives them his instructions and some super fancy travel dials. The Doctor’s real pissed still, but Ian’s all stoic and just wants to get one with things. The Doctor soon changes his tune when he get’s the travel dial and has a little geek moment.

“This is a perfectly acceptable method of travel. Very compact and very neat, sir, if I may say. Yes. … Oh, how exhilarating!”

They head off to the first destination but Barbara, who popped off first, is no where to be seen, and what’s that? Her travel dial is on the ground and it has blood on it!

The Doctor finds a wish come true and Barbara has a nightmare. (Radio Times, 1964)

Thank you Radio Times, that teaser is 10/10.

In the city of Morphoton, the Doctor, Barbara, Ian and Susan are welcomed as honoured guests and given anything they want. But Barbara soon discovers that paradise is an illusion. (BBC)

The Doctor, Ian and Susan arrive only to find Barbara’s travel dial with blood on it. Ian totally freaks out and there’s no stopping him. He’d claw the walls down with his bare hands to rescue Barbara if he needed to. True love 💕

I’m coming Barbara!!

Inside, our travellers are met with Romanesque luxury and a horrible screeching alarm. Then Babs appears, lounging in a fine gown and eating delicious and exotic food. No one knows how she managed to get a tailored dress made, get changed, had her hair done, meet the host and settle into the society in the seconds she had and no one should care because Barbara is queen. The team is reunited and that’s all that matters.

Now everyone cuddle

Our heroes enjoy the luxury but something is niggling Ian. While the others are completely bought buy the display of wealth, Ian remains sceptical. After meeting our creepy, pantsless host that doesn’t blink, Ian is convinced that something is wrong. Once The Doctor and Susan go to bed, Barbara tries to reassure Ian with her feminine wiles.

There is no way they’re not doing it.

So I have a theory, a feminism theory. Bare with me…

The servers in Morphoton are silent, beautiful women while the “host” is a creepy dude and is the only one our team interacts with. The women serve while the man is the representative for the civilisation. Their luxury based in domesticity with fine foods and clothing expressions of their wealth. The whole civilisation of Morphoton is based in illusion while the goal of the leaders is to distract new victims with their desires so that they can be manipulated into servitude.

When our heroes wake up, Ian, Susan and the Doctor are completely sold on the illusion. Ian’s scepticism is assuaged and all they can see is the perceived luxury that comes as a reward for compliance. What’s this got to do with feminism exactly? Surely this could refer to any sort of manipulative government/leadership/relationship etc.

Because Barbara. (Barbara is queen). When Barbara wakes up she sees the truth. It’s through her eyes that we see the world as it truly is: dirty and oppressive. She is silenced, dismissed and called hysterical.

It’s all for your own good, they say.

This scene reminds ms me so much of the arguments feminists face when they speak up. “You should be appreciative you live in [insert wealthy country name here], in [insert developing country name here] women have it waaaaay worse,” people say, like I should be grateful that I only have to deal with surreptitious, everyday sexism and don’t live in fear of genital mutilation or death by stoning. Wow, thank you society for not brutally murdering me for speaking my mind, THANKS. SO GLAD the consequence for speaking out is ONLY DEATH AND RAPE THREATS from random dudes on the internet and not STATE-SANCTIONED DEATH.

Pictured: A representation of me being real fuckin’ grateful with a small stool.

<authors note: extended feminist rant deleted for sanity and off-topic-ness reasons>.

Would Barbara be happier if she had been successfully brainwashed like her shipmates? Well at first, yes. Blissful ignorance is always nicer… at first. The realisation that she had been duped and that her friends couldn’t see what was really happening was frustrating and terrifying. The POV shots of her friends staring blank-faced at her and Altos coming for her were genuinely terrifying.

Pictured: the face of “You’re being really emotional, I’m just trying to have a friendly debate with you. People would take you more seriously if you weren’t so hysterical.”

Luckily, Barbara gets away before Altos can take her to his masters and she manages to hide behind a slightly protruding pillar.

“Well I don’t know, I’ve looked everywhere for her.”

Cold, tired, scared and alone, Barbara faces certain death for seeing the truth of the society. But she doesn’t give up! All hail Queen B.

MORPHO: She has seen the truth and is beyond control. Find her and destroy her.

Sabetha is thrown in the dungeon for failing to set the hypnotising equipment properly which gives Barbara the opportunity to deprogram her brainwashing. I find it interesting that the writers chose to put Barbara in the dungeon on her own accord. They could have easily had her captured and thrown in the dungeon with Sabetha, but they retained some of her agency by having her escape capture and hide there.

Meanwhile…

We get some comedic relief as we see the Doctor’s glorious laboratory:

Absolutely astonishing!

Full props to the cash-strapped production team for pulling off this fantastic scene!

Can’t afford to stock a prop lab? Just make it a make-believe one!

Distracted by such “opulence” Ian and the Doctor pretty much forget all about Barbara. Morpho is using their power to woo our fam into submission and it’s working… almost…

Morpho wasn’t expecting Barbara’s awesomeness

Sabetha had failed the system and was to be punished for it, but Barbara, seeing her potential, wills her to the cause. Barbara eventually breaks the spell and Sabetha begins to remember who she really is: the daughter of Arbitan and holder of the first key.

Altos appears and finds Barbara but it’s too late for him — Sabetha takes him out with a stool. She’s made her choice and she’s free from the shackles of oppression! With one swift and tropey hit, she smashes the wooden stool of the patriarchy!

Barbara escapes to find Ian but he’s changed. He doesn’t remember her. He has been taken by the patriarchy now and he does it’s evil bidding.

Barbara is betrayed by her beloved, brain-washed Ian 💔💔💔

Surprise, the patriarchy is brains with stalks in jars!

BARBARA: It’s disgusting! Ian, can’t you see how you’re being used?

Because the patriarchy doesn’t just harm women, it hurts everybody!

Just like the toxic masculinity pushes men to kill the women they are supposed to love, Morpho pushes Ian to try to kill his beloved Barbara.

And Babs’s response?

Fuck this, fuck everything!

Morpho, (which I guess is one being with multiple brains? or just the one that speaks? who knows) withers and dies and the illusion is broken. The citizens are free and Barbara has her Ian back. ❤❤❤

💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕💕

So, freed from slavery by Barbara, the citizens of Morphoton start a violent rebellion (not pictured) and our heroes are just like…

We better get the fuck out of here…

Started a revolution: check!

Made some new friends: check!

Found the first key: check!

All in a days work. Off to the next adventure!

Susan’s not happy with this development….

Ian and Barbara hear the whispers of death. (Radio Times, 1964)

Ian and Barbara find a temple in the middle of a hostile jungle. Inside is the ailing Darrius, keeper of one of the keys. As Darrius dies he gives Ian a clue to find the key. (BBC)

Susan is first to arrive in the jungle and is greeted with the most disturbing ruckus. By the time the others arrive the noise is gone and it just looks like she’s finally having (another) psychotic break.

I know Susan has a history of loosing it, but Ian and Babs are kind of patronising dicks about it.

Yes I know Susan screams a lot, but it’s not like she screams at nothing. When she freaked out on Skaro a Thal had touched her, when she freaked out in the TARDIS the TARDIS consciousness was messing with her, and when she freaks out here she’s hearing the sonic manifestation of unnatural biological entropy. Her young time-lord brain leaves her susceptible to all kinds of psychological terrors, show some empathy people.

Meanwhile, our new friends Sabetha and Altos are a bit.. extra..

SABETHA: This is a dead place.

IAN: Yes, it’s very quiet, isn’t it.

SABETHA: That isn’t quite what I meant.

So dark, so deep

For God’s sake Altos, put on some pants. Children are watching!

Can I just say, Ian is still rocking the Mongolian look and I love it. 10/10 style points for Ian.

Ian and the creepy twins go off to investigate the wall while Babs stays back and baby-sits Susan.

“Now Barbara, don’t go wandering off” Ian says patronisingly. “F off I do what I want” Barbara says as she wanders off…

BARBARA: I do wish Ian wouldn’t treat us like Dresden china.

SUSAN: I think it’s nice the way he looks after us all the time.

BARBARA: Yes, I know, but just once in a while

SUSAN: You rebel.

So just as Barbara is about to wander off when a vine grabs Susan’s leg and she’s cries out to Barbara, thinking it’s a snake. Of course Barbara dismisses her as hysterical, again, but she bashes it with a rock for good measure…

Because she puts on a tough exterior but doesn’t really believe it herself…

The vine couldn’t move on it’s own… could it?

To take their mind off things, Barbara decides to do the opposite of what Ian says because what’s the worse that could happen?

Come here Barbara, Mr. Huggy wants a cuddle

This is probably not the worse that could happen but it isn’t great.

Ian comes back to find his beloved being whisked away by a creepy, grabby statute and he is absolutely beside himself.

ALTOS: At least she found the micro-key.

IAN: Oh, I don’t care about that now. The only thing that matters is getting Barbara out of there.

So, with two keys in tow, the team decides to move onto the next destination while Ian hangs back to find Babs. Luckily, before they go, Sabetha realises that the second key is a fake and that Ian will have to find the real one as well as Barbara.

It’s all up to you now Ian

Inside, Ian finds a courtyard ripe with tropes — I mean very original and not at all predictable booby traps.

Despite beings so damn obvious, Ian is almost chopped in half by a robo-knight.

Luckily Babs is around to save his butt.

Reunited at last 💖💖💖

Ian and Babs have a cuddle then talk about how there are so many booby traps and they’re going to have to be really careful. To bad they’re both captured within seconds.

Seriously guys??

Spurred by the cries of help from Babs, Ian manages to pry himself out of his stupid cage (and make a delightful series of expressions while he’s at it).

Babs is okay tho coz old man found her..

Hmmm, you don’t seem suspicious…

Ian and Babs make a friend

Apparently so exhausted by being almost strangled by murderous plants, Darrius collapses on a bed and dies. Luckily, not without leaving a cryptic clue and an ominous word of warning about the plants. Just enough information to give our pair something to work with but not so much that the plot raps up to quickly — we still have at least 7 minutes of the episode to go after all.

IAN: You must trust us. Tell us, where is the micro-key?

DARRIUS: Closer. D E 3 O 2.

IAN: What do you mean? I don’t understand.

DARRIUS: Quickly, the darkness! The whispering will start.

(He dies)

So we learn that Darrius set up a series of traps and told Arbitan to warn anyone he sent about them. Arbitan forgot I guess? Not even his own damn daughter knew about them. Seriously Arbitan, get your shit together.

10/10 Set design! Love the eccentric biologist vibe!

We also learn Darrius was an eccentric botanist with a cool lab who messed with the fundamental laws of nature and was rewarded with death!

IAN: Biology seems to have been his field as far as I can make out.

BARBARA: Well, judging by the specimens in here, I’d say he was very successful.

IAN: Yes. Last couple of entries are a bit strange. All about the balance of nature and increased destructive forces. Listen to this. Nature has a fixed tempo of destruction. Water dripping on a stone may take a thousand years to produce any sign of wear.

BARBARA: Well, that’s not very original.

IAN: It is if you could speed up everything. The wear on the stone could happen in one day.

BARBARA: But that’s ridiculous.

IAN: Is it? He didn’t seem to think so. He ends up by saying, the growth accelerator has changed nature’s tempo of destruction entirely.

Could this be a clue as to what is happening here? Does it explain the killer vines and the “tapping, and whirring, all mixed up with a screeching” noise that Susan heard? We shall have to wait and see…

TMW you fart but there’s no one else in the room to blame it on…

Before they know it the vines start attacking and I’m a little confused as to why they only attack at night and how they seemed to have gained sentience when Darrius sped up their biological growth but there’s no time to think about that because look! — a vine has grabbed Barbara’s leg and if they don’t escape soon the plants will get them!!!!

Oh no! How scary!!

Luckily, Ian the science teacher spots a chemical formula on a bottle and realises DE3O2 is a chemical! Of course! Babs finds the jar and low and behold the key is inside.