History Recap / DoctorWhoS32E11TheGodComplex

'''Original air date:''' September 17, 2011

'''Production code:''' 2.11

Written by Toby Whithouse.

* EasilyConqueredWorld: Gibbis's species is apparently prepared to be conquered often. Their national anthem is actually titled "Hail to [Insert-Name-Here]".

** The opening sequence shows a woman, Lucy Hayward, opening door after door in the hotel, and finding various nightmares, including a creepy clown. She's then drawn to one particular door -- her door -- and opens it to reveal… an empty room. Then the gorilla comes out of the bathroom.

* WellDoneDaughterGuy: Rita's greatest fear is her father's rejection of her, manifesting as [[TheBGrade disappointment in a "B" in Maths]].

As they watch, the hotel starts to dissolve around them, revealing it to be a digital simulation within a large ship. The Doctor talks to the beast, a relative of the Nimon, in its own language. The beast tells him that for such an ancient creature, who caused so much destruction and has the blood of the innocent on his conscience, death would be a mercy. The Doctor agrees. The beast curtly tells him that it wasn't talking about itself; it meant the Doctor.

* WellDoneDaughterGal: Rita's greatest fear is her father's rejection of her, manifesting as [[TheBGrade disappointment in a "B" in Maths]].

JustForFun/TheOneWith the hotel from Hell.

->''Bring me death! Bring me glory! My master, my lord, I'm here! Bring me death!''

The one with the hotel from Hell.

* YourWorstNightmare: The maze brings people's fears into physical form. They include [[MonsterClown clowns]], a gang of [[AlphaBitch Alpha Bitches]], [[DemonicDummy ventriloquist's dummies]], [[KillerGorilla gorillas]], P.E. teachers, paternal rejection and Weeping Angels. Amy's is being abandoned by the Doctor, and while we don't see the Doctor's fear (see TheUnreveal above), he's previously noted that ''he'' is [[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E4TheGirlInTheFireplace what monsters have nightmares about]] -- meaning it's ''bad''. Oh, and the Cloister Bell is chiming.

* IronicHell: This is Rita's theory on what the hotel is. She points out it's hardly more unlikely than Howie's UsefulNotes/ConspiracyTheory or the Doctor blaming aliens.

* AdmiringTheAbomination: The Doctor, [[NightmareFetishist predictably enough]]. He ''has'' to sneak a glimpse of the Minotaur through a keyhole, and is transfixed by the sight.

* AlasPoorVillain: The Minotaur feeds because it must, and wishes it didn't. The Doctor pities it as it dies, and it pities the Doctor. [[WhoWantsToLiveForever Because he won't die.]]

* AntiVillain: The Minotaur [[TragicVillain doesn't want to kill anyone]], it's compelled to.

** It's downplayed by Rita, who as the one character whose faith is in an actual religion is the one who greets her death with the most courage and dignity, while the others turned into gibbering fools.

* BritsLoveTea: Another sign of Rita's intelligence and potential as a Companion is that she knows where to find the tea in a hotel.

'''Rory:''' No, it's amazing you've come up with a theory even more insane than what's ''actually happening''.

* CreatorCameo: Producer Marcus Wilson is on the wall as one of the past victims. He died due to fear of [[PlaceWorseThanDeath Plymouth]]. When asked why in an interview, Wilson replied [[AbsurdPhobia “I have no idea”]].

* DirtyCoward: Gibbis comes from a [[PlanetOfHats race of these]]. Whenever they meet someone they surrender to avoid trouble. At first, it's PlayedForLaughs; then it directly gets somebody killed.

* EmotionEater: The obvious idea that the Minotaur feeds on fear is disproven. It presents its victims' fear which causes them to use faith to strengthen themselves, at which point the Minotaur converts that to faith in itself, and drains it from the victim.

* FreakOut: After Rita's death, the Doctor destroys the bar.
* FreudianSlip: Rory refers to his time in the TARDIS in the past tense. The Doctor notices.

** Rita accuses the Doctor of having a "[[TitleDrop God Complex]]".

* HateSink: Gibbis. After the initial humor of his planet of origin, he let go of Howard to be eaten by the Minotaur. And they were so close to finding out who he was. Many people could have been spared if not for Gibbis.
* HellHotel: It's actually a prison, but one of the prisoners does believe it to be Hell, at first.

* HenpeckedHusband: Rory's first response after getting unexpectedly knocked down: "[[DoubleStandardAbuseFemaleOnMale Something hit me... was it Amy?]]" He mentions once being [[ShoeSlap hit by a shoe]] when he spoke ill of the Doctor in front of her. A shoe she had to bend down and unlace ''first!'' It's averted at the end of the episode. Rory goes over a number of reasons why Amy won't want to accept the Doctor's gift of the CoolCar... then decides he can live with it. He ''really'' wants the car.

** The FairCop in the cold open may be hoping for this. Her notes[=/=]narration state that they're being dictated in between periods of worship, that when she's not dictating "Praise him", and variants, she's lucid. Unfortunately, she absolutely can't die free. She dies a slave.

** Whoever imprisoned that poor Minotaur in the first place, not only forcing it to continue [[WhoWantsToLiveForever existing for all eternity when all it really wants to do is die]], but also scooping up who-knows-how-many innocent victims to be fed to it simply because they have any kind of faith.

* LovableCoward: Gibbs is not lovable at all. He's annoying.

* MeaningfulRename: After calling him "Rory Pond", and calling the couple "The Ponds", the Doctor calls her "Amy Williams". He's finally letting go of the little girl he accidentally abandoned and truly wants her to move on with her life. It is significant that while talking to her during that scene he (and she?) sees her as her 7-year-old self.

** The opening sequence shows a woman, Lucy Hayward, opening door after door in the hotel, and finding various nightmares, including a creepy clown. She's then drawn to one particular door -- her door -- and opens it to reveal… an empty room. ''Then'' the gorilla comes out of the bathroom.
** When the Doctor finds his room: we hear the Cloister Bell ringing, and can assume that a person is in there, but that's all. The Doctor remarks "Of course, who else would it be?" Knowing the Doctor, whatever is on the other side may be too much for humans to comprehend. In the 2013 Christmas special, we find out that it's the cracks in time from the fifth series.
* NotThatKindOfDoctor: Invoked by Rita, when wondering what kind of "Doctor" he is. The answer is ''[[OmnidisciplinaryScientist both]]''.
-->'''Rita:''' You are a ''medical'' doctor, aren't you? You don't have a degree in... ''cheese'' making or something?

* OneSteveLimit: In the script read-through (shown on ''Series/DoctorWhoConfidential'') the policewoman in the opening sequence was named Lucy Miller. By the time of the episode, she had been renamed Lucy Hayward, presumably to avoid confusion with [[Characters/BigFinishDoctorWho Lucie Miller]].

* PsychologicalTormentZone: First captives are baffled by their sudden appearance in the hotel. Then they are scared out of their shit. Then whatever they believe in is used to brainwash them.

* TrailersAlwaysLie: The trailers for the episode made it seem like the Weeping Angels had a prominent role for the episode. Turns out they only get a cameo, and ''they aren't even real Angels''.

** It is never revealed if the room with the Weeping Angels was actually Gibbis' room.

* WellDoneDaughterGal: Rita's greatest fear is her father's rejection of her, manifesting as [[TheBGrade disappointment in a "B" in maths]].

* WhatDoTheyFearEpisode: Lots of fears in this episode. A Sontaran fears defeat, Rita fears disapointing her father, Howie has social anxiety, someone fears the Weeping Angels, etc.[[note]]Daleks, getting their picture taken, Plymouth, gym class, clowns...[[/note]]

* WhatTheHellHero: Done to the Doctor by ''himself'' for failing to save everyone and putting Amy and Rory in danger in the first place. The Doctor doesn't need the Dream Lord to tell him that he's a monster; he can do that himself.
* TheWorfEffect: An offscreen version: two of the hotel's previous victims seen in the photographs were a Sontaran and a Judoon.
* YourWorstNightmare: The maze brings people's fears into physical form. They include [[MonsterClown clowns]], a gang of [[AlphaBitch Alpha Bitches]], [[DemonicDummy ventriloquist's dummies]], [[KillerGorilla gorillas]], P.E. teachers, paternal rejection and ''Weeping Angels''. Amy's is being abandoned by the Doctor, and while we don't see the Doctor's fear (see TheUnreveal above), he's previously noted that ''he'' is [[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E4TheGirlInTheFireplace what monsters have nightmares about]] -- meaning it's ''bad''. Oh, and the Cloister Bell is chiming.

* AdultFear: A bit of this; alongside the {{Demonic Dumm|y}}ies and MonsterClown, the rooms also show such fears as social anxiety and disappointing your parents.

* SpotOfTea: Another sign of Rita's intelligence and potential as a Companion is that she knows where to find the tea in a hotel.

* ALoadOfBull: The Minotaur-like monster running about.

* CreatorCameo: One of the producers of the show is on the wall as one of the past victims.

* AndIMustScream: Whoever put the Minotaur in the ship has a ''lot'' to answer for, ''because they put the Minotaur there''. What they did to all the victims is '''also''' a crime.

* NotSoDifferent: The Minotaur and the Doctor are both ancient creatures soaked in the blood of the innocent. The difference is that the former wants to die.

* ShadowArchetype: The Minotaur and the Doctor are played as [[NotSoDifferent being very similar]]: travelling the universe in a vessel with strange dimensions, and which is stuck in its current guise, drawing people to themselves at random and compelling those people to have faith in them. Both ultimately destroy those trapped with them, not because they want to but out of a sort of compulsion. Many of the things the Minotaur says (voiced by the Doctor) can apply to either of them.

* TitleDrop: "That's quite a god complex you have there." [[NotSoDifferent Both the Doctor and the Minotaur have a god complex]]: the Minotaur requires worship to eat, and the Doctor has a need to save everyone and be idolized by his companions.

** The random clown room isn't explained, either.

*** The random clown room isn't explained, either.

* SoundtrackDissonance: The cheesy muzak being piped into the hotel corridors does not fit psychological horror.