The Kro'ka tells the Eighth Doctor and Charley that today's experiment will be about faith. On cue, C'rizz collapses under the full trauma of his Mercy Killing of L'da, and realises he can no longer be The Stoic about it. The three are forced to seek refuge in the nearby Multi-Haven: a place where all religions are welcome.
The Multi-Haven presents itself as a stock market for religion, where the population is free to choose whatever Gods they'd like to follow, worship, or be. C'rizz introduces himself as a monk of the Foundation, and the Doctor realises that it's been just a bit rude of him not to ask C'rizz about his personal faith these past weeks. Just what the Foundation is won't be clear for a while, though. In fact, C'rizz curiously enough doesn't seem to have had any real background or Character Development at all yet. This will become important later. The Doctor and Charley try to explain that they're just tourists, but when that just confuses the guard, they pretend to worship C'rizz. (C'rizz is not amused.)
C'rizz soon finds a very welcoming and sweet religion that focuses on chanting and meditation, and although he's not looking to convert, he welcomes their peaceful atmosphere and tries to clear his head again. This backfires when a new cult, the Lucidians, takes over almost the entire Multi-Haven, steals people's REM sleep, brainwashes C'rizz, and almost convinces the Doctor that the TARDIS is dead. The Eldritch Abomination that fuels the Lucidians is defeated in the end, although the TARDIS is still nowhere to be found.
The Doctor notes that, much like last time, the odds of an Eldritch Abomination like this suddenly being born are pretty much zero, and that they're being toyed with.
Tropes:
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Accidental Innuendo: LOADS.The Doctor: I think it's about time we came out of the closet! - Arc Words: A few of the Divergent arc concepts: revolution, reincarnation, breaking free of the cycle, the next life and the beyond.
- Black Comedy: In the style of classic British comedy.
- Body Horror: Tying into Your Mind Makes It Real
- Brainwashed and Crazy: C'rizz tries to strangle Charley while in this state.
- Bread and Circuses: The Doctor alludes that the Multihaven might be this, if it's not a Bazaar of the Bizarre.
- Call-Back: The TARDIS illusion turns into an organ.
- Not the first time Eight has used his Hypno Pendulum to knock out a companion.
- Continuity Nod: Eight uses Venusian Aikido, the Third Doctor's favourite combat style. He remarks that he's become a bit rusty (and that his hand now really hurts.)
- Charley says this is the second time in a short period of time that C'rizz tried to strangle her (The first time being in the Twilight Kingdom.
- C'rizz Mercy Kill of his wife from The Creed of the Kromon bears heavily on this episode nearly to the degree that this could be a Sequel Episode.
- Ditzy Genius: The Doctor.
- Dreaming of Things to Come: The Doctor says it is theorised dreams are this.
- Dream Stealer: The Light.
- God Guise: The Doctor Blatantly Lies about C'rizz being one.
- Gods Need Prayer Badly: The religions are constantly trying to win other zealots over. The Light LITERALLY needs one person to believe in her otherwise she stops existing.
- Go Mad from the Revelation: The Bishop after the encounter with "The Light".
- Holy City: The Multi-Haven for 46 religions... 47 if you count the Tourists.
- Hypno Pendulum: The Doctor uses a pocket watch on C'rizz.
- Immediate Self-Contradiction: After the Lucidian leader's actions cause his right-hand woman to question her loyalty to him and the Doctor convinces her to help him:Jebdal: I'm through with blindly following leaders. I'll do whatever you ask me without question.
The Doctor: Ummmm... good. - The Insomniac: The Light is making people in the Multihaven this.
- Ironic Echo: So much.. lucidity.
- Light Is Not Good
- Mind Probe
- No Endor Holocaust: Subverted, all the bad things in the story linger even after the Monster of the Week is defeated.
- Obstructive Bureaucrat: The Clergy.
- Obstructive Zealot
- Order Versus Chaos: There's a religion based on bad luck.
- Reality Warper: What the Lucidians believe their dreams can do. Their dreaming produces crystals.
- Religion Is Wrong
- Religion of Evil
- Seen It All: The Doctor is asked why he's not impressed with meeting a deity. The Doctor mentions having met so many already that it's become blasé.
- Starfish Language: The Doctor remembers participating in a drinking song once that was in itself an intoxicant.
- Talking the Monster to Death
- Third-Person Person: The Bishop after he's gone mad.
- Your Mind Makes It Real
