Having tracked Kurt Schalk from Garundel’s auction back to Earth, the Doctor, Klein and Will track him to the planet Azimuth, where the Doctor and Ace once fought off a Dalek invasion. Unfortunately, the Dalek invasion has since become taboo among the people of this planet in order to prevent people suffering the consequences of their actions during the invasion… and behind the scenes lurks Davros, seeking the remnants of a particular old man of his.
Tropes
- Becoming the Mask: Schalk was initially so convinced that he is Hinterberger that he can’t ‘admit’ the truth even while being tortured by the Daleks.
- Call-Back:
- Will mentions the files he’s seen on the Dalek presence on Shoreditch and Alderly House.
- Falkus attempts to interrogate the Doctor about his own victories so that he can undo them, explicitly referencing how Davros interrogated the Doctor about future Dalek defeats in their first meeting. During this interrogation, the Doctor mentions such events as him saving two mathematics prodigies when they were taken to Jaconda, his trip to the Sense-Sphere, and the supposedly routine disappearances on Terra Alpha.
- Cassandra Truth: Will can’t convince the Daleks and Schalk that he genuinely doesn’t know where Klein has gone in the TARDIS.
- Cliffhanger: The final episode ends with the Doctor, Klein and Will on the upper level of a Russian prison, with at least half the red army and a pack of hungry wolfhounds after them and the TARDIS buried under rubble several kilometres away.
- Demoted to Extra: As always, Davros believes that he’s the one in charge of the Daleks.
- Didn't Think This Through: Will releases the Shepherd, but didn’t consider what he’d do to trap the entity again.
- Dragon-in-Chief: Falkus has pretended to serve Schalk when in reality he has just feigned loyalty so that Schalk will complete the Persuasion Machine.
- Explain, Explain... Oh, Crap!: The Doctor and Will track the alien presence on Minos, and only realise too late that it’s gone into the tavern that Klein just went inside.
- Fate Worse than Death: Davros is banished to the Wraiths of Lemuria when the Doctor reprograms the Dalek time capsule he was using to escape, to be tormented by them for the Daleks’ actions.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: The Shepherd is killed by the Persuasion Machine he arranged to be created.
- Hypnotic Eyes: Davros has configured his electronic eye to have a hypnotic effect.
- Ignorant of Their Own Ignorance: Will and the Azimuth resistance are unaware that ‘Father’ is Davros.
- Let's You and Him Fight: Will released the Shepherd to try and save the Doctor from the Daleks and Davros.
- Luke, I Am Your Father: Schalk is Klein’s biological father.
- Misplaced Retribution: After the Wraiths of Lemuria spent centuries compiling a database of criminals that was only completed after everyone in it was dead, they have taken to punishing the descendants of those criminals even if those descendants have done nothing.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Will tells Davros all about the Persuasion Machine.
- Noodle Incident: The Seventh Doctor and Ace saved Azimuth from the Daleks on some past visit.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: The Daleks are so determined to get the persuasion machine that they agree to follow Schalk as their superior so that he will build it for them.
- Shout-Out: Klein asks “Aren’t you a little short for stormtroopers?” when the disguised Doctor and Will arrive to rescue her.
- Spot the Impostor: The Doctor realizes that the Kurt Schalk in prison is a clone because the eye colour is wrong.
- Title Drop: The clone of Kurt Schalk proclaims during his insane rant that “There are Daleks among us!”
- Tomato in the Mirror: Falkus is a clone of Davros that has gained his own mind.
- Undying Loyalty: Schalk proudly proclaims his loyalty to the Fuhrer when telling the Daleks he will never share his designs with them.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: The natives of Azimuth have attempted to move past the Dalek conquest of their planet by pretending that the invasion never happened so they don’t have to acknowledge who among them were explicit traitors as opposed to unwilling slaves.
- Wham Line: The Doctor reveals that he was drawn into the investigation for Schalk while tracking Klein’s history rather than just hearing it by chance.
