Doctor Who: The Expedition

Spoilers for the episode

Story:

They’re still stuck on the planet and nobody can really decide on anything. Everyone seems to think Ian is the one to convince the Thalls to fight. While the Daleks discover they need radiation to survive and that’s just too bad for everyone that doesn’t.

Thoughts:

The Daleks have duplicated the radiation medicine and they’re going to distribute it amongst themselves. They have a laserscope that seems to let them look at images from anywhere and they conclude that the Doctor and his companions are siding with the Thalls to attack them.

Meanwhile Susan’s decided to climb a tree and Ian’s given up on convincing the Thalls to help them, he doesn’t say what his methods were, but he’s tried everything he knows. Been in this situation a lot have you Ian.

He doesn’t blame them though because they’d be risking their lives for strangers and not getting anything out of it. Barbara’s not impressed by this. They’re trapped on the planet and the Daleks will find a way out of the city and come and kill them.

The Doctor can’t make a new fluid link and he’s discovered they really do need more Mercury. Well at least something good came out of this situation.

Ian forgives him because what’s happened has happened. Barbara tells them to stop wasting time and do something. It never crosses her mind that she might be able to do something but considering the Thalls are as sexist as humans are they probably won’t listen to her.

The Doctor has decided to use the Thalls because they’re a ready made army and they can move quicker than the Daleks. Except they have no guns and don’t like violence. I think he’s being a bit optimistic and it looks like the Daleks were right to be worried.

He then says this is no time for morals when Ian gets stubborn and refuses to allow the Thalls to fight for them.

I don’t know what Ian thinks the Doctor’s going to do to convince them because at the moment there’s no danger in them helping. Ian doesn’t want to have the Thall’s deaths on his conscience and Barbara says what about their deaths. They have this argument quite loudly in front of Thalls but they don’t seem to notice.

Susan makes the best point in that the Thalls should get something out of helping them. Like protection from the Daleks.

Ian decides to change his mind again and decides to pick a fight with Alladon to see if they can fight or to show them they can fight (I’m not sure which because I think it’s obvious they can fight).

He says he’s going to trade their history records for the fluid link unless one of them stops him. Alladon doesn’t think he’ll do it but doesn’t make a move to stop him.

So he decides to grab a woman (who I think is Alladon’s love interest) and is going to swap her for the fluid link. It takes a while but Alladon eventually punches him knocking Ian over. Alladon then looks devastated at what he’s done and like he’s only just understood what Ian was trying to do.

Meanwhile the Daleks are reacting badly to the drug and discover they’ve evolved to need radiation so tough luck for those that don’t because they’re going to radiate the planet with another neutron bomb.

They test this theory on the other dying Daleks by giving them more radiation and seeing if they survive. They do and so the plan goes ahead but first they’ve got to take a stock count of all their bombs and radiation supplies.

Back in the jungle and Alladon’s having an existential crisis. To fight and live or to die without fighting. It’s like it’s just occurred to him what his moral stance on violence means. The female Thall says she would have hated him if he’d done nothing to save her. It’s never brought up that she could have done violence to save herself.

Barbara is being told about the terrifying swamp full of mutated creatures. It’s the perfect defense for the back of the city. I wonder where they’re going to have to go next.

The writers really have something against mutation even though that’s what drives evolution. And I don’t think they understand radiation.

Ian’s decided to go to the city. Alladon says he can’t let them die and do nothing and then they will die when the Daleks find a way out of the city to attack them.

They decide to go through the swamp because the Daleks don’t defend it while another group distracts them at the front of the city.

They get to the swamp and some time has passed. It’s lucky the Daleks are doing a stock take or the planet would be nuked by now.

Two Thalls decide this is a good time to discuss what happened last time they were in the swamp when a Thall got dragged under by a creature.

Ian catches up to them and we get a wonderfully patronising sexist conversation. The Thall is surprised Ian let Barbara come along but Ian says he’d be more surprised if he could have stopped her. As if you get to decide where she goes. Her life is on the line too she gets to be part of saving herself.

Barbara wants to stop for a rest being the weak woman that she is but they’ve got a deadline to meet the Doctor in two days.

They make camp, Ian sees a creature in the water and a Thall tells them to sleep but immediately starts monologuing which is counterproductive to the previous statement.

The next day they discuss what they’re going to do. The Daleks get their water from the lake so there must be a way through. While Barbara is there making everyone drinks.

Then a Thall goes to fill the water bags and gets dragged under. I don’t care which one he was and I don’t know if he had a name.

This should have been called planning the expedition. It’s only the last part where they’re trekking through the jungle and it’s like one scene. Most of the expedition is implied.

The first part is a lot of discussing pacifism again which I wouldn’t be against if it didn’t feel like ideas keep getting repeated. Ian keeps flip flopping on his position and the Thalls don’t know what they think.

It’s a very doctor light episode. You think he’s going to do something when he says the Thalls are a ready made army and he can lead them but that goes nowhere. It’s Ian who does all the work of convincing them.

Susan gets a good moment of making it clear why they shouldn’t just be using the Thalls and Barbara pushes everything along like she’s finally found her feet only for them to act like she’s got no right to fight for her own life. I have a feeling she’s going to be more of a hindrance than a help. They sent her along to damsel her.

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