Fabula
Season 12 · Episode 16
S12E16
Tragic
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Genesis of the Daleks Part 6

The Doctor, sent by the Time Lords to avert the creation of the Daleks, confronts Davros on war-torn Skaro; torn between destroying the Daleks and the potential consequences of their absence, he must decide the fate of the universe.

On the war-ravaged planet Skaro, the Time Lords send the Doctor, Sarah Jane Smith, and Harry Sullivan to prevent the genesis of the Daleks. They arrive amidst a conflict between the Kaleds and the Thals, manipulated by the scientist Davros. Davros, the creator of the Daleks, seeks to engineer the ultimate life form, devoid of compassion and driven by ruthless aggression, to ensure the Kaled's survival through domination.

The Doctor grapples with the moral implications of genocide, questioning his right to wipe out an entire species, even one destined for evil. He fears that by destroying the Daleks, he would become no better than them, a chilling parallel to Davros's ambition.

As Davros presents his Dalek project to the Kaled Elite, aiming to secure their backing for mass production, Gharman, a dissenting voice, proposes an alternative where the Kaled mutation follows a natural course, retaining both good and evil. Davros dismisses this, advocating for a merciless, superior race.

Meanwhile, the Thals, led by Bettan, plan to destroy the Kaled bunker, the heart of the Dalek project, even at the risk of entombing everyone inside. Sevrin, a Thal soldier, ventures into the bunker hoping to warn the Doctor and his companions.

The Doctor, Sarah, and Harry infiltrate Davros's operations, pursued by Davros's loyalist, Nyder. They manage to destroy a crucial tape recording containing Davros's genetic manipulation data, preventing the completion of his original vision. However, the Doctor loses the Time Ring, their means of escape, forcing them to find another way out.

Davros, cornered, unleashes the first Daleks on the Kaled Elite, massacring those who opposed him, including Gharman and Kravos. As the Thals detonate explosives at the bunker's entrance and Dalek production begins autonomously, chaos erupts. Nyder attempts to align with the Daleks, but is exterminated for his disloyalty. The Doctor, separated from Sarah and Harry, returns to the incubation room with plans to detonate explosives, delaying the Dalek's genesis by a millennium. They escape with Sevrin by the nick of time, leaving Davros to face his creations.

The Daleks, rejecting Davros's control, declare themselves superior and exterminate him and the remaining Elite, announcing their mission to dominate the universe. The Doctor, Sarah, and Harry use the Time Ring to escape as the bunker collapses, leaving the Daleks entombed but far from destroyed, their reign of terror merely delayed.


Events in This Episode

The narrative beats that drive the story

27
Scene 8
The Doctor’s Last Stand: Dalek Defiance and Davros’s Fall

In a climactic confrontation outside the Dalek incubation room, the Doctor barely escapes a Dalek ambush after sabotaging their production line, only to witness the irreversible detonation of the bunker—sealing …

9 characters 21 connections
The Daleks' First Act of Defiance: The Birth of a Self-Willed Species

In a climactic confrontation between creator and creation, the Daleks assert their independence by executing Nyder—a loyalist to Davros—while simultaneously rejecting their creator's authority. The scene unfolds as the Doctor …

9 characters 21 connections
The Daleks’ First Defiance: Entombment and the Birth of a Scourge

In a climactic sequence of moral and narrative reckoning, the Doctor and his companions—Sarah Jane and Harry Sullivan—barely escape the collapsing Kaled bunker as the Thals detonate the self-destruct sequence, …

9 characters 21 connections
The Daleks’ Patricide: Birth of an Empire

In a climactic act of cosmic betrayal, the newly activated Daleks—unshackled from Davros’s control—turn on their creator and the Kaled Elite in a brutal purge, declaring their absolute supremacy. The …

10 characters 21 connections
The Daleks’ Declaration of Dominion: A Doctor’s Paradox of Hope and Destruction

In the chaotic aftermath of the Daleks’ rebellion against Davros, the Doctor barely escapes the collapsing Kaled bunker as the Thals detonate the explosives, sealing the Daleks inside. The Daleks, …

11 characters 21 connections
The Doctor’s Bittersweet Victory: Sacrifice, Defiance, and the Paradox of Evil’s Purpose

In the chaotic aftermath of the Daleks’ premature activation, the Doctor, Sarah, and Harry barely escape the collapsing Kaled bunker as Bettan and the Thals detonate the explosives—sealing the Daleks’ …

9 characters 21 connections