The Doctor locks Susan out of the TARDIS
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
The Doctor secretly locks the TARDIS doors, preventing Susan from re-entering, and prepares to leave her behind, effectively choosing her happiness over their shared travels.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Overwhelmed by grief, love, and betrayal. She is caught between two worlds—her past with the Doctor and her future with David—and the Doctor’s actions force her to confront the finality of her choice. Her tears and pleas reveal her deep attachment to both men and her fear of being left behind.
Susan is emotionally torn between her loyalty to the Doctor and her love for David. She discusses her damaged shoe with the Doctor, unaware of his manipulation, and later breaks down in tears as David pleads with her to stay. Her distress over the lost shoe symbolizes her disorientation and the loss of her past life. She begs the Doctor to let her back into the TARDIS, her voice raw with grief and confusion, as she grapples with the impossibility of her choice.
- • To reconcile her love for David with her duty to the Doctor.
- • To find a way to keep both her past and her future, even as the Doctor severs that possibility.
- • The Doctor needs her, and she cannot abandon him in his old age.
- • David offers her the stability and love she has always longed for, but choosing him means losing her grandfather forever.
Feigned resolve masking profound sorrow and loneliness. His actions are driven by a belief that Susan’s future lies on Earth, but the finality of locking the doors reveals his internal struggle—he is both the architect of her abandonment and a victim of his own isolation.
The Doctor feigns concern over Susan’s damaged shoe, using it as a pretext to separate her from the TARDIS. He locks the doors behind her, his actions framed as a selfless sacrifice for her happiness with David. His gruff demeanor masks deep emotional conflict—his loneliness and the pain of severing their bond. He speaks to Susan through the locked doors, his voice firm but laced with unspoken sorrow, as he ensures she cannot re-enter the TARDIS.
- • To ensure Susan stays on Earth with David, believing it is best for her long-term happiness and stability.
- • To protect Susan from the dangers and rootless existence of time travel, even if it means sacrificing their bond.
- • Susan’s emotional well-being and stability are more important than their shared travels.
- • He is too old and set in his ways to adapt to Susan’s need for a settled life, making separation inevitable.
Desperate yet hopeful. He is fully invested in convincing Susan to stay, and his love for her is palpable. His emotional plea is a direct challenge to the Doctor’s authority and Susan’s sense of duty, forcing her to choose between her past and her future.
David passionately pleads with Susan to stay on Earth, offering her a stable life, identity, and love. His confession of love and his vision of their future together contrast sharply with the Doctor’s actions. He is the emotional counterpoint to the Doctor, representing security and roots, while the Doctor embodies the unknown and the transient. His presence forces Susan to confront her deepest desires and the cost of her choice.
- • To convince Susan to stay on Earth and marry him, offering her the stability she has always wanted.
- • To counter the Doctor’s influence and show Susan that her happiness lies with him, not in time travel.
- • Susan’s happiness is tied to a settled life on Earth, not to the uncertainties of time travel.
- • The Doctor’s actions are selfish, and Susan deserves the chance to choose her own path.
Neutral but attentive; she is aware of the emotional weight of the moment but does not insert herself into it.
Barbara briefly interacts with Ian and David, pulling Ian away from his conversation with David to create space for the emotional climax between Susan and David. Her actions are subtle but deliberate, facilitating the moment where Susan must choose between her grandfather and her future with David. She does not directly participate in the core conflict but plays a supporting role in its unfolding.
- • To allow Susan and David the space to resolve their conflict without interruption.
- • To ensure the group’s cohesion is maintained as individuals make personal decisions.
- • Susan’s happiness is tied to her choice, and the group should respect her autonomy.
- • The Doctor’s actions, though painful, may ultimately be for the best.
Thoughtful but detached; he is focused on the practicalities of rebuilding but recognizes the emotional stakes for Susan.
Ian engages in a brief conversation with David about his plans to work the land, but Barbara pulls him away as the emotional confrontation between Susan and David escalates. His presence serves as a minor distraction before the core conflict unfolds. He is aware of the tension but does not intervene, deferring to the Doctor’s and Susan’s needs in the moment.
- • To understand David’s intentions and ensure they align with the group’s goals for Earth’s reconstruction.
- • To avoid disrupting the emotional resolution between Susan and David.
- • Susan’s choice should be respected, and the group should adapt to her decision.
- • The Doctor’s actions, while difficult, are part of a larger plan for Susan’s well-being.
Neutral but empathetic; he recognizes the significance of the moment but remains focused on the broader goals of reconstruction.
Tyler briefly discusses the rebuilding of Earth with the Doctor and Ian before bidding farewell to Susan and David. His departure marks the transition to the emotional climax between Susan, David, and the Doctor. He is a grounding presence, representing the practicalities of post-invasion life, but his role in this moment is largely transitional. His farewell to Susan and David underscores the finality of their choices.
- • To ensure the group’s focus remains on rebuilding Earth, even as individuals make personal decisions.
- • To acknowledge the emotional stakes for Susan and David without interfering.
- • The future of Earth depends on both individual and collective efforts, and personal choices must be respected.
- • The Doctor’s actions, though painful, may ultimately serve a greater purpose.
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
The TARDIS serves as the symbolic and physical boundary between Susan’s past and her future. The Doctor uses it as a tool to enforce his decision, locking the doors behind Susan to strand her on Earth. The TARDIS’s dematerialization marks the irreversible end of their time as traveling companions. Its presence in the scene is laden with subtext—Susan’s lost key symbolizes her severed connection to her old life, while the locked doors represent the Doctor’s final, painful act of separation.
Susan’s damaged shoe becomes a powerful symbolic artifact in this event. It serves as the pretext for the Doctor’s manipulation, allowing him to separate her from the TARDIS. The shoe’s condition—worn out and irreparable—mirrors Susan’s emotional state: disoriented, torn between two worlds, and unable to fully belong to either. Her distress over the lost shoe underscores her sense of loss and the finality of her choice. The shoe is not just an object but a metaphor for her fractured identity and the irreparable rupture between her past and future.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
The Riverside Bridge Underpass serves as the neutral ground where Susan’s emotional reckoning unfolds. Its battered, post-apocalyptic state—strewn with war debris and marked by the scars of Dalek occupation—mirrors the emotional turmoil of the characters. The open, transitional space allows for both private conversations and public farewells, creating a liminal zone where past and future collide. The quiet riverside air, punctuated by the lap of water and faint echoes of ruin, amplifies the weight of Susan’s choice. The location is neither fully destructive nor fully hopeful, reflecting the ambiguity of her position between two worlds.
Organizations Involved
Institutional presence and influence
The Group That Works the Land is indirectly represented through David’s commitment to join them. David’s vision of agricultural reconstruction and his desire to ‘see things grow again’ contrast with the Doctor’s nomadic lifestyle, offering Susan an alternative future rooted in stability and purpose. While the organization itself is not physically present, its ideals—rebuilding, renewal, and community—are embodied in David’s plea. The group’s focus on practical, earthly concerns underscores the Doctor’s alienation from such grounded pursuits, reinforcing the divide between Susan’s two possible paths.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"The Doctor's distraction and feigned concern over Susan's shoe is directly followed by the Doctor locking the TARDIS. The conversation was the Doctor's means of getting Susan away from everyone else to lock the doors."
Doctor manipulates Susan’s distraction to lock the TARDIS"The Doctor's distraction and feigned concern over Susan's shoe is directly followed by the Doctor locking the TARDIS. The conversation was the Doctor's means of getting Susan away from everyone else to lock the doors."
Susan’s Impossible Choice"David confessing his love for Susan and the offer of a stable life directly opposes her grandfather's action of locking her out of the Tardis to give her that stable life."
Doctor manipulates Susan’s distraction to lock the TARDIS"David confessing his love for Susan and the offer of a stable life directly opposes her grandfather's action of locking her out of the Tardis to give her that stable life."
Susan’s Impossible Choice"The Doctor hints at his imminent departure, leaving Susan alone, foreshadowing the difficult decision he's about to make about Susan's future."
Doctor manipulates Susan’s distraction to lock the TARDIS"The Doctor hints at his imminent departure, leaving Susan alone, foreshadowing the difficult decision he's about to make about Susan's future."
Susan’s Impossible Choice"Barbara sensing something amiss happens immediately before David starts professing his love, these beats closely follow each other."
Doctor manipulates Susan’s distraction to lock the TARDIS"Barbara sensing something amiss happens immediately before David starts professing his love, these beats closely follow each other."
Susan’s Impossible Choice"After the complete annihilation of the Daleks, humanity begins to rebuild and is directly stated to follow the previous beat."
Daleks annihilated—Tyler’s disbelief surfaces"The Doctor distracts Susan setting up a thematic parallel between the Doctor's intentional manipulation and David's earnest desire for Susan to embrace a settled life with him, forcing her to choose between the two."
Susan’s Impossible Choice"The Doctor distracts Susan setting up a thematic parallel between the Doctor's intentional manipulation and David's earnest desire for Susan to embrace a settled life with him, forcing her to choose between the two."
Doctor manipulates Susan’s distraction to lock the TARDIS"The Doctor's distraction and feigned concern over Susan's shoe is directly followed by the Doctor locking the TARDIS. The conversation was the Doctor's means of getting Susan away from everyone else to lock the doors."
Doctor manipulates Susan’s distraction to lock the TARDIS"The Doctor's distraction and feigned concern over Susan's shoe is directly followed by the Doctor locking the TARDIS. The conversation was the Doctor's means of getting Susan away from everyone else to lock the doors."
Susan’s Impossible Choice"The Doctor's action of locking Susan out is then followed by his explanation of the reasoning behind it."
The Doctor Releases Susan"David confessing his love for Susan and the offer of a stable life directly opposes her grandfather's action of locking her out of the Tardis to give her that stable life."
Susan’s Impossible Choice"David confessing his love for Susan and the offer of a stable life directly opposes her grandfather's action of locking her out of the Tardis to give her that stable life."
Doctor manipulates Susan’s distraction to lock the TARDIS"The Doctor hints at his imminent departure, leaving Susan alone, foreshadowing the difficult decision he's about to make about Susan's future."
Doctor manipulates Susan’s distraction to lock the TARDIS"The Doctor hints at his imminent departure, leaving Susan alone, foreshadowing the difficult decision he's about to make about Susan's future."
Susan’s Impossible Choice"Barbara sensing something amiss happens immediately before David starts professing his love, these beats closely follow each other."
Susan’s Impossible Choice"Barbara sensing something amiss happens immediately before David starts professing his love, these beats closely follow each other."
Doctor manipulates Susan’s distraction to lock the TARDIS"The Doctor distracts Susan setting up a thematic parallel between the Doctor's intentional manipulation and David's earnest desire for Susan to embrace a settled life with him, forcing her to choose between the two."
Susan’s Impossible Choice"The Doctor distracts Susan setting up a thematic parallel between the Doctor's intentional manipulation and David's earnest desire for Susan to embrace a settled life with him, forcing her to choose between the two."
Doctor manipulates Susan’s distraction to lock the TARDISThemes This Exemplifies
Thematic resonance and meaning
Part of Larger Arcs
Key Dialogue
"DOCTOR: "Oh my dear Susan, you're hurt.""
"SUSAN: "Oh, it's not me, it's this shoe of mine. Look, it's worn right out.""
"DOCTOR: "Oh, dear, dear, dear. I shall have to mend this, shan't I now?""
"SUSAN: "Really, it's not worth it. I've got dozens of other pairs.""
"DOCTOR: "Yes. Hmm.""
"DOCTOR: "I, er, I think I must check up on the ship, if you don't mind.""
"SUSAN: "Won't be long.""
"DOCTOR: "Listen, Susan, please. I've double-locked the doors. You can't get in. Now move back, child, where I can see you.""
"DAVID: "Please stay. Please stay here with me.""
"SUSAN: "I can't stay, David. I don't belong to this time.""
"DAVID: "But I love you, Susan, and I want you to marry me.""
"SUSAN: "Oh, don't make me choose between you and him, please!""
"DAVID: "I'm giving you a place, a time, an identity.""
"SUSAN: "No, David! I've lost my shoe. Oh David, I do love you! I do, I do, I do!""