S5E6
Grimly Hopeful
Written by Henry Lincoln & Mervyn Haisman
View Graph

The Abominable Snowmen Part 2

The Doctor, Jamie, and Victoria arrive at a Tibetan monastery besieged by Yeti, uncovering a sinister plot involving a lost relic and an ancient force manipulating the creatures for its own mysterious purposes, threatening the monks and the world.

The Doctor, along with his companions Jamie and Victoria, arrive at a familiar Tibetan monastery only to find it under siege by the fearsome Yeti. The monks are divided, with Khrisong, a strong-willed but rash leader, convinced that the Doctor and a previous visitor, Travers, are somehow responsible for turning the once-peaceful Yeti into aggressive monsters. The Doctor is initially imprisoned, accused of inciting the Yeti, but is later released when Thomni, a loyal monk, returns a sacred bell (the Ghanta) he found in the Doctor's possession, fulfilling a prophecy and proving his initial innocence.

Meanwhile, Travers, an English explorer obsessed with the Yeti, seeks to find their cave. Jamie and Victoria, after a close encounter with a Yeti, reluctantly agree to lead him there in exchange for safe passage to the monastery. Travers's motivations are unclear, but it becomes apparent that he is somehow connected to the escalating Yeti attacks.

As tensions rise within the monastery, the Doctor attempts to uncover the truth behind the Yeti's sudden aggression. He discovers strange, glowing metal spheres, one of which Jamie took from the Yeti cave. These spheres seem to be linked to the creatures' increased power and aggression. The spheres also hold some sway over the Great Intelligence. While the Doctor investigates, the monks debate how to handle the crisis, exacerbated by their missing Abbot, Songsten. The Abbot is being controlled by Padmasambhava. Songsten declares the recently returned Ghanta will protect them.

Khrisong, impatient and distrustful, decides to use the Doctor as bait, tying him to the monastery gate in the hopes of luring the Yeti. Jamie and Victoria's arrival complicates matters, but they are eventually released when Thomni relays a message from the Abbot ordering the Doctor's freedom. The group witnesses the Yeti attacking, confirming the immediate threat.

Jamie proposes a plan to capture a Yeti, successfully trapping one, but it dies during the attempt. However, the other Yeti retreat, suggesting a controlling influence rather than a natural invasion. It becomes clear that someone, or something, is manipulating the Yeti for their own purposes, but the means and motivation remain unclear. The Doctor and his companions find themselves caught in the middle of a conflict between the monks, the Yeti, and a hidden force, all while trying to protect the monastery and uncover the truth behind the escalating crisis. The episode ends with a shot of the globe rolling, hinting the Great Intelligence is the puppet master.


Events in This Episode

The narrative beats that drive the story

22
Act 1

The episode opens with immediate, visceral danger as Jamie and Victoria barely escape a Yeti attack within a dark cave. They collapse a tunnel, temporarily halting the creature, but not before discovering mysterious, glowing metal spheres scattered throughout the cavern. Jamie, ever resourceful, pockets one of these spheres before they flee, only for the "dead" Yeti to unnervingly begin reviving, forcing their frantic escape. Simultaneously, the Doctor finds himself unjustly imprisoned by Khrisong, a strong-willed but rash monk who suspects him of inciting the Yeti's aggression. While confined, the Doctor engages Thomni, a loyal monk, in conversation, learning about the monastery's dire siege and revealing his own possession of the sacred Ghanta, a bell lost for centuries and central to a local prophecy. Khrisong, however, remains stubbornly distrustful, refusing to listen to the Doctor's explanations. Driven by impatience and a desire for decisive action, Khrisong rashly decides to use the Doctor as live bait, ordering him tied to the monastery gate in a desperate attempt to lure and confront the Yeti. This act forcefully establishes the immediate physical threat posed by the Yeti, the Doctor's precarious and unjust confinement, the burgeoning significance of the Ghanta as a plot device, and the deep-seated tension and distrust brewing within the monastery's leadership.

Act 2

Following the Doctor's forced removal, Thomni, guided by the Doctor's earlier hint, returns to the cell and retrieves the Ghanta from beneath the straw mattress. He then reverently presents the sacred bell to Abbot Songsten, who is revealed to be under the subtle, unseen influence of Padmasambhava, an entity whose voice emanates from the inner sanctum. This mysterious force demonstrates an acute awareness of the Doctor's return and expresses concern about his potential interference with "The Great Plan." Meanwhile, Jamie and Victoria, still desperately fleeing the relentless Yeti on the mountainside, encounter the English explorer Travers. Despite initial suspicion, Jamie reveals their discovery of the Yeti cave. Travers, obsessed with finding the creatures, strikes a deal: he will guide them to the monastery in exchange for being shown the cave, inadvertently bringing himself and the companions directly into the escalating conflict. As Yeti appear menacingly at the monastery gates, threatening the Doctor tied there, Thomni arrives, relaying the Abbot's unexpected order for the Doctor's immediate release, citing the Ghanta's return. This intervention also secures Jamie and Victoria's freedom from Khrisong's brief custody. Reunited, the Doctor begins to investigate the glowing spheres and, observing the Yeti's renewed presence and, driven by scientific curiosity, proposes a bold plan to capture one for examination, signaling a shift from passive defense to proactive engagement with the unknown threat.

Act 3

With the Doctor's strategic encouragement, Jamie, ever the practical one, devises a clever plan to capture a Yeti, enlisting the monks' help to construct a trap at the monastery gate using ropes and a net. As a single Yeti cautiously approaches the trap, the other creatures remain eerily stationary on the mountainside, a detail that strongly reinforces the idea of a controlled, rather than natural or chaotic, invasion. Jamie and the monks successfully ensnare the creature, beating it with sticks to subdue it. However, the captured Yeti quickly goes limp and dies, its sudden demise revealing its artificial or manipulated nature, suggesting it is not a living organism in the traditional sense. Following this unexpected outcome, the remaining Yeti on the mountain inexplicably retreat, confirming that an unseen intelligence directs their actions and that their movements are not spontaneous. The episode concludes with a subtle but profoundly significant shot of a silver globe, identical to the one Jamie found in the cave, rolling away across the courtyard floor. This visual cue serves as a clear, chilling indication that the Great Intelligence is the unseen puppet master behind the Yeti attacks, leaving the Doctor and his companions to grapple with the profound implications of this revelation and the true, non-organic nature of their adversary.