S17E4
Cynical with moments of dark irony
Written by Terry Nation
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Destiny of the Daleks Part 4

The Doctor and Romana must stop Davros and the Daleks from gaining the upper hand in their war against the Movellans, while also preventing the destruction of the galaxy.

In this episode, the Doctor and Romana find themselves caught in the middle of a war between the Daleks and the Movellans, two robotic species. The Daleks, led by Davros, seek to gain the upper hand by reprogramming the Movellan battle computers. Meanwhile, the Movellans plan to use the Doctor to break the logical impasse between their computers and the Daleks'. As the Doctor navigates this complex web, he must also prevent the destruction of the galaxy. The episode culminates in a thrilling showdown between the Doctor and Davros, with the fate of the galaxy hanging in the balance. The Doctor and Romana ultimately outsmart the Daleks and Movellans, and Davros is frozen in a cryogenic freezer to face trial for his crimes.


Events in This Episode

The narrative beats that drive the story

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Act 1

The Movellans capture the Doctor and Romana, bringing them aboard their spacecraft. Sharrel and Agella reveal their robotic nature, explaining their centuries-long logical stalemate with the Daleks. They intend to use the Doctor's unique intellect to reprogram their battle computers, hoping to gain an advantage and conquer the galaxy. Simultaneously, Davros, having returned to Skaro, reasserts his authority over the Daleks, dismissing the Supreme Dalek's title. He demands the Dalek computer sphere, intending to reprogram their battle computers to break the same logical impasse from the Dalek perspective. The Doctor, demonstrating the futility of pure logic with a game of 'paper, scissors, stone,' highlights the inherent flaw in both robotic factions' strategies. The Movellans disclose their plan to detonate the Nova device, destroying Davros once the Doctor has served his purpose. Unbeknownst to the Movellans, Tyssan and the escaped prisoners, observing from the scrub, disable Movellan Lan and seize control of the Nova device, setting the stage for a critical shift in alliances and control. This act establishes the core conflict: two equally matched robotic forces seeking an external, organic mind to break their logical deadlock, with the Doctor and Davros positioned as the unwilling pawns in a galactic chess match. The Nova device, initially a Movellan weapon, becomes a wild card, its control now resting with the humanoids.

Act 2

As the Movellan spacecraft prepares for launch, Dalek scanners detect the Doctor and Romana aboard. Davros, fearing the Doctor will counteract his plans, orders the immediate destruction of the Movellan ship. Lacking sufficient firepower, Davros equips several Daleks with powerful explosives, turning them into suicide bombers tasked with ramming the Movellan vessel. Meanwhile, the Doctor and Romana attempt to escape the Movellan ship, but their efforts are thwarted. Agella, dispatched to check on Lan, falls victim to the prisoners' plan, her control unit also seized. With Lan and Agella now under their influence, Tyssan and the former prisoners successfully infiltrate and take control of the Movellan spacecraft, turning the tables on their robotic captors. Realizing Davros's imminent threat and the danger of the suicide Daleks, the Doctor makes a unilateral decision to confront Davros directly, believing he must prevent Davros from completing his reprogramming and detonating the explosives. He leaves Romana and Tyssan to secure the Movellan ship and prepare for escape. The Doctor navigates the ruins, evading the advancing suicide Daleks, and infiltrates Davros's control room, setting the stage for a direct, high-stakes confrontation. This act builds tension through the converging threats of Davros's explosive plan and the Movellans' original Nova device, now controlled by the prisoners, while the Doctor isolates himself to face the primary antagonist.

Act 3

The climax unfolds as the suicide Daleks advance on the Movellan spacecraft, their detonation imminent. Simultaneously, Commander Sharrel, having evaded capture, attempts to reach the Nova device to manually detonate it, ensuring Davros's destruction. Romana intervenes, engaging Sharrel in a struggle, ultimately disarming him and securing the device, preventing a premature, uncontrolled explosion. In Davros's control room, the Doctor, cornered by a Dalek guard, employs a clever ruse, tossing his hat onto the Dalek's optical sensor, causing it to malfunction and fire wildly. Seizing the opportunity, the Doctor attaches a spare bomb to the disoriented Dalek, sending it to its destruction. He then confronts Davros, forcing his hand onto the detonator. Under duress, Davros inadvertently triggers the suicide Daleks' explosives prematurely, causing them to detonate harmlessly away from the Movellan ship, saving the vessel and its occupants. With Davros's plan thwarted and his forces destroyed, the Doctor and the humanoids capture him. Davros is then encased in a cryogenic freezer, destined for trial for his universal crimes, effectively neutralizing his threat. The Doctor and Romana, having ensured the safety of the galaxy and the humanoids, escape in the TARDIS. As they dematerialize, they reflect on the episode's central theme: the superiority of irrational, intuitive thought over rigid logic in overcoming seemingly insurmountable impasses, a lesson the Doctor attributes to his own 'mistakes.'