Fabula
S8E22 · The Daemons Part 2

Jo seeks UNIT help for the Doctor

In the Cloven Hoof Bar, Jo clings to hope as Reeves examines the Doctor’s frozen body, initially declaring him dead before detecting a faint pulse. The revelation of a second heartbeat—dismissed as an echo—hints at the Doctor’s alien physiology, though Reeves remains unaware of its true significance. As the Doctor’s condition stabilizes, Jo seizes the moment to act, asking Bert for a telephone to call UNIT. This marks her first independent decision to intervene in the crisis, leveraging the Doctor’s allies as a lifeline. The phone call sets up a critical external intervention, but the subsequent line cut (off-screen) will isolate the village, raising the stakes. Jo’s urgency underscores her growing agency in the Doctor’s survival, while Reeves’ medical observations foreshadow deeper mysteries about the Doctor’s nature.

Plot Beats

The narrative micro-steps within this event

1

Jo, spurred by the flicker of hope, asks to use the telephone, seeking to contact UNIT and get help for the Doctor.

hope to determination

Who Was There

Characters present in this moment

5

Grief-stricken but fiercely hopeful, her emotions oscillating between despair and determination as she transitions from pleading for the Doctor’s life to taking decisive action.

Jo is visibly distraught, her voice trembling as she pleads with Reeves to save the Doctor. She clings to hope when Reeves detects a faint pulse, her desperation giving way to urgency as she seizes the moment to call for help, demonstrating her growing agency in the crisis. Her emotional state is raw and vulnerable, yet her actions reflect a quiet determination to act on behalf of the Doctor and the village.

Goals in this moment
  • To ensure the Doctor survives by seeking medical intervention and external help from UNIT.
  • To maintain hope and prevent the village from succumbing to despair, even in the face of the supernatural.
Active beliefs
  • The Doctor can be saved if given the chance, despite the odds.
  • UNIT’s intervention is critical to resolving the crisis in Devil’s End.
Character traits
Desperate Hopeful Resourceful Loyal Emotionally vulnerable yet determined
Follow Jo Grant's journey

Confused yet professionally composed, his curiosity piqued by the Doctor’s unusual condition, though he remains grounded in medical pragmatism.

Reeves examines the Doctor’s body with clinical detachment, initially declaring him dead before detecting a faint pulse and an anomalous second heartbeat. His medical observations are met with confusion, as he dismisses the second heartbeat as an echo. He orders blankets and hot water bottles to stabilize the Doctor, demonstrating his professionalism and curiosity about the unusual physiology.

Goals in this moment
  • To stabilize the Doctor’s condition using medical intervention (blankets, hot water bottles).
  • To understand the anomalies in the Doctor’s physiology, though he remains unaware of their true significance.
Active beliefs
  • The Doctor’s condition is medically explicable, even if unusual.
  • His professional duty is to save lives, regardless of the circumstances.
Character traits
Clinical Curious Professional Confused (by the anomalies) Pragmatic
Follow Reeves's journey

Physically inert but emotionally pivotal; his condition serves as a catalyst for the actions and emotions of those around him, particularly Jo’s desperation and Reeves’ medical curiosity.

The Doctor lies motionless on the table, his body rigid and frozen, initially presumed dead. His condition is later revealed to have a faint pulse and an anomalous second heartbeat, hinting at his alien physiology. His physical state is passive, but his presence drives the emotional and medical urgency of the scene.

Goals in this moment
  • None (passive state, but his survival is the implicit goal of those around him).
  • To serve as a symbol of resilience and the unknown, driving the narrative forward.
Active beliefs
  • His survival is tied to the village’s hope and the revelation of his true nature.
  • His condition is a mystery that will be uncovered, foreshadowing his role in the larger conflict.
Character traits
Mysterious Resilient Physiologically anomalous Symbolic of hope
Follow The Third …'s journey
Supporting 2

Calm and supportive, offering practical aid without unnecessary emotion, which helps stabilize the chaotic moment.

Bert provides blankets to Reeves and directs Jo to the telephone in the corner of the bar. His actions are practical and helpful, reflecting his role as the pub’s owner and a grounding presence in the village’s crisis.

Goals in this moment
  • To assist Reeves in stabilizing the Doctor’s condition by providing necessary supplies.
  • To support Jo in her efforts to call for help, ensuring the village’s resources are used effectively.
Active beliefs
  • Practical aid is critical in a crisis, even when faced with the unknown.
  • The village must rely on its own resources and each other until external help arrives.
Character traits
Helpful Practical Grounded Supportive
Follow Bert's journey

Sympathetic and observant, balancing emotional support for Jo with a pragmatic curiosity about the Doctor’s condition and Reeves’ medical assessments.

Winstanley offers emotional support to Jo, questioning Reeves’ medical observations with a mix of skepticism and sympathy. He assists in gathering blankets and provides reassurance, grounding the scene with his calm demeanor and village wisdom.

Goals in this moment
  • To provide emotional support to Jo and maintain morale in the village.
  • To question and understand the medical anomalies, ensuring the Doctor receives the best possible care.
Active beliefs
  • The Doctor’s condition is tied to the supernatural forces at play in Devil’s End.
  • Emotional support and practical aid are as important as medical intervention in a crisis.
Character traits
Sympathetic Observant Reassuring Skeptical (of medical dismissals) Practical
Follow Winstanley's journey

Objects Involved

Significant items in this scene

4
Blankets Fetched by Bert

The blankets fetched by Bert are essential medical supplies used to warm the Doctor’s frozen body. They are ordered by Reeves as part of the emergency revival efforts, wrapping the Doctor to generate heat and combat his near-death hypothermic state. The blankets symbolize the collective effort to save the Doctor and the village’s reliance on practical, human solutions in the face of the supernatural.

Before: Stored in the Cloven Hoof Bar, ready for …
After: Used to wrap the Doctor’s body, contributing to …
Before: Stored in the Cloven Hoof Bar, ready for use in emergencies.
After: Used to wrap the Doctor’s body, contributing to his stabilization and the restoration of hope.
Cloven Hoof Pub Table (Doctor’s Examination Surface)

The Cloven Hoof Bar table serves as an impromptu medical examination surface for the Doctor’s frozen body. It becomes the focal point of the emergency revival efforts, where Reeves performs his examination, Jo pleads for the Doctor’s life, and the villagers gather to assist. The table symbolizes the intersection of the mundane and the extraordinary, as a ordinary pub setting is transformed into a place of life-and-death urgency.

Before: A sturdy wooden table in the Cloven Hoof …
After: Temporarily repurposed as a medical examination table for …
Before: A sturdy wooden table in the Cloven Hoof Bar, used for ordinary pub activities.
After: Temporarily repurposed as a medical examination table for the Doctor, now associated with the village’s desperate efforts to save him.
Reeves' Hot Water Bottles

The hot water bottles ordered by Reeves are a critical part of the emergency medical intervention to thaw the Doctor’s frozen body. Filled with scalding water, they are pressed against the Doctor’s rigid form to raise his body temperature and revive him. The hot water bottles represent the intersection of medical science and human desperation, a tangible effort to defy the odds and bring the Doctor back from the brink of death.

Before: Stored in the Cloven Hoof Bar, unused but …
After: Used alongside blankets to warm the Doctor, contributing …
Before: Stored in the Cloven Hoof Bar, unused but available for emergencies.
After: Used alongside blankets to warm the Doctor, contributing to his stabilization and the shift from grief to hope.
UNIT HQ Room Telephone

The telephone in the Cloven Hoof Bar is a critical lifeline for Jo, who uses it to call UNIT for assistance. Its presence in the corner of the bar symbolizes the fragile connection to the outside world, which will soon be severed, isolating the village further. The telephone represents both hope and the impending danger of being cut off from help.

Before: Functional and available in the corner of the …
After: Used by Jo to call UNIT, but the …
Before: Functional and available in the corner of the Cloven Hoof Bar, though its lines are not yet severed.
After: Used by Jo to call UNIT, but the connection will soon be cut off, symbolizing the village’s isolation.

Location Details

Places and their significance in this event

1
Cloven Hoof Pub

The Cloven Hoof Bar serves as the emotional and logistical hub of the crisis, where the Doctor’s revival efforts unfold. Its dimly lit, smoke-filled interior creates an atmosphere of tension and urgency, as the villagers and Jo grapple with the Doctor’s condition. The bar’s telephone becomes a symbol of hope for external intervention, while the table where the Doctor lies becomes a makeshift medical station. The Cloven Hoof Bar embodies the village’s resilience and the fragile balance between the ordinary and the supernatural.

Atmosphere Tension-filled with whispered conversations, the air thick with smoke and the weight of desperation. The …
Function Crisis management hub and sanctuary, where medical intervention, emotional support, and strategic decisions converge.
Symbolism Represents the village’s last bastion of normality and collective effort in the face of supernatural …
Access Open to villagers and those involved in the crisis, but increasingly isolated as external communications …
Dim lighting casting long shadows across the wooden tables and bar. Thick smoke hanging in the air, adding to the sense of urgency and tension. The sound of whispered conversations and the occasional clink of glasses, now overshadowed by the Doctor’s medical emergency.

Organizations Involved

Institutional presence and influence

1
UNIT

UNIT is invoked indirectly through Jo’s decision to call for assistance, representing the external military and scientific support that the village desperately needs. Though not physically present in this event, UNIT’s looming intervention sets the stage for the broader conflict and the Doctor’s role in resolving it. The organization’s influence is felt through the telephone call, which symbolizes the fragile connection to the outside world and the hope for reinforcements.

Representation Via the telephone call placed by Jo, invoking UNIT’s role as a distant but critical …
Power Dynamics Exercising potential authority and influence, though currently constrained by the village’s isolation and the severed …
Impact UNIT’s potential involvement underscores the scale of the threat in Devil’s End and the need …
Internal Dynamics The organization’s chain of command and response protocols are tested by the urgency of the …
To respond to Jo’s call for assistance and deploy resources to Devil’s End. To coordinate with the Doctor and UNIT personnel on the ground to counter the supernatural threat. Through the promise of external intervention and military/scientific support. Via the Doctor’s role as a liaison between UNIT and the village’s crisis.

Narrative Connections

How this event relates to others in the story

What led here 1

"Harry declaring the Doctor dead (beat_610900e8768008a7) leads to Jo's refusal to accept it at the Cloven Hoof (beat_cd6ce480df2231a0)."

Jo refuses to accept the Doctor’s death
S8E22 · The Daemons Part 2
What this causes 3

"Reeves discovers the Doctor's two heartbeats (beat_b5a0bf0f63429221); after recovering from heatwave in Act 2, The Doctor confirms his scientific theory and his intention to go back to the dig site."

Doctor’s Recovery Interrupted by Benton’s Attack
S8E22 · The Daemons Part 2

"Reeves discovers the Doctor's two heartbeats (beat_b5a0bf0f63429221); after recovering from heatwave in Act 2, The Doctor confirms his scientific theory and his intention to go back to the dig site."

Doctor Admits Past Failure to Hawthorne
S8E22 · The Daemons Part 2

"Jo's attempt to use the telephone (beat_0ad9da313d719e88) is followed by the phone line being cut, isolating the village (beat_f72629aea67b2c21)."

UNIT loses contact with Jo
S8E22 · The Daemons Part 2

Themes This Exemplifies

Thematic resonance and meaning

Part of Larger Arcs

Key Dialogue

"REEVES: "It's quite ridiculous. It must be an echo off an atypical bone structure.""
"WINSTANLEY: "Sounds as if what?""
"REEVES: "As if he had two hearts. One on each side.""
"JO: "Look, have you got a telephone I could use, please?""