S9E26

Divine vengeance unleashed over lies exposed

Jo’s confirmation of King Dalios’s death shatters the brittle alliance between Lady Galleia and the Master. Beneath the coronation’s hollow pageantry, Galleia discovers the sacred pact shielding his rule was a lie and slaps the Master in fury. As she turns on him, the Master activates the crystal device, summoning Kronos. The cosmic deity rises over Atlantis Plaza, raining destruction while the Master’s frantic commands fall on deaf ears. The Doctor’s pleas go unheeded as Kronos ignores the Master’s authority, forcing both the Doctor and Jo into desperate retreat. The fall of divine legitimacy marks the permanent collapse of order, signaling the unstoppable escalation of doom.

Plot Beats

The narrative micro-steps within this event

The Doctor questions the Master about the missing council members and King Dalios's fate, sowing seeds of doubt about the Master's intentions.

curiosity to suspicion

Jo confirms King Dalios's death, leading to Lady Galleia's loyalty shattering as she accuses the Master of breaking his promise.

loyalty to outrage

Dalios dies in Jo's lap, marking a tragic moment and a loss of hope.

hope to despair

Who Was There

Characters present in this moment

Jo Grant

Technical Assistant

primary

Urgent resolve with flashes of fear under overwhelming pressure

Jo immediately confirms King Dalios’s death to Galleia, exposing the Master’s treachery. As the crisis escalates, she senses danger and reacts with instinctive bravery, leaping onto the Master’s back to prevent his escape with the crystal. Her physical intervention momentarily disrupts his flight, as she clings desperately to a fleeing foe.

Goals in this moment

• Prevent the Master from escaping with the crystal
• Protect the Doctor from harm

Active beliefs

• Righteous action is necessary in the face of tyranny
• The Doctor cannot be abandoned

Character traits

Courageous Resolute instigator Tactical intervention

Follow Jo Grant's journey

The Master

Renegade Time Lord

primary

Petty triumph curdling into panic as control evaporates

The Master’s false legitimacy is ripped away when Galleia discovers his deception. In a moment of raw desperation, he defends himself with callous arrogance, ordering the summoning of Kronos through the crystal device. As Kronos rises, his commands go unheeded, and he is violently separated from his guards, seizing the large crystal and fleeing into the maw of his TARDIS.

Goals in this moment

• Regain dominance over the summit and punish the Doctor
• Escape the plaza with temporal power intact

Active beliefs

• Power must be seized and clung to at all costs
• Divine forces can be compelled to serve his will

Character traits

Manipulative Desperate Volatile

Follow The Master's journey

Galleia

Queen

primary

Betrayed outrage and righteous indignation

Galleia declares the Master’s divine legitimacy but is swiftly disillusioned. When she learns of Dalios’s death—contrary to the Master’s reassurance—she erupts into fury. With a physical slap, she tears away the veneer of divine right and orders the Master’s arrest, turning the plaza’s ritual into open rebellion.

Goals in this moment

• Preserve the sanctity of rulership without deception
• Hold the Master accountable for his crimes

Active beliefs

• Kings must be protected by truth, not lies
• Leadership requires fidelity to oaths

Character traits

Proud ruler Sharp judge of truth Decisive leader

Follow Galleia's journey

The Third Doctor

Scientific Adviser

primary

Frustrated alarm with undercurrents of desperate urgency

The Doctor perceives the deception unfolding in the plaza and clocks the Master’s duplicity. Without pause, he shouts warnings and commands that fall on deaf ears, desperately trying to intervene before the cosmic entity rises. He hurls himself toward Jo, desperate to pull her to safety as chaos erupts around him.

Goals in this moment

• Stop the Master from activating the crystal device before Kronos is summoned
• Prevent Jo from being taken by the Master

Active beliefs

• The Master’s schemes will inevitably lead to calamity
• Order must be preserved, even against temporal forces

Character traits

Vigilant observer Unrelenting in pursuit Determined to protect

Follow The Third …'s journey

Supporting 3

Crito

Palace Chamberlain

secondary

Anxious tension under institutional facade

Crito rings the bell for silence, enforcing procedural order as the event devolves into chaos. His role in calling Galleia forward—intertwining her with the unfolding disaster—ensures that her rebellion against the Master is given formal voice in the plaza’s collapsing structure.

Goals in this moment

• Maintain the appearance of order
• Enable Galleia’s intervention

Active beliefs

• Protocol must be observed even in crisis
• The Queen’s voice supersedes momentary chaos

Character traits

Ceremonial enforcer Authoritative presence Symbolic continuity

Follow Crito's journey

Krasis

High Priest of Poseidon

secondary

Terrified compliance masking deeper dread

Krasis, operating under the Master’s command, obeys the order to activate the switch. His obedience turns the sacred ritual into a machinery of annihilation, as the crystal device hums to life and Kronos erupts into the plaza, unleashing devastation beyond mortal control.

Goals in this moment

• Fulfill the Master’s commands without error
• Survive the unfolding cataclysm

Active beliefs

• The Master’s will cannot be questioned
• Divine force must be obeyed above all

Character traits

Obedient subordinate Religious transgressor Fear-driven agent

Follow Krasis's journey

Peladonian Royal Guard (Palace Enforcers)

Royal Palace Sentry

secondary

Nervous tension under collapsing decorum

The Guard enforces silence per protocol, attempting to quelch the Doctor’s accusations. His intervention momentarily suppresses dissent, but the escalating chaos—Kronos’s arrival and fleeing parties—erases institutional authority in an instant.

Goals in this moment

• Maintain order through enforcement
• Suppress disruptive dialogue

Active beliefs

• Institutional protocol ensures stability
• Disorder must be quelled immediately

Character traits

Rote authority Momentary enforcer Powerless participant

Follow Peladonian Royal …'s journey

Objects Involved

Significant items in this scene

Doctor's TARDIS

The Doctor’s TARDIS materializes in response to the crisis, but Jo is forcibly dragged onto the Master’s TARDIS mid-summons. Despite the Doctor’s screams and TARDIS doors opening, he cannot retrieve her in time. The Doctor’s TARDIS remains—grounded by the plaza’s temporal distortions—as Jo is swept into another timeline.

Before: Parking in a cleared space near the dais, …

After: Hatches remain open as Jo clings to its …

Before: Parking in a cleared space near the dais, doors closed, systems quiet beneath the plaza’s golden torches.

After: Hatches remain open as Jo clings to its exterior, but the portal closes under temporal stress, leaving the Doctor demanding her return as the Master escapes.

Crystal of Kronos Fragment Housing (Master's Portable)

The Master seizes a large crystal, a broader violet shard pulled from the same core as the TOM-TIT fragment. Clutching it, he attempts to flee into his TARDIS, drawing temporal energy that staves off pursuit. Jo’s desperate leap momentarily disrupts his escape, but his grip on the artifact secures his time jump.

Before: Positioned near the TOM-TIT device, pulsing with raw …

After: Taken into the Master’s TARDIS, its energy burgeoning …

Before: Positioned near the TOM-TIT device, pulsing with raw temporal energy visible along its jagged edges.

After: Taken into the Master’s TARDIS, its energy burgeoning within the vessel’s unstable systems as he flees the plaza.

Kronos Cosmic Temporal Surge

Kronos, the primordial temporal entity, materializes as a ravenous white creature of annihilation over Atlantis Plaza. Its form shifts between jagged light and monstrous horror, warping time and space while ignoring the Master’s frantic commands. Its arrival annihilates the plaza’s architecture under divine retribution.

Before: Contained within the crystal shard’s resonance, dormant within …

After: Fully released—rampaging across the plaza with impunity, shrieking …

Before: Contained within the crystal shard’s resonance, dormant within the TOM-TIT device.

After: Fully released—rampaging across the plaza with impunity, shrieking as it reshapes reality.

TOM-TIT Device

Krasis activates the TOM-TIT device, a jagged violet crystal shard within a grotesque housing that pulses with rising temporal energy. Upon the Master’s command, the device’s hum peaks, and its violet light synchronizes with Kronos’s eruption from the plaza’s marbled surfaces, destabilizing the plaza itself.

Before: Controlled by Krasis at the Master’s side, its …

After: Stabilizes momentarily during Kronos’s emergence, then glows uncontrollably …

Before: Controlled by Krasis at the Master’s side, its bent facets catching the plaza’s torchlight as it throbs with latent power.

After: Stabilizes momentarily during Kronos’s emergence, then glows uncontrollably in the Doctor’s hands before the cosmic entity breaks free and renders the device inert.

Location Details

Places and their significance in this event

Atlantis Plaza

Atlantis Plaza serves as the ceremonial stage where divine legitimacy is declared and violently unraveled. The polished marble reflects the golden torchlight that bounces off twisted columns as political lies crumble. The space becomes a ravaged battleground when Kronos descends, buildings crashing as temporal rifts tear through its sacred geometry.

Atmosphere Sacred ground devolving into caustic ruin under temporal annihilation

Function Stage for ideological collapse and cosmic confrontation

Symbolism Represents the fragility of rulership achieved through deception rather than truth

Marble steps polished by centuries of use Bronze doors etched with Atlantean myths

Organizations Involved

Institutional presence and influence

Council of Atlantis (Governing Body)

The Council of Atlantis appears as a surviving remnant summoned to witness the coronation. Though marginalized, their presence underscores the Master’s coup legitimacy—until Dalios’s death exposes the lie. Their small cohort is powerless as the Master brands them irrelevant and Galleia pivots to oppose tyranny.

Representation Through a handful of surviving members bound on the dais as silent witnesses

Power Dynamics Stripped of authority, reduced to ceremonial spectators

Impact The Council’s impotence highlights how power in Atlantis once derived from ritual rather than substance—a …

To survive the coup and await restitution To ascertain truth amid falsified declarations Silent presence on the dais Passive observation

Narrative Connections

How this event relates to others in the story

What led here 14

What this causes 15

Themes This Exemplifies

Thematic resonance and meaning

Part of Larger Arcs

The Master's psychological descent driven by arrogance and hunger for power leading to self-destruction

Key Dialogue

"GALLEIA: Is the lord Dalios, your King, no longer alive? Answer me."

"MASTER: He died this morning. He was an old man."

"DOCTOR: And you were responsible for his death!"