Doctor Who
S16E20
· The Power of Kroll Part 4

Doctor orders Romana to flee

The Doctor scrambles to a control box in the firing bay, desperate to stop the orbital strike despite the odds. Romana pleads with him from below, urging him to abandon the effort as time runs out. He refuses to retreat, instead repeating his command for her to escape while he stays behind to interfere with the launch sequence at great personal risk. The exchange underscores their fractured partnership and his reckless determination to sabotage Thawn's plan. key_dialogue: [ ROMANA: Doctor, we're too late. Come down. DOCTOR: Get out of here, Romana. Just get out. ROMANA: We can't stop it now. DOCTOR: Just get out! ROMANA: Come down! DOCTOR: Get out ]

Plot Beats

The narrative micro-steps within this event

2

The Doctor and Romana engage in a tense exchange as he attempts to disable the orbital energy shot from a control box, while she urges him to leave for safety.

urgency to desperation ['firing bay']

The Doctor successfully convinces Romana to leave for her safety, showing concern for her well-being amidst the crisis.

concern to resolve

Who Was There

Characters present in this moment

2
The Fourth Doctor
Science Officer
 primary

Desperate determination masking underlying strain, his usual wit stripped away by urgency

The Doctor clambers frantically across the unstable metal grating toward the wall-mounted control box, his hands working quickly to expose its inner components despite the shower of sparks and ozone-scented air. He shouts repetitive orders downward without looking back, his posture rigid with refusal to retreat even as Romana's pleas grow more insistent.

Goals in this moment
  • • Stop the orbital strike from being launched to prevent Kroll's destruction
  • • Gain time for Romana to escape safely
Active beliefs
  • • Only direct intervention can prevent catastrophe in the final moments
  • • Personal risk is justified to protect others
Character traits
Reckless Decisive Focused Commanding
Follow The Fourth …'s journey
Romana
Time Lady
 primary

Deep concern for the Doctor's safety and frustration with the futility of their situation

Romana shouts from the lower level of the firing bay, her voice strained with urgency as she witnesses the Doctor's reckless climb and desperate actions. She repeats warnings about their time running out, her tone oscillating between command and pleading as she assesses the mechanical decay around them.

Goals in this moment
  • • Convince the Doctor to abandon the hopeless attempt and save himself
  • • Avoid becoming trapped in the collapsing firing bay
Active beliefs
  • • The Doctor's intervention is too late to stop the inevitable
  • • Safety requires abandoning the effort immediately
Character traits
Pragmatic Protective Insistent Methodical
Follow Romana's journey

Objects Involved

Significant items in this scene

1
Launch Sequence Control Box

The Doctor forces open the control box, its once-secure casing now warped by his previous tampering attempts. He wrenches at exposed wiring and circuit fragments, desperately reconfiguring connections to abort the orbital launch sequence while sparks ignite small fires in the accumulated grime.

Before: The control box remained operational despite earlier sabotage …
After: The box is severely damaged with scorched internals, …
Before: The control box remained operational despite earlier sabotage attempts, its panel slightly ajar from prior emergency repairs.
After: The box is severely damaged with scorched internals, wiring partly severed from the Doctor's frantic adjustments, though he may still manage to disrupt the launch.

Location Details

Places and their significance in this event

1
Firing Bay

The cavernous firing bay hurls the Doctor's progress into stark relief—shattered controls scream under failing relays, floodlights strobe red emergency signals, and overhead launch mechanisms loom like a coiled predator sensing disruption. The space amplifies every shouted word alongside the grinding agony of collapsing structures.

Atmosphere A tense, time-urgent environment filled with mechanical screams and the acrid tang of imminent disaster
Function A last-stand battleground where the Doctor pits his wits against institutional machinery to shift fate
Symbolism Represents technological hubris brought low by relentless pragmatism and human-like defiance of doom
Ceiling-mounted launch mechanism pulsing with failing energy Girders groaning under the impact of Kroll's earlier rampage

Narrative Connections

How this event relates to others in the story

What this causes 1
Causal

"The Doctor's tense exchange with Romana in the firing bay (beat_2961aa6d8c443818) culminates in his successful use of a hammer to disable the primary ignition (beat_636537def05899e9), resolving the immediate threat."

Doctor smashes console to stop launch
S16E20 · The Power of Kroll Part …