Arbitan’s Assassination and the Crew’s Forced Departure
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
As the companions depart, Arbitan expresses his hope for their success in saving his people, then a Voord assassinates him from behind, ending his life.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Desperate and resigned, his melancholy giving way to fatalistic urgency as he accepts his impending death.
Arbitan, desperate and melancholic, blackmails the crew into retrieving the keys while expressing longing for his missing daughter. His final act is to order the crew to teleport away, warning them to destroy the keys if the Voord breach the building. Moments later, a Voord assassin stabs him in the back, and he collapses, his dying words urging the crew to succeed. His death marks the irreversible escalation of the Voord’s campaign.
- • Ensure the crew retrieves the keys to save Marinus
- • Protect his people from the Voord, even at the cost of his life
- • The Voord will stop at nothing to seize control of Marinus
- • The crew is his only hope, despite their reluctance
Fearful and desperate, her impulse to act driven by a need to escape the tension and danger.
Barbara, overwhelmed by fear and the weight of the mission, impulsively activates the teleportation device, vanishing in a flash. Her sudden disappearance triggers panic in the group, forcing Arbitan to order the others to follow. Her action sets the mission in motion, leaving the crew no choice but to comply.
- • Escape the immediate threat of the Voord and Arbitan’s coercion
- • Unknowingly force the crew into action by demonstrating the device’s function
- • The teleportation device is the safest path forward, despite its unknowns
- • Delaying will only increase the danger for everyone
Frantic and protective, shifting from exasperation to alarm as the situation spirals beyond his control.
Ian reacts with alarm as Barbara vanishes, his urgency to begin the mission now overshadowed by panic. He demands answers from Arbitan, his voice sharp with concern, before Arbitan’s orders force him to twist the teleportation dial. His body dissolves into light, leaving the control room as the Voord threat closes in.
- • Ensure Barbara’s safety and locate her immediately
- • Comply with Arbitan’s orders to secure the keys and escape the Voord threat
- • Arbitan’s methods are reckless but necessary given the Voord danger
- • The crew must stick together to survive, especially in hostile environments
Alarmed and concerned, her silence masking deep anxiety for Barbara’s safety.
Susan reacts with alarm as Barbara vanishes, her concern for her friend immediate and visceral. She is quickly teleported away by Arbitan’s orders, her body dissolving into light as the Voord threat closes in. Her departure is silent but fraught with unspoken fear.
- • Follow Barbara to ensure her safety
- • Comply with Arbitan’s orders to avoid further danger
- • The crew must stay together to survive
- • Arbitan’s urgency is justified by the Voord threat
Resigned frustration giving way to urgent compliance, with underlying concern for Barbara’s safety.
The Doctor initially resists Arbitan’s blackmail and dismisses the teleportation device as primitive, but the urgency of Barbara’s disappearance forces his compliance. He vanishes with the others, his skepticism giving way to action as the Voord threat looms. His departure leaves Arbitan vulnerable to the assassin’s strike.
- • Retrieve Barbara and ensure the crew’s survival
- • Assess the teleportation device’s reliability while prioritizing escape from the Voord
- • Arbitan’s desperation is genuine, but his methods are flawed
- • The Voord pose an immediate, existential threat that must be evaded
Cold and determined, their actions driven by the Voord’s singular goal of seizing control.
A Voord operative, silent and lethal, approaches Arbitan from behind and stabs him in the back as the crew teleports away. The assassination is swift and brutal, marking the Voord’s escalation from threat to outright violence. The operative’s action leaves Arbitan dying, his final words a plea for the crew’s success.
- • Eliminate Arbitan to remove the last obstacle to Voord dominance
- • Ensure the keys are not retrieved by the crew
- • Arbitan’s resistance must be crushed to achieve Voord supremacy
- • The crew is a direct threat that must be neutralized
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
The Keys of Marinus, though not physically present in this scene, are the macguffin driving the entire mission. Arbitan’s final warning to the crew—‘do not let them get the keys’—highlights their critical importance. The keys are the Voord’s ultimate prize, and their retrieval by the crew is the only hope of preventing Marinus’s fall. Their absence in this moment underscores the urgency of the quest and the crew’s desperate race against time.
The teleportation devices, wrist-worn gadgets provided by Arbitan, become the catalyst for the crew’s forced mission. Barbara impulsively activates hers, vanishing in a flash, and the others follow under Arbitan’s frantic orders. The devices function as programmed, teleporting the crew to the first key’s location, but their use leaves Arbitan vulnerable to the Voord assassin’s strike. Their activation marks the irreversible commitment to the quest and the crew’s separation from Arbitan’s fate.
The Voord assassin’s dagger is the instrument of Arbitan’s death, plunged into his back as the crew teleports away. The weapon is wielded with silent precision, its strike swift and lethal, marking the Voord’s escalation from threat to outright violence. The dagger’s use underscores the Voord’s ruthlessness and the high stakes of the mission, as Arbitan’s death leaves the crew as the sole hope for Marinus.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
Arbitan’s control room serves as the tense epicenter of the scene, where coercion turns to violence and the crew’s mission is forcibly set in motion. The room’s atmosphere is thick with urgency, desperation, and the looming threat of the Voord. It functions as both a meeting point for Arbitan’s blackmail and a battleground where his assassination occurs, leaving the crew to teleport away as his dying words echo. The location’s symbolic significance lies in its role as the last bastion of resistance against the Voord, now fallen.
Organizations Involved
Institutional presence and influence
The Voord’s presence is felt through the silent, lethal action of their assassin, who strikes Arbitan down as the crew teleports away. Their involvement in this event marks the escalation from threat to outright violence, removing the last obstacle to their dominance of Marinus. The Voord’s power dynamics shift from coercion to outright aggression, their influence mechanisms now including assassination and the seizure of Arbitan’s stronghold.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"After Arbitan explains the mission, he explains the teleportation devices, and then Barbara uses the device and disappears."
Arbitan’s Blackmail and the Teleportation Trap"After Arbitan explains the mission, he explains the teleportation devices, and then Barbara uses the device and disappears."
Barbara’s Vanishing Triggers the Chase"Arbitan blackmails the TARDIS crew, and, despite the Doctor being displeased, Arbitan still assures them he will release the TARDIS. This highlights his desperation and ruthlessness to get the mission started."
TARDIS locked by Arbitan’s blackmail"Arbitan blackmails the TARDIS crew, and, despite the Doctor being displeased, Arbitan still assures them he will release the TARDIS. This highlights his desperation and ruthlessness to get the mission started."
Arbitan traps crew with force field ultimatum"After being blackmailed and forced to go on a mission, Arbitan is unexpectedly killed, raising the stakes and now placing the TARDIS crew in even greater danger."
Barbara’s Vanishing Triggers the Chase"After being blackmailed and forced to go on a mission, Arbitan is unexpectedly killed, raising the stakes and now placing the TARDIS crew in even greater danger."
Arbitan’s Blackmail and the Teleportation Trap"Ian first expresses concern about an unknown threat and is mostly dismissed, and then in the last scene of the episode, Arbitan is assassinated by a Voord from behind. This event shows the threat was real and immediate, foreshadowed at the start."
TARDIS crew debates planet exploration"Ian first expresses concern about an unknown threat and is mostly dismissed, and then in the last scene of the episode, Arbitan is assassinated by a Voord from behind. This event shows the threat was real and immediate, foreshadowed at the start."
Ian detects a hidden threat dismissed"Following Ian agreeing to help Arbitan, they are now in the control room where Arbitan assures them he will release the TARDIS and sends them on a quest"
Arbitan traps crew with force field ultimatum"Following Ian agreeing to help Arbitan, they are now in the control room where Arbitan assures them he will release the TARDIS and sends them on a quest"
TARDIS locked by Arbitan’s blackmail"After Arbitan explains the mission, he explains the teleportation devices, and then Barbara uses the device and disappears."
Arbitan’s Blackmail and the Teleportation Trap"After Arbitan explains the mission, he explains the teleportation devices, and then Barbara uses the device and disappears."
Barbara’s Vanishing Triggers the Chase"After being blackmailed and forced to go on a mission, Arbitan is unexpectedly killed, raising the stakes and now placing the TARDIS crew in even greater danger."
Arbitan’s Blackmail and the Teleportation Trap"After being blackmailed and forced to go on a mission, Arbitan is unexpectedly killed, raising the stakes and now placing the TARDIS crew in even greater danger."
Barbara’s Vanishing Triggers the ChaseThemes This Exemplifies
Thematic resonance and meaning
Part of Larger Arcs
Key Dialogue
"ARBITAN: "If when you return, you find the Voord have taken this building, do not let them get the keys. You understand? Destroy them!""
"ARBITAN: "For the sake of all my people, I hope you succeed.""
"IAN: "What! What have you done to Barbara?""