Susan’s attack and Barbara’s fear of capture
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Susan recounts her encounter with the frogman in the corridor, revealing she was grabbed but the attacker was killed by a robed figure. The Doctor and Barbara deduce that the frogmen are intruders, like themselves, but note that the frogmen have died, while the TARDIS crew are only prisoners.
Barbara expresses her fear of being killed, but the Doctor assures her that Ian's resourcefulness will aid their rescue. However, Barbara reveals that Ian was captured before she was.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Desperate and longing, his actions are driven by fear of failure and grief over his daughter’s absence (implied).
Arbitan is the scene’s enigmatic linchpin, revealed as the pyramid’s sole protector through his silent intervention (killing the Voord attacking Susan) and his later rescue by Ian. His isolation is palpable as he admits, ‘I am alone,’ and his desperation drives him to blackmail the crew into retrieving the Keys of Marinus. His monk’s habit and knife symbolize his dual role as guardian and outcast, while his knowledge of the Voord’s history (‘It’s many years since their last assault’) hints at a personal stake in the conflict.
- • Prevent the Voord from seizing the Conscience machine
- • Recruit the TARDIS crew to retrieve the Keys of Marinus
- • The Keys are the only way to secure the Conscience’s power
- • The crew’s arrival is both a threat and an opportunity
Anxious and fearful, her surface calm masking a deep sense of vulnerability as the crew’s options dwindle.
Barbara serves as the emotional anchor of the scene, listening to Susan’s harrowing recounting of the ambush and voicing the crew’s collective fear (‘Well maybe we're to be killed, too’). Her revelation that Ian has been captured shatters the Doctor’s optimism, forcing the group to confront their helplessness. She remains attentive to environmental clues (e.g., the frogman’s suit) and the crew’s safety, but her anxiety grows as the Voord threat and Arbitan’s isolation become clearer.
- • Keep the group informed and united amid rising tension
- • Press the Doctor to acknowledge the severity of their situation
- • The Voord pose an immediate, lethal threat to the crew
- • Arbitan’s isolation makes him unpredictable and dangerous
Frustrated and determined, his absence looms as a ticking clock for the others.
Ian’s capture, revealed by Barbara, is a pivotal twist that undermines the Doctor’s optimism and forces Arbitan to negotiate. Though physically absent during Susan’s ambush, his resourcefulness (implied by Arbitan’s admission that he ‘saw your machine materialise’) and protective instincts (rescuing Arbitan) frame him as the crew’s unspoken leader. His capture elevates the stakes, making Arbitan’s blackmail a matter of survival rather than choice.
- • Escape captivity to reunite with the crew
- • Sabotage Voord operations from within (if possible)
- • The crew will find a way to free him
- • Arbitan’s demands are a temporary obstacle
Traumatized and shaken, her fear is raw but channelled into a warning for the others.
Susan is the scene’s emotional catalyst, recounting her ambush with visceral detail (‘The wall just seemed to swallow me up’). Her trauma is palpable as she describes the frogman’s grip and the sudden, silent intervention of the knife-wielding figure (Arbitan). Though physically recovered, her shock lingers, and she becomes a conduit for the crew’s growing unease about the pyramid’s hidden dangers. Her role as a witness underscores the Voord’s brutality and Arbitan’s elusive protection.
- • Communicate the immediacy of the Voord threat to the group
- • Seek reassurance from Barbara and the Doctor
- • The pyramid is far more dangerous than initially perceived
- • Arbitan’s presence is both a safeguard and a mystery
Frustrated by his lack of control, oscillating between analytical detachment and simmering outrage at their forced predicament.
The Doctor analyzes Susan’s account of the ambush, deducing the distinction between the Voord (intruders) and Arbitan (the building’s protector). His initial dismissiveness of the threat (‘I shouldn’t worry too much’) is undermined by Barbara’s revelation of Ian’s capture, forcing him to confront their dwindling agency. His scientific curiosity clashes with the moral weight of Arbitan’s blackmail, as he grapples with the forced quest for the Keys of Marinus.
- • Understand the Voord’s motives and the Conscience machine’s purpose
- • Negotiate or outmaneuver Arbitan’s demands to secure the crew’s freedom
- • The Keys of Marinus are the only leverage to escape Arbitan’s control
- • The Voord’s return signals a larger, unresolved conflict on Marinus
Hostile and single-minded, their actions radiate cold, calculating aggression.
The Voord manifest as relentless, silent assassins, attacking Susan and Arbitan with lethal precision. Their suits mark them as outsiders, and their persistence—despite Arbitan’s defenses—hints at a long-standing grudge. One Voord is killed by Arbitan’s knife, another falls into the acid after Ian’s intervention, and a third watches Ian and Arbitan’s departure, signaling their unbroken vigilance. Their presence forces the crew to confront Marinus’ deeper conflicts and their own precarious status as ‘prisoners’ rather than guests.
- • Infiltrate the pyramid to seize control of the Conscience machine
- • Eliminate Arbitan and any obstacles (including the TARDIS crew)
- • The Conscience of Marinus is rightfully theirs to claim
- • Arbitan’s lone defense is weak and can be overwhelmed
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
Arbitan’s knife is the silent instrument of salvation, plunging into the Voord’s back to save Susan and later used by Ian to defend Arbitan. Its presence underscores the pyramid’s violent undercurrent and Arbitan’s lethal efficiency as a lone guardian. The knife’s sudden appearance and disappearance mirror the robed figure’s elusive role, tying the object to the building’s hidden defenses and the Voord’s vulnerability to direct confrontation.
Arbitan’s monk’s habit serves as his visual signature, distinguishing him from the Voord in their frogman suits. Susan glimpses the robed figure passing behind her, and Ian notes it during Arbitan’s rescue, linking the habit to the unseen protector. The habit’s austere design reinforces Arbitan’s isolation and his self-imposed role as a monastic guardian, while its practicality (allowing stealth in the corridors) highlights the pyramid’s duality as both sanctuary and battleground.
The corridor’s defensive acid pool acts as a final, unforgiving barrier, consuming the Voord who falls through the movable panel. Its bubbling presence looms as a constant threat, symbolizing the pyramid’s merciless logic: those who fail its tests are erased. The acid’s role in dispatching the Voord reinforces the building’s automated defenses and the crew’s fragile status as ‘guests’ rather than masters of their fate.
The Keys of Marinus are the macguffin driving the scene’s conflict, mentioned by Arbitan as the price of the crew’s freedom. Their scattered state across Marinus’s dangers forces the TARDIS crew into a coerced quest, elevating the stakes from survival to active participation in Arbitan’s war. The Keys’ symbolic weight as ‘microcircuits’ hints at the Conscience machine’s technological and moral complexity, while their physical absence makes them a tangible (if elusive) goal.
The movable wall panel functions as a deadly trap and escape route, swallowing Susan momentarily and later serving as the Voord’s fatal exit. Ian and Arbitan shift it aside to evade pursuit, and a Voord assassin tumbles through, plummeting into the acid below. The panel’s mechanism reflects the pyramid’s labyrinthine defenses, where architecture itself becomes an weapon. Its use underscores the building’s hostility to intruders—and the crew’s growing entanglement in its dangers.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
The acid sea encircles the pyramid, its corrosive waters a constant, looming threat. Though not directly entered in this scene, its presence is invoked through the Voord’s suits (designed to resist it) and the fate of the Voord who falls into the corridor’s acid pool. The sea’s bubbling toxicity symbolizes Marinus’ inherent hostility, framing the pyramid as an island of fragile safety in a deadly expanse. Its role as an impassable barrier forces the crew to rely on Arbitan’s teleportation device, deepening their dependence on him.
The pyramid’s corridor is the scene’s primary battleground, where Voord ambushes, Arbitan’s interventions, and the crew’s frantic movements unfold. Its narrow confines amplify tension, turning every shadow into a potential threat. The movable wall panels and acid pools transform the space into a gauntlet of traps, while the robed figure’s silent passage underscores the corridor’s role as a liminal zone between safety and peril. The crew’s conversations here reveal their growing paranoia and the Voord’s relentless infiltration.
Organizations Involved
Institutional presence and influence
The TARDIS crew is thrust into the Voord-Arbitan conflict as unwilling participants, their arrival treated as a potential threat by Arbitan. Susan’s ambush and Ian’s capture force them into a coerced alliance, with the Keys of Marinus as the price of their freedom. Their collective resourcefulness (Ian’s rescue of Arbitan, the Doctor’s analysis) becomes their only leverage, but their divided status—Barbara and Susan free, Ian captured—undermines their unity. The crew’s dynamic shifts from exploration to survival, with Arbitan’s blackmail exposing their vulnerability.
The Voord manifest as a relentless, organized force seeking to seize control of the Conscience of Marinus. Their glass submarines and coordinated attacks reveal a strategic, long-term plan to infiltrate the pyramid, while their silence and efficiency underscore their discipline. The Voord’s return after ‘many years’ suggests a cyclical conflict, with Arbitan as their sole obstacle. Their presence forces the TARDIS crew to confront Marinus’ deeper political and moral struggles, elevating the stakes from personal survival to ideological conflict.
The Guardians of the Pyramid are represented solely by Arbitan, the last surviving member of a once-great order. His isolation underscores the organization’s decline, with the Voord’s return signaling the failure of his predecessors. Arbitan’s desperation to recruit the TARDIS crew reflects the Guardians’ diminished capacity to defend the Conscience alone. The organization’s legacy is tied to the machine’s moral authority, but its current state is one of crisis, with Arbitan as its sole, exhausted steward.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"Ian and Barbara express concern regarding the Doctor's and Susan's disappearance; in next scene, Susan reports what happened to her after disappearing. This moves the plot along as it begins to reveal what is actually happening inside the pyramid."
Susan triggers the pyramid’s trap"Ian and Barbara express concern regarding the Doctor's and Susan's disappearance; in next scene, Susan reports what happened to her after disappearing. This moves the plot along as it begins to reveal what is actually happening inside the pyramid."
Doctor and Susan vanish into pyramid"Susan recounts her encounter with a frogman. Then, Ian rescues Arbitan from a Voord attack."
Ian rescues Arbitan from Voord attack"Arbitan says he will release Ian's companions; they return to the TARDIS on the island."
TARDIS locked by Arbitan’s blackmail"Arbitan says he will release Ian's companions; they return to the TARDIS on the island."
Arbitan traps crew with force field ultimatum"Ian rescues Arbitan and agrees to help him. Then, when Arbitan blackmails the Doctor, Ian highlights how they have no alternatives. This highlights his resourcefulness and willingness to comply for the benefit of the crew"
TARDIS locked by Arbitan’s blackmail"Ian rescues Arbitan and agrees to help him. Then, when Arbitan blackmails the Doctor, Ian highlights how they have no alternatives. This highlights his resourcefulness and willingness to comply for the benefit of the crew"
Arbitan traps crew with force field ultimatum"Susan recounts her encounter with a frogman. Then, Ian rescues Arbitan from a Voord attack."
Ian rescues Arbitan from Voord attackThemes This Exemplifies
Thematic resonance and meaning
Part of Larger Arcs
Key Dialogue
"SUSAN: Dreadful. The wall just seemed to swallow me up, and then this man grabbed me and the next thing I knew, he fell dead in front of me."
"BARBARA: Well maybe we're to be killed, too."
"DOCTOR: I shouldn't worry too much about that. That young schoolmaster friend of yours is very resourceful. Whilst he's free, our chance of rescue is still good."
"BARBARA: He isn't free. He was captured before I was."
"ARBITAN: I am alone. Oh, please, let us release your companions and then I'll try to explain."