Object

Piece of String

A thick coil of rough, unbleached cotton string, frayed at the edges where recent use has nicked the fibers. The Terileptil Leader snatches it from a storage compartment—one of several mundane items scattered in the control room’s functional detritus—and knots it deftly around Tegan’s wrist to secure the mind-control bracelet. The string’s fibers dig into her skin as she struggles, its tensile resistance failing under the android’s strength.

6 appearances

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

6 moments

S19E8 · Four to Doomsday Part 4

Doctor disarms Persuasion with mischief

The piece of string is produced by the Doctor and declared trivial, its importance denied as a cricket artifact. Though destined for confiscation, its ludicrous reclassification exposes the ritualistic nature of Persuasion’s enforcement and highlights how methodical tyranny can be subverted by randomness.

Before: Common object stored in the Doctor's pocket

After: Technically ‘confiscated’ by empty ritual, retained by Persuasion but drained of value

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S19E8 · Four to Doomsday Part 4

Monarch reveals hostile intentions

A length of string, claimed by the Doctor as a cricket relic, is extracted and questioned by Persuasion. Its triviality masks the Doctor’s deflection of authority through absurdity, exposing the enforcement’s patent concern with mundane items.

Before: In the Doctor’s coat pocket

After: Returned to the Doctor, weaponized through absurdity

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S19E13 · The Visitation Part 1

Time Lord uncovers hidden alien invasion

A coil of rough cotton string initially dismissed by the Doctor. It becomes a focal point when the Doctor pocketed it alongside other items, only for Tegan to later reference it during a tense moment. Its mundanity contrasts with alien tech, and it survives symbolic seizure, underscoring the absurdity of local quarantine rituals.

Before: Common farming item stored in the barn, physically used by Nyssa during her search

After: Taken by the Doctor as part of an incongruous collection, surviving confiscation as a silent witness to the alien conspiracy

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S19E13 · The Visitation Part 1

Doctor and Nyssa confront hidden cellar secrets

The piece of string is used by Nyssa to trace the path of the high-energy beam scarring along the wood paneling of the staircase wall. This tool, originally mundane, becomes essential in mapping the hidden damage and ultimately leads to the discovery of the concealed brick wall blocking access to part of the cellar.

Before: A coil of cotton string, intact and unbleached, carried casually in the Doctor's pocket as a practical item.

After: Held by Nyssa at the Doctor's behest, used to physically trace the damage on the walls; ends the event still in her possession but now marked by the tracing.

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S19E15 · The Visitation Part 3

Terileptils crush Tegan into submission

A length of ordinary string is used by the android to secure the bracelet during application, knotting it tightly around Tegan’s wrist. The commonplace object contrasts with the alien technology, highlighting the Leader’s improvisational use of available means to ensure control.

Before: Coiled in a storage compartment, likely used for various crude bindings throughout the control room.

After: Tightened around Tegan’s wrist, frayed and partially embedded in her skin from the android’s mechanical force.

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S20E23 · The Five Doctors Part 1

Second Doctor and Brigadier abducted by cone

Though visible as a prop in the Doctor's hands, the piece of string serves no functional role in this event; it is a minor costume detail in the Second Doctor's attire, discarded visually without narrative impact.

Before: Held in the Second Doctor's hands as part of his coat fastening

After: Unused, its presence faded as the event shifts to the conical object

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