"We do not have to adapt to the environment; we will change the environment to suit us."
Powerful stuff from the Daleks there in an episode brimming with moral debate and logical conclusions.
The Doctor is quite happy to use the Thals to attack the Daleks so that he can recover the fluid link after admitting "I'm afraid my little trick has rather rebounded on me", but he is challenged by Ian who is the moral compass here. We're already used to Barbara fulfilling this role yet in this instance she argues for the attack. So early in the series these characters are rounded and three-dimensional.
The Daleks reach the conclusion that they must increase radiation levels on the planet to survive with chilling coldness after they have watched some of their own kind die after taking the anti-radiation drug. More great Dalek point-of view shots from Christopher Barry which really add to the other-wordly quality of these creatures.
He uses split screen effects again to show us the pipes leading to the city, the vortex in the lake at the end of the episode and a poor unfortunate creature that menaces Barbara and gets quickly bludgeoned by Ian!
The Thal chaps look fetching in their cut away leather trousers and tabbards, something I feel may not have gone unnoticed by Barbara as she gets closer to Gannatus. And I swear his brother has got a tattoo on his shoulder!
I enjoy the wobbly superimposed story title and writers credit at the start of these episodes. I appreciate what the Restoration Team are doing by replacing the end titles with shiny, steady, new ones, but they seem at odds with the age of the rest of the programme. As the Daleks and Thals are realising, we must all learn to put up with an imperfect world.
Next episode: The Ordeal
