Doctor Who Recap: Into the Daleks

Season: 8 / Episode: 2 It was only a matter of time until the new Doctor would have to face the Daleks, and in the second episode of season eight, “Into the Daleks,” the Doctor does just that, getting up-close and personal with his enemy by diving into its mind. In the first scene of the episode, we see two soldiers—a female soldier named Journey Blue and her wounded brother—flying through space, trying to escape the Daleks in pursuit. Just as the Daleks are about to blast their ship, the Doctor saves Journey with the Tardis. Of course, a soldier who finds herself suddenly transported inside a time machine with a stranger when she was facing death with her brother just seconds prior to that is going to freak out. In fact, I’d say it’s a given. But the Doctor callously tells her to stop crying (even though she just lost her brother, who the Doctor says he couldn’t save) and refuses to return her to her main ship until she asks nicely and says please.   “What was that? Your brother just died? You probably have lifelong PTSD from nearly dying at the hand-stalks of the Daleks just now? Sorry, I don’t care.”   The Doctor returns her to her ship, which is full of soldiers—not exactly the Doctor’s favorite people, as we all know—who are in the midst of a battle against the Daleks and think they may have an asset in the form of a “good” Dalek—a Dalek who wants to destroy his species. However, the Dalek is wounded, so the soldiers demand that the Doctor cure it. Meanwhile, o…