History Recap / BigFinishDoctorWho049Master

* YourWorstMemory: The Doctor initially introduces the murder of the bully as the Master's worst memory, being the moment that made him the Master in the first place... except [[spoiler:it turns out that it's actually ''the Doctor's worst memory.'' He killed the bully, then sold the Master to Death in order to escape becoming her servant- hence why he had the moment wiped from his mind until this adventure]].

The final part of the "Villains Trilogy": three standalone episodes that explore how the Doctor and his archenemies aren't so different in the end. The other two parts are "[[Recap/BigFinishDoctorWho047Omega Omega]]" and "[[Recap/BigFinishDoctorWho048Davros Davros]]". The trilogy also thematically paved the road for the next episode, "Zagreus", although that episode is not standalone and is instead part of the Eighth Doctor's StoryArc.

* BaitAndSwitch: Torvik's death was actually [[spiler:caused by the Doctor]].

* SpotOfTea

* FoeYay

%%* TheGrotesque
* GypsyCurse: Smith reveals that there is a story that the house is haunted because the original owner killed people, and he partly brought his friends here to see if they noticed anything.

%%* HearingVoices

The final part of the "Villains Trilogy": three standalone episodes that explore how the Doctor and his archenemies are NotSoDifferent in the end. The other two parts are "[[Recap/BigFinishDoctorWho047Omega Omega]]" and "[[Recap/BigFinishDoctorWho048Davros Davros]]". The trilogy also thematically paved the road for the next episode, "Zagreus", although that episode is not standalone and is instead part of the Eighth Doctor's StoryArc.

* NotSoDifferent: Ohh boy. This was already a major theme in the preceding episodes "Omega" (with Five) and "Davros" (with Six), but Seven and the Master take it to whole new levels.

* AwfulTruth: One of the ''real'' reasons the Doctor keeps trying to save the Master - [[spoiler:in their childhood, he killed a bully to defend the Master. But when Death came to select him as her Champion, the Doctor chose to give her the Master instead, partly helping push him into the spiral of madness he eventually became sunken into.]]
* TheBadGuyWins: Death, if she's being honest when she says she never expected the Doctor to be corrupted and kill the Master anyway. Also the Master himself in a way, since the Doctor ultimately fails to reform him, although [[StatusQuoIsGod that's a given really.]]
* BaitAndSwitch: Torvik's death was actually caused by the Doctor.
* BatmanGambit: A failed one done by John Smith and Jacqueline.

* DemonicPossession

* EvilIsPetty
* FailureIsTheOnlyOption

%%* GypsyCurse

%%* MoralityChain: Jacqueline is one for The Master / John Smith.
%%** Horribly [[SubvertedTrope subverted]] with her to Victor.

* NightmareOfNormality: The reason for John Smith's life in Perfugium. Needless to say, Master is ''not'' happy at being deluded into believing himself an ordinary human being, and gives both Death and the Doctor an earful over it.

%%* OrphanedPunchline

* YourWorstMemory: The Doctor initially introduces the murder of the bully as the Master's worst memory, being the moment that made him the Master in the first place... except [[spoiler:it turns out that it's actually ''the Doctor's worst memory.'' He killed the bully, then sold the Master to Death in order to escape becoming her servant - hence why he had the moment wiped from his mind until this adventure]].

* GothicHorror

* TheGrotesque
* GypsyCurse

* HearingVoices

* INeedAFreakingDrink

* MoralityChain: Jacqueline is one for The Master / John Smith.
** Horribly [[SubvertedTrope subverted]] with her to Victor.
* NarratorAllAlong
* NeverOneMurder

* OrphanedPunchline

This episode was based on on the novel ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoNewAdventuresHumanNature Human Nature]]'' and ended up inspiring the TV series episode [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E11Utopia "Utopia"]].

* DealWithTheDevil: The deal with Death.

* DownerEnding

* FramingDevice
* GoodScarsEvilScars

* HealingFactor: The Doctor (as a Timelord) heals from a lightning strike fairly quickly.

* IfICantHaveYou

* TheReveal: Several.
* SadisticChoice

* WhatYouAreInTheDark

* YouCantFightFate
* YourWorstMemory: The Doctor initially introduces the murder of the bully as the Master's worst memory, being the moment that made him the Master in the first place... except it turns out that it's actually ''the Doctor's worst memory.'' He killed the bully, then sold the Master to Death in order to escape becoming her servant - hence why he had the moment wiped from his mind until this adventure.

* YouCantFightFate

This episode was based on on the ''Literature/DoctorWhoNewAdventures'' novel ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoNewAdventuresHumanNature Human Nature]]'' and ended up inspiring the TV series episode [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E11Utopia "Utopia"]].

* EvilCounterpart: This episode's premise is akin to [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E8HumanNature "Human Nature"]]/[[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E9TheFamilyOfBlood "The Family of Blood"]] (originally a ''Literature/DoctorWhoNewAdventures'' novel by Paul Cornell) except it's not the ''Doctor'' as John Smith...

The final part of the "Villains Trilogy": three standalone episodes that explore how the Doctor and his archenemies are NotSoDifferent in the end. The other two parts are [[Recap/BigFinishDoctorWho047Omega "Omega"]] and [[Recap/BigFinishDoctorWho048Davros "Davros"]]. The trilogy also thematically paved the road for the next episode, "Zagreus", although that episode is not standalone and is instead part of the Eighth Doctor's StoryArc.

And that's why he told the story to the sniper -- he plans to take the gun and commit the act himself. But he still can't go through with it, and the sniper gleefully reveals himself to simply be Death, taking great pleasure in watching the Doctor struggle with morality. John is given an opportunity to save Jacqueline�s life by killing Victor before he can kill his wife, with the implication that if he takes a life, he will become Death�s servant once more. The story ends where it began, with Victor and Jacqueline arriving at their old friend�s house to celebrate his birthday, only to find him waiting with a knife. But as the events of that terrible night have not happened, Jacqueline does not understand why John is behaving this way, and she is horrified when he threatens to kill her husband. John is torn with indecision; if he kills Victor, Jacqueline will live, but she will not understand why he has done this and he will be doomed to become the Master once more.

As the clock ticks and the wine bottles get emptier, the group of friends is surprised by the Doctor, who stumbles into the house weakened and babbling on about "DEATH". The Doctor -- realising that the name "Dr. John Smith" is taken today -- introduces himself as [[Recap/BigFinishDoctorWhoSpecialsExcelisDecays Dr. Vaughan Sutton]]. He tells John stories about another life, about a world outside the mansion and outside Perfugium. John feels an instant connection to a fellow man of science, and the two quietly start a friendship, with John telling the Doctor about Victor's overly scientific mind and Jacqueline's naiveté. Victor insists that every murder, every act of evil, must be provoked or performed by a deranged, sick mind. The evil are either meant to be cured or to be examined for scientific purposes. John would like to discover more options, and wonders what other motivations for evil might exist in the world. Meanwhile, Jacqueline herself acts oddly, even going so far as to slap the young maid, Jade, in the face. And suddenly, without provocation, the cat is murdered as gruesomely as the whores of Perfugium were, and what seems to be a {{poltergeist}} slams a copy of ''Literature/DrJekyllAndMrHyde'' into the Doctor's face.

The Doctor, who's perfectly aware of just who John is, can see an obvious clue when it hits him and explains to John just what's going on. Long ago, when two boys on a planet far away were playing by the stream together, one of them was nearly drowned by a bully. The other took up a rock and, to save his friend, killed the bully. The two boys quietly burned the corpse, but their lives had changed forever -- one ended up running away and became the Doctor, and the other, wrecked with guilt over having committed that murder, became the Master and turned into one of the most accomplished killers the universe had ever seen.

Meanwhile, Jade finds herself humming a tune about one who [[Recap/BigFinishDoctorWho050Zagreus sits inside your head, and lives among the dead...]]

John is horrified to discover that the memory of being the Master is deep inside him, but before he and the Doctor can discuss it further, Jade reveals herself to be Death incarnate. She mocks the people gathered there -- Victor for having committed the gruesome murders just to keep the whores away from Jacqueline, Jacqueline for being in love with John but never admitting it because of his low status in society, the Doctor for no longer merrily playing the spoons or mixing his metaphors, and John for being unable to cope with his past life.

And that's why he told the story to the sniper -- he plans to take the gun and commit the act himself. But he still can't go through with it, and the sniper gleefully reveals himself to simply be Death, taking great pleasure in watching the Doctor struggle with morality. John is given an opportunity to save Jacqueline’s life by killing Victor before he can kill his wife, with the implication that if he takes a life, he will become Death’s servant once more. The story ends where it began, with Victor and Jacqueline arriving at their old friend’s house to celebrate his birthday, only to find him waiting with a knife. But as the events of that terrible night have not happened, Jacqueline does not understand why John is behaving this way, and she is horrified when he threatens to kill her husband. John is torn with indecision; if he kills Victor, Jacqueline will live, but she will not understand why he has done this and he will be doomed to become the Master once more.

* AndIMustScream: [[spoiler: The Master inside of John Smith]].
* [[spoiler: AnthropomorphicPersonification]]: Death.
* AxCrazy: The serial killer that plagues the town. [[spoiler:Is Victor.]]
* [[spoiler:TheBadGuyWins: Death, if she's being honest when she says she never expected the Doctor to be corrupted and kill the Master anyway. Also the Master himself in a way, since the Doctor ultimately fails to reform him, although [[StatusQuoIsGod that's a given]] really.]]
* BaitAndSwitch: Torvik's death [[spoiler:was actually caused by the Doctor]].
* BatmanGambit: A failed one done by John Smith [[spoiler:and Jacqueline]].
* BecauseDestinySaysSo: [[spoiler:The reason why Death made her deal with the Doctor to transfer the memory of him killing Torvik to the Master. According to her the Doctor should've turned out to be the Master, but "others" had plans for him.]]

* [[BreakHisHeartToSaveHim Break Her Heart to Save Her]]: At the very end, Dr. Smith [[spoiler:pretends the Master has taken over earlier than expected, and verbally tears Jacqueline to pieces to try to get her to leave]].

* DealWithTheDevil: The deal with [[spoiler:Death.]]
* DemonicPossession
* [[spoiler: DownerEnding]]

* [[spoiler: FailureIsTheOnlyOption]]

* ForTheEvulz: Dr. Smith and the Doctor have more than a few long discussions about the nature of evil, and how to comprehend an individual that, instead of [[FreudianExcuse a concrete motive]] for their actions, just ''was''. The Doctor says he knew someone whose actions often fitted that description, long ago. [[spoiler: The Master personally refutes simply being labeled "evil"]].

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Jade sings [[spoiler:the Zagreus poem]], and wonders where it came from.
** Also [[spoiler:the colour green being the colour of death.]]

* TheGrimReaper: [[spoiler:The maid Jade is actually a disguise for Death herself and she ''really'' likes her job.]]

* HeroicBSOD: The Doctor [[spoiler:when he learns he was supposed to have become the Master]].
* [[spoiler: IfICantHaveYou]]

* JackTheRipOff: [[spoiler:Victor.]]
* LaserGuidedAmnesia: Dr. Smith. [[ForegoneConclusion It's not exactly a secret who he was]].
* MoralityChain: Jacqueline is one for [[spoiler: The Master / John Smith.]]
** Horribly [[SubvertedTrope subverted]] with [[spoiler:her to Victor]].

* ThatPoorCat: The original ''Human Nature'' novel introduced Wolsey, the Seventh Doctor's pet cat, who'd stay part of team TARDIS for years and years. In this episode, John Smith also has a cat. [[spoiler:It's ripped open halfway through the story]].

* TomatoInTheMirror: You know it's coming, but [[spoiler: it can't be easy for the kind hearted Doctor Smith to find out he's ''actually'' a mass-murdering psychopath]].
** Or for the Doctor to discover that [[spoiler:''he'' was supposed to be the Master, and the only reason he didn't become the mass-murdering psychopath was because he sold out his friend]].
* WhamLine: [[spoiler:Jade's]] reveal at the end of episode 3.
-->'''[[spoiler:Jade]]''': Why, me sir? '''I'm [[AC: [[TheGrimReaper Death]]]]'''.
** Out of the blue, you have Jade reciting '''[[spoiler:[[Recap/BigFinishDoctorWho050Zagreus the Zagreus poem]]]]''' while washing dishes...
--->'''Jade''': ''They say [[spoiler:he sits inside your head]],'' / ''they say [[spoiler:he lives among the dead]],'' / ''they say [[spoiler:he eats you when you're]]''--What an odd verse. / ''They say [[spoiler:he sits inside your head]]...''