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->''According to legend, you have a dumping ground. A planet where you lock up all the Daleks that go wrong: the battle-scarred, the insane, the ones even you can't control.''
-->'''--The Doctor'''

-> Written by Steven Moffat

Kidnapped by one of his oldest foes, the Doctor is forced on an impossible mission to a place even the Daleks are too terrified to enter... the [[TitleDrop Asylum of the Daleks]]. A planetary prison confining a veritable ContinuityCavalcade of the most terrifying and insane of their kind. When a human starship crashed there and started broadcasting songs from ''Theatre/{{Carmen}}'', the Daleks realised that if something can get ''in'', all the insane Daleks could also get ''out'', which would be really very bad. There's something, or someone, down there that no Dalek wants to go near, so the universe's leading expert on blowing up insane Daleks, the Doctor, is forced to beam down to the prison planet to turn off the force field and blow up all the insane Daleks (as well as himself). He is sent in with Amy and Rory, since Dalek data indicates that he needs companions at all times, but their marriage is in meltdown.

A genius human hacker, Oswin Oswald (Creator/JennaLouiseColeman), has been stuck on the crash-landed ship for a year. This is a bit of a surprise for the audience, since Creator/StevenMoffat had stated that [[LyingCreator she wouldn't be appearing until Christmas]] -- then again, the Doctor tells the Daleks "it's Christmas!", so that's all right then. She's been keeping busy by making soufflés and playing ''Theatre/{{Carmen}}'' at a very high volume to keep out the nightmarish Dalek voices. She's almost impossibly successful in warding off the renegade Daleks: being the best hacker the world has ever known, she effortlessly destroyed the Daleks' security system and kept them away from her base. But the rest of her crew were killed in the crash, and -- as they're horrified to find out -- turned into humanoid Dalek zombies by the Asylum's automated system.

As soon as the heroes land, the automated system starts working on them as well. The Daleks gave them wristbands to trick the security system into believing they'd already been converted. Amy manages to lose hers quite early on, and the Dalek mind virus starts "subtracting love and adding anger" -- turning her into one of their own. Oswin contacts the group using a makeshift intercom system, but avoids the question of why the Doctor can't establish a video link to her. The Doctor asks her how she made soufflés for a whole year -- particularly, [[ChekhovsGun where she got the milk]].

The Doctor rushes off to save Oswin while Rory tries to force Amy to take his wristband. It's simple logic, he explains: if the Daleks "subtract love and add anger", they'll have to spend much more time on him. Because the fact of their marriage is that he loves her more than she loves him ([[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E13TheBigBang by 2000 years, to be exact]]), and she hates him more than he hates her. She responds by slapping him in the face. The reason for their breakup and impending divorce is that Rory wants more children, Amy can't have any more after what happened to her in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS32E7AGoodManGoesToWar Demon's Run]], and she broke up with him to let him go and live a happy life without her. It doesn't matter in the end, because without either of them noticing the Doctor had slapped his own wristband on Amy before running off.

Meanwhile, Oswin has guided the Doctor to her hideout, and has used her suspiciously improbable hacking skills to delete ''all Dalek knowledge of the Doctor''. When he finally reaches her, he's horrified: Oswin is a fully converted Dalek, who unknowingly dreamed a world of cushy couches and soufflés to keep herself sane. She was right about one thing, though -- she's indeed a genius hacker, and by accessing the Dalek HiveMind equivalent, she was able to override all information the Daleks ever had on the Doctor. Which is ''great'', because the Daleks kept growing stronger, and more hateful, and more innovative, every single time the Doctor fought them -- every encounter with him just gave them more reason to become more violent. Daleks without knowledge of the Doctor are a fantastic favour to the whole universe. With her last conscious, human thoughts, she shuts off the forcefield, and the Daleks promptly blow up the prison planet with her (apparently) on it. The Doctor escapes through a sonicked teleport pad, bringing Amy and Rory along with him into the TARDIS.

Amy and Rory rather effortlessly resolve their marriage, and the Doctor hastily bids goodbye to a collection of [[LaserGuidedAmnesia extremely confused Daleks]] who wonder who this Doctor person is and why he's babbling about an [[Recap/DoctorWhoNSS1E13ThePartingOfTheWays Oncoming Storm]].

----
!!This episode provides examples of:

* AbnormalAmmo: The Daleks' Gravity Beam. It fires [[PersonOfMassDestruction the Doctor]].
* ActionFilmQuietDramaScene
* AdultFear: Going through a divorce. And [[LawOfInverseFertility being infertile]].
* AndThenJohnWasAZombie: Turns out Oswin only ''[[TomatoInTheMirror thinks]]'' she's still human.
* AlliterativeName: Oswin Oswald.
* ArcWords: "Run you clever boy, and remember."; "I don't know where I am."
* ArmourPiercingSlap: Rory gets two, courtesy of Amy. The first is played for laughs ("Amy it's me. Do you remember me?" ''slap'') and the second is played for drama during their argument ("Give me your arm. AMY!" ''slap'').
* ArmourPiercingQuestion: About cooking ingredients, believe it or not.
* ArmyOfTheAges: Daleks from all eras of the show's history are in attendance as inmates. However, the focus is clearly on the Creator/RussellTDavies-era Dalek models, as classic series models only appear as background cameos; [[http://www.thedoctorwhosite.co.uk/dalek/daleks-in-the-asylum/ here]] is a spotting guide for the latter kind.
** Counts as such in the Real World as well. The Dalek props were assembled from the BBC archives, private collections, and fan-made replicas. The oldest BBC one was first used in a Troughton story from 1967.
* AskAStupidQuestion: "Have you considered tracking back the signal and ''talking'' to them? [[YouAnsweredYourOwnQuestion ...he asked the Daleks]]."
* AssimilationBackfire: Oswin kept her humanity after being turned into a Dalek, which allows her to wipe all memories relating to the doctor from all the other Daleks.
* AxCrazy: This is the place where the ''psychotic'' Daleks go. Daleks are considered psychotic by normal standards. These are Daleks considered psychotic by ''other Daleks''.
* BadassBoast
-->'''Rory:''' Who killed all the Daleks?
-->'''The Doctor:''' [[BadassBoast Who do you think?]]
* BatmanGambit: The Doctor tricks a Dalek into activating its self-destruct sequence to [[TakingYouWithMe try and kill him]], then reverses its direction controls and forces it to back into a room filled with other Daleks.
* BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind: Oswin is shown boarding up a door to her "escape pod" to keep out the Daleks. Since it's all a fantasy created by her, what she's really doing is keeping her humanity safe from her encroaching Dalek conditioning.
* BiTheWay: Oswin flirts with both Rory and the Doctor, and mentions her that first crush was a girl called Nina. She elaborates that [[ExperimentedInCollege it was a phase]], though.
* BlackDudeDiesFirst: Or, in this case, has already been dead for a year. He'd just forgotten about it... until the Doctor and Amy reminded him.
* BlueAndOrangeMorality: The Daleks believe that hatred is beautiful, the purer the better. It's why they couldn't bring themselves to kill the [[TheUnfettered Asylum]] [[AxCrazy Daleks]] before this episode.
** Or why they seem unable to kill the Doctor. [[YourApprovalFillsMeWithShame This sickens him.]]
* BodyHorror: The Dalek eyestalk punching its way out of the forehead. The sickening ''[[HellIsThatNoise crunch]]'' is the evil cherry on the terror sundae.
* {{Bookends}}: Inverted, as at the end of series six (the last episode of), and at the end of this episode (the first of series seven), there is the repeated question "[[TitleDrop Doctor Who]]?"
* BorrowedCatchphrase
-->'''Doctor:''' We'll get through this, I promise. Don't be scared.
-->'''Amy:''' Scared? Who's scared? Geronimo.
* BreakTheCutie: Oswin, big time, at the end.
** And Amy as well, when she finally reveals why she wants to divorce Rory.
* {{Callback}}:
** The universe believing [[Recap/DoctorWhoS32E13TheWeddingOfRiverSong the Doctor is dead]].
** Amy being infertile because of what happened at [[Recap/DoctorWhoS32E7AGoodManGoesToWar Demon's Run]].
** Rory brings up [[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E13TheBigBang waiting 2000 years for Amy.]]
* TheCameo: The Asylum features Daleks from every previous era of the show.
* CasualDangerDialogue: Anything Oswin says. And occasionally Amy, too.
* ChekhovsGun: "Where do you get the milk?" Also, the ladder hanging out of the escape pod's emergency hatch.
* CombatStilettos: Darla, the Dalek puppet, sports a pair.
* ContinuityCavalcade:
** Skaro shows up for the first time in the new series.
** Intensive Care houses Daleks who have survived encounters with the Doctor on a number of worlds, including [[Recap/DoctorWhoS10E4PlanetOfTheDaleks Spiridon]], [[Recap/DoctorWhoS2E8TheChase Aridius]], [[Recap/DoctorWhoS3E4TheDaleksMasterPlan Kembel]], [[Recap/DoctorWhoS4E3ThePowerOfTheDaleks Vulcan]], and [[Recap/DoctorWhoS11E3DeathToTheDaleks Exxilon]]... supposedly; they appear to have all switched casings, though, for some reason.
** Also, the Nanogenes from "[[Recap/DoctorWhoNSS1E9TheEmptyChild The Empty Child]]" make a return, only now they convert people into Dalek Zombies rather than Gas Mask Zombies.
** While they are not named as such, the Dalek Puppets are implied to be an advanced form of the [[Recap/DoctorWhoS2E2TheDalekInvasionOfEarth Dalek Robomen]].
** The idea of human prisoners who are transformed into brainwashed Dalek sleeper agents also calls back to "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS21E4ResurrectionOfTheDaleks Resurrection of the Daleks]]".
*** The idea of human-Dalek hybrids calls back to "[[Recap/DoctorWhoNSS3E5EvolutionOfTheDaleks Evolution of the Daleks]]".
** The Special Weapons Dalek from "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS25E1RemembranceOfTheDaleks Remembrance of the Daleks]]", which was said to have been insane, is in the Asylum.
** A Davies-era Dalek helpless and in chains, breaking free and becoming much more of a threat, echoing [[Recap/DoctorWhoNSS1E6Dalek the first appearance of a Dalek in the 2005 revival.]]
** The spinning Dalek is almost certainly the one that the Daleks tested the Thal anti-rad meds on waaay back in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS1E2TheDaleks The Daleks]]". It caused the Dalek to spin around constantly and moan.
** The concept of the Daleks wanting human minds to give themselves an edge goes all the way back to "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS4E9TheEvilOfTheDaleks The Evil of the Daleks]]" where they attempted to integrate the "human factor" to make themselves even more deadly, and was seen in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS25E1RemembranceOfTheDaleks Remembrance of the Daleks]]" when they abducted a child to serve as their battle computer. And as in Evil of the Daleks it ends up backfiring in the worst possible way for them.
** The Doctor reveals he is [[Recap/DoctorWhoNSS1E11BoomTown still good]] [[Recap/DoctorWhoNSS1E2TheEndOfTheWorld with teleports]].
* ComicallyMissingThePoint:
-->'''Dalek Supreme:''' What is the noise? Explain! Explain!\\
'''Doctor:''' It's me.\\
'''Rory:''' I'm sorry, what?\\
'''Doctor:''' It's me, playing the triangle. Okay, I got buried in the mix. Theatre/{{Carmen}}, lovely show.
** Everyone gets exasperated when the Doctor keeps asking where Oswin gets the milk for her soufflés. Subverted; it turns out to be a very pertinent question.
* CouchGag: This episode débuted a gag in the opening sequence, with the Doctor Who logo being textured differently every episode. In this episode it was textured with Dalek bumps.
* CouldHaveAvoidedThisPlot: Once Amy tells Rory ''why'' she broke up with him, they're almost instantly back together again. This is after they've both already signed the divorce papers, though it should be noted that Rory is abducted before he can file them.
** TruthInTelevision: Sadly, a lot of marriages actually DO end because of things like this.
* CrazyPrepared: Rory, who had no idea he might be captured by aliens, keeps an electric torch in his pocket. Although looking at the history of his travels with the doctor (especially things like the Silence and the Weeping Angels), he may have just kept it on him just in case.
* DeadpanSnarker: Creepily enough, the Dalek Prime Minister seems to be one with regards to the Doctor, observing that maybe his species's admiration of "such divine hatred" is why they are unable to defeat the Doctor.
** Rory is on a roll as well.
* DemotedToDragon: The Supreme Dalek is now subordinate to the new Dalek Prime Minister.
* DivorceIsTemporary: It only takes one episode to reunites Amy and Rory.
* TheDreaded:
--> The Doctor, the Oncoming Storm, the Predator.
* DrivenToMadness: ''Every'' Dalek in the Asylum, particularly the Daleks who are in "Intensive Care" after surviving an encounter with [[TheDreaded the Doctor]], and Oswin.
* DyingAsYourself: "I am Oswin Oswald. I fought the Daleks and I ''am'' human. Remember me."
* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: The episode is about...you guessed: An asylum... for the Daleks.
* EurekaMoment: Amy realising the unfortunate implications of the Nanocloud converting everything "living or dead" into Dalek zombies during the Doctor's explanation of the technology.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: The Daleks turn out to have standards just as screwed up as they are.
-->'''Dalek Prime Minister:''' It is offensive to us to destroy such divine [[AlwaysChaoticEvil hatred]].
* EvilSoundsDeep: Inverted. Compared to the Dalek Emperor or Supreme, the Prime Minister is something of a tenor. The better to snark at the Doctor with.
* ExplainExplainOhCrap: The Doctor, who doesn't realize everything around them is a possible Dalek zombie until Amy tells him to shut up for a second and think.
-->'''The Doctor:''' Yes, exactly. Living or... dead. [[OhCrap Oh dear]].
* FaceCam: To represent Amy's SanitySlippage as she is infected by the Nanocloud.
* FauxAffablyEvil: The Dalek Prime Minister is far more polite, sardonic and respectful with the Doctor than any Dalek in the past. This oddly enough creates a rather disturbing reversal from the usual banter between Daleks and the Doctor, with the fuming Doctor being outsnarked by a Dalek.
* FlowerInHerHair: Oswin.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: "Eggs."
** Oswin being able to hack Dalek technology.
** "Where do you get the milk for the soufflés?"
** "Make them remember you."
** Somebody else seems to have climbed out of the escape pod already.
** There's a ballerina figurine in Oswin's "escape pod".
** Oswin's escape pod looks vaguely like a Dalek on the scanners.
** ''Carmen''. It's a tragic story as Carmen dies at the end.
** Also, in ''Carmen'' the Habanera aria, the song Oswin plays in almost every appearance and what the Daleks pick up, the translation of the lyric "Prends garde à toi!" is "You best beware!" But on the whole song, Carmen warns the onlookers she is like smoke, untouchable and unattainable. Just like Oswin.
* FunnyBackgroundEvent: Even after Amy's hallucination is broken, the "ballerina" Creator/WilliamHartnell-era Dalek can still be seen spinning around in circles in the background.
** Two Daleks can also be seen apparently holding "hands".
* GenderBlenderName: "Oswin" is traditionally a male name.
* GenreSavvy: The Supreme Dalek's smart enough to know the Doctor works best with companions. Their whole strategy is basically "fire the Doctor at the prison planet, stand back and let him do his usual thing".
-->'''Rory:''' In fairness, that is slightly your M.O.
-->'''Doctor:''' Don't be fair to the ''Daleks'' when they're ''firing'' me at a ''planet!''
** When they're all together in the Dalek Parliament, Amy is able to figure out everything the Doctor is thinking and doing.
* GoneHorriblyRight: The Daleks converting Oswin to harness her genius. Combining her intelligence with Dalek technology made her able to hack just about anything, and indeed created a very powerful entity... that was beyond their ability to control. As the Daleks themselves are an example of the trope, the irony of one of their own experiments backfiring on ''them'' is almost poetic.
* HandWave: Skaro was [[EarthShatteringKaboom clearly destroyed]] in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS25E1RemembranceOfTheDaleks Remembrance of the Daleks]]" by the Hand of Omega. According to Creator/NicholasBriggs explaining its not-quite-total destruction [[https://twitter.com/BriggsNicholas/status/242010196052946944 on]] {{Twitter}}, "It actually hit the Space Tescos next to Skaro by accident..." Of course, according to the Literature/EighthDoctorAdventures, it wasn't actually the ''real'' Skaro we saw blown up...
** When Amy is in the process of being converted by the nanogenes, the Doctor saves her by slipping his own nanogene-repelling bracelet on her. So why isn't he now in danger of being converted? Because...
-->'''Amy:''' Time Lord. What's the betting he doesn't even need it?
%%%
%% No natter and no breaking Example Indentation in Trope Lists.
%%%
* HappilyMarried: Subverted. At the start of the episode, Amy and Rory's marriage is going through difficulties. Though it is getting better by the end.
* HeldGaze: Amy and Rory when they are talking about the difficulties in their marriage and how much they still love each other that ends with a BigDamnKiss.
* HenpeckedHusband: Once again confronted, deconstructed and ultimately averted. When the Ponds are forced to finally confront their relationship issues, Rory laments how he's always felt he loved Amy more than she loved him. Turns out he was wrong. Again.
* HeroicSacrifice: Oswin.
* HiveMind: Oswin's shorthand for the Daleks' sort-of-psychic network, the "Pathweb".
* HollywoodHacking: Subverted. Oswin can only hack the Daleks' systems because she ''is one'', and thus connected to their HiveMind. All the HollywoodHacking we see going on is just a fantasy inside her head.
* KarmaHoudini: The Parliament of the Daleks have their memory of the Doctor erased but otherwise are completely unaffected and unpunished at the end of the episode.
** Then again they have lost all knowledge of the Doctor and thus the single greatest motivating factor that drove them to be so obscenely powerful in the first place.
* KillTheCutie: Oswin.
* InLoveWithYourCarnage: Sort of. The Daleks claim to find hatred beautiful, even if that hatred is directed at them. The Prime Minister suggests that this is why they have so much trouble killing the Doctor.
* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: Amy claims this is the reason she broke up with Rory. PoorCommunicationKills.
* KnuckleTattoos: Amy has the [[NightOfTheHunter familiar]] "love" and "hate" on her knuckles for the fashion shoot, although it's almost certainly ballpoint.
* LadyInRed: Oswin.
* LargeAndInCharge: In the Parliament scene, the new, larger Daleks from ''Victory of the Daleks'' appear to be acting as officers to the normal-sized bronze Daleks.
* LaserGuidedAmnesia: Inflicted on the entire Dalek species, thus robbing them of their greatest strength. Their fear of the Doctor.
-->'''Darla''': Titles are not meaningful in this context. [[TitleDrop Doctor]] [[ArcWords Who?]]
* LeaningOnTheFourthWall:
** Oswin's last line, which ends with her looking straight into the camera.
---> '''Oswin:''' Run, you clever boy... And remember.
** The Doctor does the same thing when leaving the Daleks chanting "Doctor Who?"
---> '''Doctor:''' Fellas -- you're never going to stop asking.
** Also, at the beginning of the episode the Doctor tells the Daleks that "it's Christmas!" Not long after that, we get the first appearance of Creator/JennaLouiseColeman, who Steven Moffat had [[LyingCreator told fans]] wouldn't be appearing until... Christmas.
* LivingBodysuit
* LotusEaterMachine: Oswin created her own personal paradise in her mind (as much as she could under the circumstances, anyway) and fully believes that she is a human trapped in an escape pod to avoid the truth that she has become a Dalek.
* TheMaidenNameDebate: Amy signs her divorce papers Amy ''[[FreezeFrameBonus Williams]]''. Later in the episode, the Doctor once again calls Rory "Mr Pond".
* ManchurianAgent: Dalek puppets look human, and don't have any idea of their Dalek-ness... that is, until they're needed.
* MeatPuppet: Taken to all new levels of BodyHorror. The Daleks hollow out their victims with {{Nanomachines}} and put Dalek machinery inside.
* MeaningfulEcho: A running gag from earlier turns into the most chilling word known to man.
--> '''Oswin''': "Eggs-ster-minate!"
** The cut to the Doctor fixing his bow-tie, after Amy realises the Doctor has helped to sort out the relationship she told him earlier was "not one of those things you can fix like you fix your bow-tie".
* MickeyMousing: When Oswin switches the music to the "Toreador Chorus," the music matches the banging on the door.
* MindRape: This is how the nanocloud conversion process begins.
* MoodWhiplash: From Oswin's narration into her diary at the beginning of the episode:
-->'''Oswin:''' Day 363. The terror continues. Also, made another soufflé ... very nearly.
* MoralEventHorizon: In-universe: the Daleks manage to disgust the Doctor again, even after all they've done already. They keep the insane Daleks alive as they feel their hatred is beautiful.
* MotorMouth: Jenna Coleman gives Matt Smith a run for his money.
* MsFanservice: Anamaria Marinca as Darla. And Jenna Coleman in her short red dress and lipstick for that matter.
* MushroomSamba: Amy starts seeing a room full of waiters greeting her and spinning ballerinas. It's actually a room full of half-active Daleks.
* MythologyGag: In early drafts of "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS1E2TheDaleks The Daleks]]", it would have been a plot point that Skaro was subject to regular monsoon-like storms. When this serial opens on Skaro, just such a storm is taking place.
** One of the Daleks that Amy sees as human is a ballerina. The design of the Daleks, specifically their long skirts and gliding motion, was inspired by the Georgian National Ballet dancers seen by Terry Nation one evening.
** Dalek Sec's casing appears as a man in a suit when Amy's hallucinating.
* {{Nanomachines}}: Like the ones from ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoNSS1E9TheEmptyChild The Empty Child]]'', only even nastier.
* NeverTrustATrailer: Rory: "Who killed all the Daleks?" Doctor: [[BadassBoast "Who do you think?"]] The scene's from the middle of the episode and involves only a room full of Daleks. There are still plenty left alive, [[KarmaHoudini even after the end of the episode.]]
* OhCrap: Rory's face when he realises the crazy Dalek was ''not'' saying "[[CatchPhrase Eggs]]".
* OurZombiesAreDifferent: They're Dalek androids made out of human corpses. Anyone who lands on the Asylum becomes one.
** The ICU Daleks count even on their own, slowly lumbering toward the Doctor, stripped of their guns.
* PietaPlagiarism: The Doctor, holding nearly-emotion drained Amy.
* PoorCommunicationKills: Or at least ends marriages. Amy throws Rory out upon learning she can't have more children, and somehow doesn't think to actually tell him this, leaving him understandably bitter after a couple of months or so of wondering what the hell he did wrong.
* ThePowerOfHate: The Daleks both love hatred and hate the Doctor. His existence as an entity beyond them, who are supposed to be the most superior entity in all the galaxy, has driven them to such levels of power that they have threatened the whole of reality. And Oswin effectively neuters this hatred and drive to become stronger by stripping the Doctor from the memory banks of everything Dalek.
* PowerOfLove: How Amy fights the Dalek-puppet conversion [[SubvertedTrope (or so she thinks)]] and how Oswin maintains her humanity, seemingly. Between this episode and [[Recap/DoctorWhoS32E12ClosingTime "Closing Time"]], that's starting to become a theme on fighting cyborg conversion in general.
* ReedRichardsIsUseless: In the end, Oswin the super-hacker writes the Doctor right out of the Dalek's minds. Not, however, instructing them to live a life of peace or stop bothering other species. Necessary though, because this is a TV show and [[StatusQuoIsGod we can't do without]] the show's most iconic enemies.
** Also, reforming the Daleks wasn't her priority at the time; she was more concerned with protecting the Doctor from imminent death. And just because she can delete memories doesn't mean she can rewrite their entire personalities.
* RedBaron: The Doctor gets a fresh one to go along with "The Oncoming Storm": "The Predator of the Daleks"
* ReplicantSnatching: The Daleks can now harvest human bodies into puppets for undercover purposes. The horror potential of this is not particularly played out in this episode, though.
* RunningGag: The Doctor's exasperation at Amy and Rory's make-out sessions. Rory's nose gets some more jabs, although Oswin doesn't let the Doctor's chin off either.
** Where does she get the milk for all the soufflés? This one turns out to be quite serious, though.
* SanitySlippage: Amy while affected by the nanocloud. Also Oswin when reminded of her [[TomatoInTheMirror true situation]].
* SaveTheVillain: The Daleks' request to the Doctor, in a LesserOfTwoEvils situation, of course.
* ScaryDogmaticAliens: Who do you think?
* SceneryGorn: In the prologue, Skaro is an awful wasteland with acid storms and a giant statue of a Dalek.
* SceneryPorn: We only got those snow scenes because everyone realised how close they were to a resort while filming episode three in Almeria.
** The wide shots of the Parliament of the Daleks; somewhat like what they wanted the Shadow Proclamation to look like in "The Stolen Earth" but couldn't do for budget reasons. [[CaptainObvious Except with Daleks]].
* SelfDestructMechanism: The Daleks' suits have one.
* ShellShockedVeteran: All Dalek survivors from the events of "The Chase", "The Daleks' Master Plan", "The Power of the Daleks", "Planet of the Daleks", and "Death to the Daleks".
* ShutUpKirk: The Doctor tries to appeal to Darla to remember the human she once was, reminding her she has a daughter. Darla smirks and replies "Yes, I know. I read the file".
* ShoutOut:
** Oswin listening to ''Theatre/{{Carmen}}'' throughout the episode. She even seems [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} to be cosplaying]] [[LadyInRed as said]] [[FlowerInHerHair character]] !
-->'''Doctor:''' Carmen, lovely show.
** Oswin barricading the door and playing loud music to drown out the monsters outside. Then she comments "They only come out at night. [[Film/TheLastManOnEarth Maybe they're vampires]]".
** [[Creator/MaeWest "Come up and see me sometime."]]
** When the nanocloud starts giving Amy 'Dalek-vision', she sees a room full of Daleks as people instead, only they seem to be trapped in the 1950s, with the right background music to boot. [[Film/TheShining Kinda like the Overlook Hotel, really.]]
* ShowDontTell: Apart from being told that the insane Daleks are the worst kind, they don't seem that much worse than the regular ones, sleeping most of the time and in need of repair. Although there are [[ZergRush enough of them]] to fill up a ''planet''.
** Judging by Amy's hallucination scene however, it seems the Dalek's in the asylum have developed dreams and feelings beyond hatred, for Daleks this would be the worst display of insanity.
* SirNotAppearingInThisTrailer: For months prior to the broadcast, Jenna-Louise Coleman had been promoted as playing the Doctor's new companion, and that she would debut in the 2012 Christmas special. As a result, and thanks to successful efforts by the BBC to prevent spoilers from getting out, her appearance in this episode was a complete surprise to most viewers. Needless to say, none of the advance publicity for this episode referenced her, even though she was the episode's main guest character.
* SkewedPriorities: "Where do you get the milk for the soufflés?" Of course, TheCuckoolanderWasRight. There are no soufflés.
** Only the Doctor could be preoccupied with the state of Amy and Rory's marriage whilst in the middle of an veritable ''army'' of Daleks. Then again, they ''are'', technically, ''[[BigScrewedUpFamily his parents-in-law]]'', and the series has made a case of how [[Recap/DoctorWho2010CSAChristmasCarol childish the Doctor can get]].
* SlaveMooks: The Dalek Puppets.
* SnapBack: Starting with this story, the RTD-era "Time War" Daleks were reinstated as the main Dalek design, with the updated design introduced early in the Eleventh Doctor's run being relegated to filling out crowds.
* SoLongSuckers: The Doctor, as usual, can't leave without at least one good taunt.
-->'''Doctor:''' You know, you guys should really have seen this coming. Thing about me and teleports: I've got a really good aim. Pinpoint accurate in fact. Or, to put it another way: [[SoLongSuckers Suckers!]]
* StealthPun: The Doctor calls the Daleks "suckers".
* StrawmanHasAPoint: When the Doctor questions why the Daleks seem to expect that he will just walk in and fix everything.
--> '''Rory''': In fairness, that is slightly your M.O.
--> '''Doctor''': Don't be ''fair'' to the Daleks when they're ''firing me at a planet!''
* TakingYouWithMe: One of the Daleks, having a damaged gun-stick, activates its self-destruct next to the Doctor. This, however, is exactly what the Doctor wanted it to do. He forces it to go straight back into an enormous group of Daleks, destroying them all.
* TalkingTheMonsterToDeath: Subverted. The Doctor ''tries'' to do this with one of the Dalek Zombies, asking her if she knows that she once had a daughter before the Daleks hollowed her out and turned her into their puppet? The Dalek Zombie replies that she does... because she ''[[ShutUpKirk read her file!]]''
* TitleDrop: [[AC:[[ArcWords Doc-tor Who?]]]]
* TomatoInTheMirror: Oswin is a Dalek.
* TooDumbToLive: Not only did Rory stick around when some insane Daleks started waking up -- did he seriously think a bunch of glitched-out Daleks were saying "eggs" and not just the first syllable of "[[CatchPhrase exterminate]]"?
* TooSpicyForYogSothoth: The Daleks convert Oswin into one of them and attempt to add her to their HiveMind, but Oswin's mind is too intelligent to be over-written. The Daleks become so confused by this they're too afraid to even go near her, and send in the Doctor, their worst enemy, to sort out the mess instead.
* TranslationConvention: Presumably Daleks don't ''really'' have an operating system that displays messages in plain English, like we see when looking through the POV of the one who self destructs.
* TrailersAlwaysSpoil: Averted: Oswin's appearance in the episode was kept completely under wraps prior to the episode's début broadcast.
* TraumaInducedAmnesia: Oswin forgets she is a Dalek and imagines life in the asylum because the truth was too terrible.
* UpToEleven: Lampshaded.
-->'''Rory:''' So... how much trouble are we in?
-->'''Doctor:''' How much trouble, Mr Pond? [[TheNthDoctor Out of ten?]] [[ArcNumber Eleven.]]
* VerbalTic: "Eggs. Eggs...stir...Eggs-stir-minate! [[OhCrap EXTERMINATE!]]
* ViolentGlaswegian: Amy implies that most of Scotland is after she slaps Rory, and Oswin wonders if the Dalek conversion is already making her angrier than normal.
-->'''Amy:''' Well, somebody's never been to Scotland.
* VisualPun: Astonishingly, this is the first time in 49 years that televised ''Series/DoctorWho'' has acknowledged the resemblance between a Dalek gun and an egg whisk. Oswin's obsession with soufflés turns out to perhaps be a subconscious way to deal with having aforementioned gun.
* WasOnceAMan: The Dalek Puppets. Also, poor, [[BreakTheCutie poor]] Dalek Oswin.
* WhamEpisode:
** Although the whole episode was filled with whams, the biggest one that affects the whole series was every Dalek, everywhere, losing all memory of the Doctor.
** A meta example was future companion actor Jenna Louise-Coleman's early appearance as Oswin Oswald, only for it to be revealed that [[TomatoInTheMirror Oswin was a Dalek]].
* WhamLine:
-->'''The Doctor:''' It's a dream, Oswin. You dreamed it yourself because the truth was too terrible.
** Also:
--->'''Daleks:''' '''[[TitleDrop DOC]]-[[ArcWords TOR]] [[LaserGuidedAmnesia WHO]]!?'''
** Plus:
--->'''Man:''' Of course. Stupid me: [[DeadAllAlong I died outside]].
** And:
--->'''Amy:''' You want kids, you have always wanted kids, ever since you ''were'' a kid. '''''And I can't have them.''''' Whatever they did to me at Demon's Run, ''I can't ever give you children''.
** And this heartbreaking moment:
---> '''Oswin''': Where am I?
* TheXOfY: Yet again.
* YourApprovalFillsMeWithShame: The Doctor, when the Dalek Prime Minister remarks that perhaps the reason the Daleks have never been able to kill the Doctor is because he is such a "divine" example of hatred.

to:

[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/asylum-daleks-poster-300x212_5701.jpg]]

->''According to legend, you have a dumping ground. A planet where you lock up all the Daleks that go wrong: the battle-scarred, the insane, the ones even you can't control.''
-->'''--The Doctor'''

-> Written by Steven Moffat

Kidnapped by one of his oldest foes, the Doctor is forced on an impossible mission to a place even the Daleks are too terrified to enter... the [[TitleDrop Asylum of the Daleks]]. A planetary prison confining a veritable ContinuityCavalcade of the most terrifying and insane of their kind. When a human starship crashed there and started broadcasting songs from ''Theatre/{{Carmen}}'', the Daleks realised that if something can get ''in'', all the insane Daleks could also get ''out'', which would be really very bad. There's something, or someone, down there that no Dalek wants to go near, so the universe's leading expert on blowing up insane Daleks, the Doctor, is forced to beam down to the prison planet to turn off the force field and blow up all the insane Daleks (as well as himself). He is sent in with Amy and Rory, since Dalek data indicates that he needs companions at all times, but their marriage is in meltdown.

A genius human hacker, Oswin Oswald (Creator/JennaLouiseColeman), has been stuck on the crash-landed ship for a year. This is a bit of a surprise for the audience, since Creator/StevenMoffat had stated that [[LyingCreator she wouldn't be appearing until Christmas]] -- then again, the Doctor tells the Daleks "it's Christmas!", so that's all right then. She's been keeping busy by making soufflés and playing ''Theatre/{{Carmen}}'' at a very high volume to keep out the nightmarish Dalek voices. She's almost impossibly successful in warding off the renegade Daleks: being the best hacker the world has ever known, she effortlessly destroyed the Daleks' security system and kept them away from her base. But the rest of her crew were killed in the crash, and -- as they're horrified to find out -- turned into humanoid Dalek zombies by the Asylum's automated system.

As soon as the heroes land, the automated system starts working on them as well. The Daleks gave them wristbands to trick the security system into believing they'd already been converted. Amy manages to lose hers quite early on, and the Dalek mind virus starts "subtracting love and adding anger" -- turning her into one of their own. Oswin contacts the group using a makeshift intercom system, but avoids the question of why the Doctor can't establish a video link to her. The Doctor asks her how she made soufflés for a whole year -- particularly, [[ChekhovsGun where she got the milk]].

The Doctor rushes off to save Oswin while Rory tries to force Amy to take his wristband. It's simple logic, he explains: if the Daleks "subtract love and add anger", they'll have to spend much more time on him. Because the fact of their marriage is that he loves her more than she loves him ([[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E13TheBigBang by 2000 years, to be exact]]), and she hates him more than he hates her. She responds by slapping him in the face. The reason for their breakup and impending divorce is that Rory wants more children, Amy can't have any more after what happened to her in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS32E7AGoodManGoesToWar Demon's Run]], and she broke up with him to let him go and live a happy life without her. It doesn't matter in the end, because without either of them noticing the Doctor had slapped his own wristband on Amy before running off.

Meanwhile, Oswin has guided the Doctor to her hideout, and has used her suspiciously improbable hacking skills to delete ''all Dalek knowledge of the Doctor''. When he finally reaches her, he's horrified: Oswin is a fully converted Dalek, who unknowingly dreamed a world of cushy couches and soufflés to keep herself sane. She was right about one thing, though -- she's indeed a genius hacker, and by accessing the Dalek HiveMind equivalent, she was able to override all information the Daleks ever had on the Doctor. Which is ''great'', because the Daleks kept growing stronger, and more hateful, and more innovative, every single time the Doctor fought them -- every encounter with him just gave them more reason to become more violent. Daleks without knowledge of the Doctor are a fantastic favour to the whole universe. With her last conscious, human thoughts, she shuts off the forcefield, and the Daleks promptly blow up the prison planet with her (apparently) on it. The Doctor escapes through a sonicked teleport pad, bringing Amy and Rory along with him into the TARDIS.

Amy and Rory rather effortlessly resolve their marriage, and the Doctor hastily bids goodbye to a collection of [[LaserGuidedAmnesia extremely confused Daleks]] who wonder who this Doctor person is and why he's babbling about an [[Recap/DoctorWhoNSS1E13ThePartingOfTheWays Oncoming Storm]].

----
!!This episode provides examples of:

* AbnormalAmmo: The Daleks' Gravity Beam. It fires [[PersonOfMassDestruction the Doctor]].
* ActionFilmQuietDramaScene
* AdultFear: Going through a divorce. And [[LawOfInverseFertility being infertile]].
* AndThenJohnWasAZombie: Turns out Oswin only ''[[TomatoInTheMirror thinks]]'' she's still human.
* AlliterativeName: Oswin Oswald.
* ArcWords: "Run you clever boy, and remember."; "I don't know where I am."
* ArmourPiercingSlap: Rory gets two, courtesy of Amy. The first is played for laughs ("Amy it's me. Do you remember me?" ''slap'') and the second is played for drama during their argument ("Give me your arm. AMY!" ''slap'').
* ArmourPiercingQuestion: About cooking ingredients, believe it or not.
* ArmyOfTheAges: Daleks from all eras of the show's history are in attendance as inmates. However, the focus is clearly on the Creator/RussellTDavies-era Dalek models, as classic series models only appear as background cameos; [[http://www.thedoctorwhosite.co.uk/dalek/daleks-in-the-asylum/ here]] is a spotting guide for the latter kind.
** Counts as such in the Real World as well. The Dalek props were assembled from the BBC archives, private collections, and fan-made replicas. The oldest BBC one was first used in a Troughton story from 1967.
* AskAStupidQuestion: "Have you considered tracking back the signal and ''talking'' to them? [[YouAnsweredYourOwnQuestion ...he asked the Daleks]]."
* AssimilationBackfire: Oswin kept her humanity after being turned into a Dalek, which allows her to wipe all memories relating to the doctor from all the other Daleks.
* AxCrazy: This is the place where the ''psychotic'' Daleks go. Daleks are considered psychotic by normal standards. These are Daleks considered psychotic by ''other Daleks''.
* BadassBoast
-->'''Rory:''' Who killed all the Daleks?
-->'''The Doctor:''' [[BadassBoast Who do you think?]]
* BatmanGambit: The Doctor tricks a Dalek into activating its self-destruct sequence to [[TakingYouWithMe try and kill him]], then reverses its direction controls and forces it to back into a room filled with other Daleks.
* BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind: Oswin is shown boarding up a door to her "escape pod" to keep out the Daleks. Since it's all a fantasy created by her, what she's really doing is keeping her humanity safe from her encroaching Dalek conditioning.
* BiTheWay: Oswin flirts with both Rory and the Doctor, and mentions her that first crush was a girl called Nina. She elaborates that [[ExperimentedInCollege it was a phase]], though.
* BlackDudeDiesFirst: Or, in this case, has already been dead for a year. He'd just forgotten about it... until the Doctor and Amy reminded him.
* BlueAndOrangeMorality: The Daleks believe that hatred is beautiful, the purer the better. It's why they couldn't bring themselves to kill the [[TheUnfettered Asylum]] [[AxCrazy Daleks]] before this episode.
** Or why they seem unable to kill the Doctor. [[YourApprovalFillsMeWithShame This sickens him.]]
* BodyHorror: The Dalek eyestalk punching its way out of the forehead. The sickening ''[[HellIsThatNoise crunch]]'' is the evil cherry on the terror sundae.
* {{Bookends}}: Inverted, as at the end of series six (the last episode of), and at the end of this episode (the first of series seven), there is the repeated question "[[TitleDrop Doctor Who]]?"
* BorrowedCatchphrase
-->'''Doctor:''' We'll get through this, I promise. Don't be scared.
-->'''Amy:''' Scared? Who's scared? Geronimo.
* BreakTheCutie: Oswin, big time, at the end.
** And Amy as well, when she finally reveals why she wants to divorce Rory.
* {{Callback}}:
** The universe believing [[Recap/DoctorWhoS32E13TheWeddingOfRiverSong the Doctor is dead]].
** Amy being infertile because of what happened at [[Recap/DoctorWhoS32E7AGoodManGoesToWar Demon's Run]].
** Rory brings up [[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E13TheBigBang waiting 2000 years for Amy.]]
* TheCameo: The Asylum features Daleks from every previous era of the show.
* CasualDangerDialogue: Anything Oswin says. And occasionally Amy, too.
* ChekhovsGun: "Where do you get the milk?" Also, the ladder hanging out of the escape pod's emergency hatch.
* CombatStilettos: Darla, the Dalek puppet, sports a pair.
* ContinuityCavalcade:
** Skaro shows up for the first time in the new series.
** Intensive Care houses Daleks who have survived encounters with the Doctor on a number of worlds, including [[Recap/DoctorWhoS10E4PlanetOfTheDaleks Spiridon]], [[Recap/DoctorWhoS2E8TheChase Aridius]], [[Recap/DoctorWhoS3E4TheDaleksMasterPlan Kembel]], [[Recap/DoctorWhoS4E3ThePowerOfTheDaleks Vulcan]], and [[Recap/DoctorWhoS11E3DeathToTheDaleks Exxilon]]... supposedly; they appear to have all switched casings, though, for some reason.
** Also, the Nanogenes from "[[Recap/DoctorWhoNSS1E9TheEmptyChild The Empty Child]]" make a return, only now they convert people into Dalek Zombies rather than Gas Mask Zombies.
** While they are not named as such, the Dalek Puppets are implied to be an advanced form of the [[Recap/DoctorWhoS2E2TheDalekInvasionOfEarth Dalek Robomen]].
** The idea of human prisoners who are transformed into brainwashed Dalek sleeper agents also calls back to "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS21E4ResurrectionOfTheDaleks Resurrection of the Daleks]]".
*** The idea of human-Dalek hybrids calls back to "[[Recap/DoctorWhoNSS3E5EvolutionOfTheDaleks Evolution of the Daleks]]".
** The Special Weapons Dalek from "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS25E1RemembranceOfTheDaleks Remembrance of the Daleks]]", which was said to have been insane, is in the Asylum.
** A Davies-era Dalek helpless and in chains, breaking free and becoming much more of a threat, echoing [[Recap/DoctorWhoNSS1E6Dalek the first appearance of a Dalek in the 2005 revival.]]
** The spinning Dalek is almost certainly the one that the Daleks tested the Thal anti-rad meds on waaay back in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS1E2TheDaleks The Daleks]]". It caused the Dalek to spin around constantly and moan.
** The concept of the Daleks wanting human minds to give themselves an edge goes all the way back to "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS4E9TheEvilOfTheDaleks The Evil of the Daleks]]" where they attempted to integrate the "human factor" to make themselves even more deadly, and was seen in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS25E1RemembranceOfTheDaleks Remembrance of the Daleks]]" when they abducted a child to serve as their battle computer. And as in Evil of the Daleks it ends up backfiring in the worst possible way for them.
** The Doctor reveals he is [[Recap/DoctorWhoNSS1E11BoomTown still good]] [[Recap/DoctorWhoNSS1E2TheEndOfTheWorld with teleports]].
* ComicallyMissingThePoint:
-->'''Dalek Supreme:''' What is the noise? Explain! Explain!\\
'''Doctor:''' It's me.\\
'''Rory:''' I'm sorry, what?\\
'''Doctor:''' It's me, playing the triangle. Okay, I got buried in the mix. Theatre/{{Carmen}}, lovely show.
** Everyone gets exasperated when the Doctor keeps asking where Oswin gets the milk for her soufflés. Subverted; it turns out to be a very pertinent question.
* CouchGag: This episode débuted a gag in the opening sequence, with the Doctor Who logo being textured differently every episode. In this episode it was textured with Dalek bumps.
* CouldHaveAvoidedThisPlot: Once Amy tells Rory ''why'' she broke up with him, they're almost instantly back together again. This is after they've both already signed the divorce papers, though it should be noted that Rory is abducted before he can file them.
** TruthInTelevision: Sadly, a lot of marriages actually DO end because of things like this.
* CrazyPrepared: Rory, who had no idea he might be captured by aliens, keeps an electric torch in his pocket. Although looking at the history of his travels with the doctor (especially things like the Silence and the Weeping Angels), he may have just kept it on him just in case.
* DeadpanSnarker: Creepily enough, the Dalek Prime Minister seems to be one with regards to the Doctor, observing that maybe his species's admiration of "such divine hatred" is why they are unable to defeat the Doctor.
** Rory is on a roll as well.
* DemotedToDragon: The Supreme Dalek is now subordinate to the new Dalek Prime Minister.
* DivorceIsTemporary: It only takes one episode to reunites Amy and Rory.
* TheDreaded:
--> The Doctor, the Oncoming Storm, the Predator.
* DrivenToMadness: ''Every'' Dalek in the Asylum, particularly the Daleks who are in "Intensive Care" after surviving an encounter with [[TheDreaded the Doctor]], and Oswin.
* DyingAsYourself: "I am Oswin Oswald. I fought the Daleks and I ''am'' human. Remember me."
* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: The episode is about...you guessed: An asylum... for the Daleks.
* EurekaMoment: Amy realising the unfortunate implications of the Nanocloud converting everything "living or dead" into Dalek zombies during the Doctor's explanation of the technology.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: The Daleks turn out to have standards just as screwed up as they are.
-->'''Dalek Prime Minister:''' It is offensive to us to destroy such divine [[AlwaysChaoticEvil hatred]].
* EvilSoundsDeep: Inverted. Compared to the Dalek Emperor or Supreme, the Prime Minister is something of a tenor. The better to snark at the Doctor with.
* ExplainExplainOhCrap: The Doctor, who doesn't realize everything around them is a possible Dalek zombie until Amy tells him to shut up for a second and think.
-->'''The Doctor:''' Yes, exactly. Living or... dead. [[OhCrap Oh dear]].
* FaceCam: To represent Amy's SanitySlippage as she is infected by the Nanocloud.
* FauxAffablyEvil: The Dalek Prime Minister is far more polite, sardonic and respectful with the Doctor than any Dalek in the past. This oddly enough creates a rather disturbing reversal from the usual banter between Daleks and the Doctor, with the fuming Doctor being outsnarked by a Dalek.
* FlowerInHerHair: Oswin.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: "Eggs."
** Oswin being able to hack Dalek technology.
** "Where do you get the milk for the soufflés?"
** "Make them remember you."
** Somebody else seems to have climbed out of the escape pod already.
** There's a ballerina figurine in Oswin's "escape pod".
** Oswin's escape pod looks vaguely like a Dalek on the scanners.
** ''Carmen''. It's a tragic story as Carmen dies at the end.
** Also, in ''Carmen'' the Habanera aria, the song Oswin plays in almost every appearance and what the Daleks pick up, the translation of the lyric "Prends garde à toi!" is "You best beware!" But on the whole song, Carmen warns the onlookers she is like smoke, untouchable and unattainable. Just like Oswin.
* FunnyBackgroundEvent: Even after Amy's hallucination is broken, the "ballerina" Creator/WilliamHartnell-era Dalek can still be seen spinning around in circles in the background.
** Two Daleks can also be seen apparently holding "hands".
* GenderBlenderName: "Oswin" is traditionally a male name.
* GenreSavvy: The Supreme Dalek's smart enough to know the Doctor works best with companions. Their whole strategy is basically "fire the Doctor at the prison planet, stand back and let him do his usual thing".
-->'''Rory:''' In fairness, that is slightly your M.O.
-->'''Doctor:''' Don't be fair to the ''Daleks'' when they're ''firing'' me at a ''planet!''
** When they're all together in the Dalek Parliament, Amy is able to figure out everything the Doctor is thinking and doing.
* GoneHorriblyRight: The Daleks converting Oswin to harness her genius. Combining her intelligence with Dalek technology made her able to hack just about anything, and indeed created a very powerful entity... that was beyond their ability to control. As the Daleks themselves are an example of the trope, the irony of one of their own experiments backfiring on ''them'' is almost poetic.
* HandWave: Skaro was [[EarthShatteringKaboom clearly destroyed]] in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS25E1RemembranceOfTheDaleks Remembrance of the Daleks]]" by the Hand of Omega. According to Creator/NicholasBriggs explaining its not-quite-total destruction [[https://twitter.com/BriggsNicholas/status/242010196052946944 on]] {{Twitter}}, "It actually hit the Space Tescos next to Skaro by accident..." Of course, according to the Literature/EighthDoctorAdventures, it wasn't actually the ''real'' Skaro we saw blown up...
** When Amy is in the process of being converted by the nanogenes, the Doctor saves her by slipping his own nanogene-repelling bracelet on her. So why isn't he now in danger of being converted? Because...
-->'''Amy:''' Time Lord. What's the betting he doesn't even need it?
%%%
%% No natter and no breaking Example Indentation in Trope Lists.
%%%
* HappilyMarried: Subverted. At the start of the episode, Amy and Rory's marriage is going through difficulties. Though it is getting better by the end.
* HeldGaze: Amy and Rory when they are talking about the difficulties in their marriage and how much they still love each other that ends with a BigDamnKiss.
* HenpeckedHusband: Once again confronted, deconstructed and ultimately averted. When the Ponds are forced to finally confront their relationship issues, Rory laments how he's always felt he loved Amy more than she loved him. Turns out he was wrong. Again.
* HeroicSacrifice: Oswin.
* HiveMind: Oswin's shorthand for the Daleks' sort-of-psychic network, the "Pathweb".
* HollywoodHacking: Subverted. Oswin can only hack the Daleks' systems because she ''is one'', and thus connected to their HiveMind. All the HollywoodHacking we see going on is just a fantasy inside her head.
* KarmaHoudini: The Parliament of the Daleks have their memory of the Doctor erased but otherwise are completely unaffected and unpunished at the end of the episode.
** Then again they have lost all knowledge of the Doctor and thus the single greatest motivating factor that drove them to be so obscenely powerful in the first place.
* KillTheCutie: Oswin.
* InLoveWithYourCarnage: Sort of. The Daleks claim to find hatred beautiful, even if that hatred is directed at them. The Prime Minister suggests that this is why they have so much trouble killing the Doctor.
* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: Amy claims this is the reason she broke up with Rory. PoorCommunicationKills.
* KnuckleTattoos: Amy has the [[NightOfTheHunter familiar]] "love" and "hate" on her knuckles for the fashion shoot, although it's almost certainly ballpoint.
* LadyInRed: Oswin.
* LargeAndInCharge: In the Parliament scene, the new, larger Daleks from ''Victory of the Daleks'' appear to be acting as officers to the normal-sized bronze Daleks.
* LaserGuidedAmnesia: Inflicted on the entire Dalek species, thus robbing them of their greatest strength. Their fear of the Doctor.
-->'''Darla''': Titles are not meaningful in this context. [[TitleDrop Doctor]] [[ArcWords Who?]]
* LeaningOnTheFourthWall:
** Oswin's last line, which ends with her looking straight into the camera.
---> '''Oswin:''' Run, you clever boy... And remember.
** The Doctor does the same thing when leaving the Daleks chanting "Doctor Who?"
---> '''Doctor:''' Fellas -- you're never going to stop asking.
** Also, at the beginning of the episode the Doctor tells the Daleks that "it's Christmas!" Not long after that, we get the first appearance of Creator/JennaLouiseColeman, who Steven Moffat had [[LyingCreator told fans]] wouldn't be appearing until... Christmas.
* LivingBodysuit
* LotusEaterMachine: Oswin created her own personal paradise in her mind (as much as she could under the circumstances, anyway) and fully believes that she is a human trapped in an escape pod to avoid the truth that she has become a Dalek.
* TheMaidenNameDebate: Amy signs her divorce papers Amy ''[[FreezeFrameBonus Williams]]''. Later in the episode, the Doctor once again calls Rory "Mr Pond".
* ManchurianAgent: Dalek puppets look human, and don't have any idea of their Dalek-ness... that is, until they're needed.
* MeatPuppet: Taken to all new levels of BodyHorror. The Daleks hollow out their victims with {{Nanomachines}} and put Dalek machinery inside.
* MeaningfulEcho: A running gag from earlier turns into the most chilling word known to man.
--> '''Oswin''': "Eggs-ster-minate!"
** The cut to the Doctor fixing his bow-tie, after Amy realises the Doctor has helped to sort out the relationship she told him earlier was "not one of those things you can fix like you fix your bow-tie".
* MickeyMousing: When Oswin switches the music to the "Toreador Chorus," the music matches the banging on the door.
* MindRape: This is how the nanocloud conversion process begins.
* MoodWhiplash: From Oswin's narration into her diary at the beginning of the episode:
-->'''Oswin:''' Day 363. The terror continues. Also, made another soufflé ... very nearly.
* MoralEventHorizon: In-universe: the Daleks manage to disgust the Doctor again, even after all they've done already. They keep the insane Daleks alive as they feel their hatred is beautiful.
* MotorMouth: Jenna Coleman gives Matt Smith a run for his money.
* MsFanservice: Anamaria Marinca as Darla. And Jenna Coleman in her short red dress and lipstick for that matter.
* MushroomSamba: Amy starts seeing a room full of waiters greeting her and spinning ballerinas. It's actually a room full of half-active Daleks.
* MythologyGag: In early drafts of "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS1E2TheDaleks The Daleks]]", it would have been a plot point that Skaro was subject to regular monsoon-like storms. When this serial opens on Skaro, just such a storm is taking place.
** One of the Daleks that Amy sees as human is a ballerina. The design of the Daleks, specifically their long skirts and gliding motion, was inspired by the Georgian National Ballet dancers seen by Terry Nation one evening.
** Dalek Sec's casing appears as a man in a suit when Amy's hallucinating.
* {{Nanomachines}}: Like the ones from ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoNSS1E9TheEmptyChild The Empty Child]]'', only even nastier.
* NeverTrustATrailer: Rory: "Who killed all the Daleks?" Doctor: [[BadassBoast "Who do you think?"]] The scene's from the middle of the episode and involves only a room full of Daleks. There are still plenty left alive, [[KarmaHoudini even after the end of the episode.]]
* OhCrap: Rory's face when he realises the crazy Dalek was ''not'' saying "[[CatchPhrase Eggs]]".
* OurZombiesAreDifferent: They're Dalek androids made out of human corpses. Anyone who lands on the Asylum becomes one.
** The ICU Daleks count even on their own, slowly lumbering toward the Doctor, stripped of their guns.
* PietaPlagiarism: The Doctor, holding nearly-emotion drained Amy.
* PoorCommunicationKills: Or at least ends marriages. Amy throws Rory out upon learning she can't have more children, and somehow doesn't think to actually tell him this, leaving him understandably bitter after a couple of months or so of wondering what the hell he did wrong.
* ThePowerOfHate: The Daleks both love hatred and hate the Doctor. His existence as an entity beyond them, who are supposed to be the most superior entity in all the galaxy, has driven them to such levels of power that they have threatened the whole of reality. And Oswin effectively neuters this hatred and drive to become stronger by stripping the Doctor from the memory banks of everything Dalek.
* PowerOfLove: How Amy fights the Dalek-puppet conversion [[SubvertedTrope (or so she thinks)]] and how Oswin maintains her humanity, seemingly. Between this episode and [[Recap/DoctorWhoS32E12ClosingTime "Closing Time"]], that's starting to become a theme on fighting cyborg conversion in general.
* ReedRichardsIsUseless: In the end, Oswin the super-hacker writes the Doctor right out of the Dalek's minds. Not, however, instructing them to live a life of peace or stop bothering other species. Necessary though, because this is a TV show and [[StatusQuoIsGod we can't do without]] the show's most iconic enemies.
** Also, reforming the Daleks wasn't her priority at the time; she was more concerned with protecting the Doctor from imminent death. And just because she can delete memories doesn't mean she can rewrite their entire personalities.
* RedBaron: The Doctor gets a fresh one to go along with "The Oncoming Storm": "The Predator of the Daleks"
* ReplicantSnatching: The Daleks can now harvest human bodies into puppets for undercover purposes. The horror potential of this is not particularly played out in this episode, though.
* RunningGag: The Doctor's exasperation at Amy and Rory's make-out sessions. Rory's nose gets some more jabs, although Oswin doesn't let the Doctor's chin off either.
** Where does she get the milk for all the soufflés? This one turns out to be quite serious, though.
* SanitySlippage: Amy while affected by the nanocloud. Also Oswin when reminded of her [[TomatoInTheMirror true situation]].
* SaveTheVillain: The Daleks' request to the Doctor, in a LesserOfTwoEvils situation, of course.
* ScaryDogmaticAliens: Who do you think?
* SceneryGorn: In the prologue, Skaro is an awful wasteland with acid storms and a giant statue of a Dalek.
* SceneryPorn: We only got those snow scenes because everyone realised how close they were to a resort while filming episode three in Almeria.
** The wide shots of the Parliament of the Daleks; somewhat like what they wanted the Shadow Proclamation to look like in "The Stolen Earth" but couldn't do for budget reasons. [[CaptainObvious Except with Daleks]].
* SelfDestructMechanism: The Daleks' suits have one.
* ShellShockedVeteran: All Dalek survivors from the events of "The Chase", "The Daleks' Master Plan", "The Power of the Daleks", "Planet of the Daleks", and "Death to the Daleks".
* ShutUpKirk: The Doctor tries to appeal to Darla to remember the human she once was, reminding her she has a daughter. Darla smirks and replies "Yes, I know. I read the file".
* ShoutOut:
** Oswin listening to ''Theatre/{{Carmen}}'' throughout the episode. She even seems [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} to be cosplaying]] [[LadyInRed as said]] [[FlowerInHerHair character]] !
-->'''Doctor:''' Carmen, lovely show.
** Oswin barricading the door and playing loud music to drown out the monsters outside. Then she comments "They only come out at night. [[Film/TheLastManOnEarth Maybe they're vampires]]".
** [[Creator/MaeWest "Come up and see me sometime."]]
** When the nanocloud starts giving Amy 'Dalek-vision', she sees a room full of Daleks as people instead, only they seem to be trapped in the 1950s, with the right background music to boot. [[Film/TheShining Kinda like the Overlook Hotel, really.]]
* ShowDontTell: Apart from being told that the insane Daleks are the worst kind, they don't seem that much worse than the regular ones, sleeping most of the time and in need of repair. Although there are [[ZergRush enough of them]] to fill up a ''planet''.
** Judging by Amy's hallucination scene however, it seems the Dalek's in the asylum have developed dreams and feelings beyond hatred, for Daleks this would be the worst display of insanity.
* SirNotAppearingInThisTrailer: For months prior to the broadcast, Jenna-Louise Coleman had been promoted as playing the Doctor's new companion, and that she would debut in the 2012 Christmas special. As a result, and thanks to successful efforts by the BBC to prevent spoilers from getting out, her appearance in this episode was a complete surprise to most viewers. Needless to say, none of the advance publicity for this episode referenced her, even though she was the episode's main guest character.
* SkewedPriorities: "Where do you get the milk for the soufflés?" Of course, TheCuckoolanderWasRight. There are no soufflés.
** Only the Doctor could be preoccupied with the state of Amy and Rory's marriage whilst in the middle of an veritable ''army'' of Daleks. Then again, they ''are'', technically, ''[[BigScrewedUpFamily his parents-in-law]]'', and the series has made a case of how [[Recap/DoctorWho2010CSAChristmasCarol childish the Doctor can get]].
* SlaveMooks: The Dalek Puppets.
* SnapBack: Starting with this story, the RTD-era "Time War" Daleks were reinstated as the main Dalek design, with the updated design introduced early in the Eleventh Doctor's run being relegated to filling out crowds.
* SoLongSuckers: The Doctor, as usual, can't leave without at least one good taunt.
-->'''Doctor:''' You know, you guys should really have seen this coming. Thing about me and teleports: I've got a really good aim. Pinpoint accurate in fact. Or, to put it another way: [[SoLongSuckers Suckers!]]
* StealthPun: The Doctor calls the Daleks "suckers".
* StrawmanHasAPoint: When the Doctor questions why the Daleks seem to expect that he will just walk in and fix everything.
--> '''Rory''': In fairness, that is slightly your M.O.
--> '''Doctor''': Don't be ''fair'' to the Daleks when they're ''firing me at a planet!''
* TakingYouWithMe: One of the Daleks, having a damaged gun-stick, activates its self-destruct next to the Doctor. This, however, is exactly what the Doctor wanted it to do. He forces it to go straight back into an enormous group of Daleks, destroying them all.
* TalkingTheMonsterToDeath: Subverted. The Doctor ''tries'' to do this with one of the Dalek Zombies, asking her if she knows that she once had a daughter before the Daleks hollowed her out and turned her into their puppet? The Dalek Zombie replies that she does... because she ''[[ShutUpKirk read her file!]]''
* TitleDrop: [[AC:[[ArcWords Doc-tor Who?]]]]
* TomatoInTheMirror: Oswin is a Dalek.
* TooDumbToLive: Not only did Rory stick around when some insane Daleks started waking up -- did he seriously think a bunch of glitched-out Daleks were saying "eggs" and not just the first syllable of "[[CatchPhrase exterminate]]"?
* TooSpicyForYogSothoth: The Daleks convert Oswin into one of them and attempt to add her to their HiveMind, but Oswin's mind is too intelligent to be over-written. The Daleks become so confused by this they're too afraid to even go near her, and send in the Doctor, their worst enemy, to sort out the mess instead.
* TranslationConvention: Presumably Daleks don't ''really'' have an operating system that displays messages in plain English, like we see when looking through the POV of the one who self destructs.
* TrailersAlwaysSpoil: Averted: Oswin's appearance in the episode was kept completely under wraps prior to the episode's début broadcast.
* TraumaInducedAmnesia: Oswin forgets she is a Dalek and imagines life in the asylum because the truth was too terrible.
* UpToEleven: Lampshaded.
-->'''Rory:''' So... how much trouble are we in?
-->'''Doctor:''' How much trouble, Mr Pond? [[TheNthDoctor Out of ten?]] [[ArcNumber Eleven.]]
* VerbalTic: "Eggs. Eggs...stir...Eggs-stir-minate! [[OhCrap EXTERMINATE!]]
* ViolentGlaswegian: Amy implies that most of Scotland is after she slaps Rory, and Oswin wonders if the Dalek conversion is already making her angrier than normal.
-->'''Amy:''' Well, somebody's never been to Scotland.
* VisualPun: Astonishingly, this is the first time in 49 years that televised ''Series/DoctorWho'' has acknowledged the resemblance between a Dalek gun and an egg whisk. Oswin's obsession with soufflés turns out to perhaps be a subconscious way to deal with having aforementioned gun.
* WasOnceAMan: The Dalek Puppets. Also, poor, [[BreakTheCutie poor]] Dalek Oswin.
* WhamEpisode:
** Although the whole episode was filled with whams, the biggest one that affects the whole series was every Dalek, everywhere, losing all memory of the Doctor.
** A meta example was future companion actor Jenna Louise-Coleman's early appearance as Oswin Oswald, only for it to be revealed that [[TomatoInTheMirror Oswin was a Dalek]].
* WhamLine:
-->'''The Doctor:''' It's a dream, Oswin. You dreamed it yourself because the truth was too terrible.
** Also:
--->'''Daleks:''' '''[[TitleDrop DOC]]-[[ArcWords TOR]] [[LaserGuidedAmnesia WHO]]!?'''
** Plus:
--->'''Man:''' Of course. Stupid me: [[DeadAllAlong I died outside]].
** And:
--->'''Amy:''' You want kids, you have always wanted kids, ever since you ''were'' a kid. '''''And I can't have them.''''' Whatever they did to me at Demon's Run, ''I can't ever give you children''.
** And this heartbreaking moment:
---> '''Oswin''': Where am I?
* TheXOfY: Yet again.
* YourApprovalFillsMeWithShame: The Doctor, when the Dalek Prime Minister remarks that perhaps the reason the Daleks have never been able to kill the Doctor is because he is such a "divine" example of hatred.
[[redirect:Recap/DoctorWhoS33E1AsylumOfTheDaleks]]
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Spoilers Off do not add spoilers for future episodes, even under tags. Those go on the later episode pages.


** The character of Oswin as a whole, as the actress returned later in the season as a new companion, who was revealed to be the same character. Kind of.



** "Run, you clever boy, and remember." These are repeated in "[[Recap/DoctorWho2012CSTheSnowmen The Snowmen]]", which becomes critically important to the plot.

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* ShoutOut: Oswin listening to ''Theatre/{{Carmen}}'' throughout the episode.

to:

* ShoutOut: ShoutOut:
**
Oswin listening to ''Theatre/{{Carmen}}'' throughout the episode.episode. She even seems [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} to be cosplaying]] [[LadyInRed as said]] [[FlowerInHerHair character]] !



** Oswin barricading the door and playing loud music to drown out the monsters outside. Then she comments "They only come out at night. [[Film/TheLastManOnEarth maybe they're vampires]]".

to:

** Oswin barricading the door and playing loud music to drown out the monsters outside. Then she comments "They only come out at night. [[Film/TheLastManOnEarth maybe Maybe they're vampires]]".



* UpToEleven: Lampshaded

to:

* UpToEleven: LampshadedLampshaded.



* WasOnceAMan: The Dalek Puppets. Also, poor, poor Dalek Oswin.
* WhamEpisode: Although the whole episode was filled with whams, the biggest one that affects the whole series was every Dalek, everywhere, losing all memory of the Doctor.

to:

* WasOnceAMan: The Dalek Puppets. Also, poor, poor [[BreakTheCutie poor]] Dalek Oswin.
* WhamEpisode: WhamEpisode:
**
Although the whole episode was filled with whams, the biggest one that affects the whole series was every Dalek, everywhere, losing all memory of the Doctor.
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Added DiffLines:

** When the nanocloud starts giving Amy 'Dalek-vision', she sees a room full of Daleks as people instead, only they seem to be trapped in the 1950s, with the right background music to boot. [[Film/TheShining Kinda like the Overlook Hotel, really.]]

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