History Recap / DoctorWhoS33E01AsylumOfTheDaleks

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.

-->'''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.

* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: The episode is about...you guessed: An ssylum... for the Daleks.

* KarmaHoudini: The Parliment of the Daleks have their memory of the Doctor erased but otherwise are completely unaffected and unpunished at the end of the episode.

->''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.''

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 veritible 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 go 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 Amy's and Rory's 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 alright then. She's been keeping busy by making soufflés and playing ''Theatre/{{Carmen}}'' at a very loud 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 Dalek's 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 mindvirus 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 simple 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? Rory wants more children, Amy can't have more children after what happened to her in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS32E7AGoodManGoesToWar Demon's Run]], and she broke up with him to "set him free" and live a happy life without her. It doesn't matter in the end, because without either of them noticing, the Doctor slapped his own wristband on Amy before running off.

* AxCrazy: This is the place where the ''psychotic'' Daleks go. Think on that for a second.
** Daleks are considered psychotic by normal standards. These are Daleks considered psychotic by ''other Daleks''.

* BiTheWay: Oswin flirts with both Rory and the Doctor and mentions her 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.

* {{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]]?"

** 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

* CouchGag: This episode debuted 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.

* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: The episode is about...you guessed: An Asylum...owned by the Daleks

** 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? 'Cause...

* HappilyMarried: Subverted. At the start of the episode, Amy and Rory's marriage is going through difficulties. Though it seems to be getting better by the end.

* KillTheCutie: Oswin

* TheMaidenNameDebate: Amy signs her divorce papers Amy ''[[FreezeFrameBonus Williams]]''. Later in the episode, the Doctor once again calls Rory "Mr. Pond".

--> '''Oswin''': "Eggs-stir-minate!"
** The cut to the Doctor fixing his bow-tie, after Amy realizes the Doctor has helped to fix the relationship she told him earlier was "not one of those things you can fix like you fix your bow-tie."

* MoralDissonance: No one ever calls Amy out for not telling Rory she was infertile, or for assuming he valued having kids over being with her
** She did tell him she was infertile at some point prior to the episode (when she says "I can't have them!" about kids during their argument, Rory whispers "I know.")

* MotorMouth: Jenna-Louise gives Matt Smith a run for his money.
* MsFanservice: Anamaria Marinca as Darla. And Jenna-Louise Coleman in her short red dress and lipstick for that matter.

* OhCrap: Rory's face when he realizes the crazy Dalek was ''not'' saying "[[CatchPhrase Eggs]]".

* SceneryPorn: We only got those snow scenes because everyone realized how close they were to a resort while filming episode three in Almeria.

* 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."

** 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]]."

** 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]]'', and the series has made a case of how [[Recap/DoctorWho2010CSAChristmasCarol childish the Doctor can get]].

* 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]]"?

* TrailersAlwaysSpoil: Averted: Oswin's appearance in the episode was kept completely under wraps prior to the episode's debut broadcast.
* TraumaInducedAmnesia: Oswin forgets she is a Dalek and imagines life in the Asylum because the truth was too terrible.

-->'''Doctor:''' How much trouble, Mister Pond? [[TheNthDoctor Out of ten?]] [[ArcNumber Eleven.]]

* 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.

* 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 be a subconscious way to deal with having aforementioned gun.

* 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.

** TruthInTelevision: Sadly, a lot of marriages actually DO end because of things like this.

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 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 alright then. She's been keeping busy by making soufflés and playing ''Theatre/{{Carmen}}'' at a very loud 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 Dalek's 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.

* VerbalTic: "Eggs. Eggs..stir...Eggs-stir-minate! [[OhCrap EXTERMINATE!]]

* VisualPun: Astonishingly, this is the first time in 49 years that televised ''DoctorWho'' has acknowledged the resemblance between a Dalek gun and an egg whisk. Oswin's obsession with soufflés turns out to be a subconscious way to deal with having aforementioned gun.

** A Davies-era Dalek helpless and in chains, breaking free and becoming much more of a threat, echoing 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 "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 "The Evil of the Daleks" where they attempted to integrate the "human factor" to make themselves even more deadly, and was seen in "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.

* LaserGuidedAmnesia: Inflicted on the entire Dalek species.

* StrangeGirl: Oswin certainly came off as one, what with broadcasting ''Theatre/{{Carmen}}'' in a planetary asylum for insane Daleks to drown out their screaming, [[CasualDangerDialog casually flirting with Rory over the intercom despite being on said planet full of crazy Daleks]], [[DeadpanSnarker snarking]] about the Doctor's looks ([[LanternJawOfJustice especially his chin]]), making soufflés and writing to her mother about them despite them always going wrong. Heck, she even still believes she's still human, despite having been converted into a Dalek long ago. And the soufflés are all in her head.

* AskAStupidQuestion: "Have you considered tracking back the signal and ''talking'' to them? [...] [[YouAnsweredYourOwnQuestion He asked the Daleks]]."

* BatmanGambit: The Doctor tricks a Dalek into activating its self-destruct sequence to try and kill him, then makes it back into a room filled with other Daleks by reversing its direction controls.

** 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]].

A genius human hacker, Oswin Oswald (JennaLouiseColeman), has been stuck on the crash-landed ship for a year. This is a bit of a surprise for the audience, since 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 alright then. She's been keeping busy by making soufflés and playing ''Theatre/{{Carmen}}'' at a very loud 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 Dalek's 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.

** 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 JennaLouiseColeman, who Steven Moffat had [[LyingCreator told fans]] wouldn't be appearing until... Christmas.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: "Eggs".

** 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 JennaLouiseColeman, who Steven Moffat had [[LyingCreator told fans]] wouldn't be appearing until... Christmas.

** The cut to the Doctor fixing his bow-tie, after Amy realizes the Doctor has helped to fix the relationship she told him earlier was "not one of those things you can fix like you fix your bow-tie".

** 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]]".

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

* OurZombiesAreDifferent: They're Dalek androids made out of human corpses. Anyone who lands on the Asylum becomes one.]]

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, [[spoiler: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. [[spoiler:With her last conscious, human thoughts]], she shuts off the forcefield, and the Daleks promptly blow up the prison planet [[spoiler:with her (apparently) on it]]. The Doctor escapes through a sonicked teleport pad, bringing Amy and Rory along with him.

* AbnormalAmmo: The Daleks' Gravity Beam. [[spoiler:It fires [[PersonOfMassDestruction the Doctor]].]]

* AdultFear: Going through a divorce. [[spoiler: And [[LawOfInverseFertility being infertile]].]]
* AndThenJohnWasAZombie: [[spoiler:Turns out Oswin only ''[[TomatoInTheMirror thinks]]'' she's still human.]]

* ArcWords: "[[spoiler: Run you clever boy, and remember.]]"; "[[spoiler: I don't know where I am.]]"

* BatmanGambit: The Doctor tricks a Dalek into activating its self-destruct sequence to try and kill him, then makes it back into a room filled with other Daleks by reversing its direction controls.

* BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind: [[spoiler: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.]]

* BlackDudeDiesFirst: [[spoiler: Or, in this case, has already been dead for a year. He'd just forgotten about it...until the Doctor and Amy reminded him.]]

* BodyHorror: The Dalek eyestalk punching its way out of the forehead. The sickening ''[[HellIsThatNoise crunch]]'' is the evil cherry on the terror sundae.
* BreakTheCutie: [[spoiler: Oswin, big time, at the end.]]
** [[spoiler: And Amy as well, when she finally reveals why she wants to divorce Rory.]]

** [[spoiler:Amy being infertile because of what happened at [[Recap/DoctorWhoS32E7AGoodManGoesToWar Demon's Run]].]]

** Also, the Nanogenes from ''[[Recap/DoctorWhoNSS1E9TheEmptyChild The Empty Child]]'' make a return, only now [[spoiler:they convert people into Dalek Zombies rather than Gas Mask Zombies]]

** 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 the first appearance of a Dalek in the new show.
** Dalek Sec's casing is in the Asylum.

** Everyone gets exasperated when the Doctor keeps asking where Oswin gets the milk for her soufflés. [[spoiler:Subverted; it turns out to be a very pertinent question.]]

* CouldHaveAvoidedThisPlot: [[spoiler: 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: A lot of real-life [[spoiler: marital issues]] are the same way. [[spoiler: If they had [[PoorCommunicationKills just talked,]] everything would have worked out.]]

* DrivenToMadness: ''Every'' Dalek in the Asylum, particularly the Daleks who are in "Intensive Care" after surviving an encounter with [[TheDreaded The Doctor]], and [[spoiler:Oswin]].
* DyingAsYourself: [[spoiler:"I am Oswin Oswald. I fought the Daleks and I ''am'' human. Remember me."]]
* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: The episode is about...you guessed: An Asylyum...owned by the Daleks

** [[spoiler:Oswin being able to hack Dalek technology]].

** [[spoiler: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.]]
** [[spoiler:There's a ballerina figurine in Oswin's "escape pod".]]
** Oswin's escape pod looks vaguely like [[spoiler:a Dalek]] on the scanners.
** ''Carmen''. [[spoiler: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 Dalek's pick up, [[spoiler: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.]]
** [[spoiler:"Run, you clever boy, and remember." These are repeated in ''[[Recap/DoctorWho2012CSTheSnowmen The Snowmen]]'', which becomes critically important to the plot.]]

* GoneHorriblyRight: The Daleks [[spoiler: 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...
** [[spoiler: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? 'Cause...]]
-->[[spoiler:'''Amy:''' Time Lord. What's the betting he doesn't even need it?]]

* HappilyMarried: Subverted. At the start of the episode, Amy and Rory's marriage is going through difficulties. [[spoiler:Though it seems to be getting better by the end.]]

* HenpeckedHusband: Once again confronted, deconstructed [[spoiler: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. [[spoiler: Turns out he was wrong. Again.]]
* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:Oswin.]]

* HollywoodHacking: Subverted. [[spoiler: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 Parliment of the Daleks [[spoiler:have their memory of the Doctor erased]] but otherwise are completely unaffected and unpunished at the end of the episode.
* KillTheCutie: [[spoiler: Oswin]]

* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: [[spoiler: Amy claims this is the reason she broke up with Rory]]. PoorCommunicationKills.

* LaserGuidedAmnesia: [[spoiler:Inflicted on the entire Dalek species.]]
-->'''Darla''': Titles are not meaningful in this context. [[spoiler:[[TitleDrop Doctor]] [[ArcWords Who?]]]]

---> '''Oswin:''' Run, you clever boy... [[spoiler:And remember.]]
** The Doctor does the same thing when leaving the Daleks [[spoiler: chanting "Doctor Who?"]]

* LotusEaterMachine: [[spoiler: 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 [[spoiler:divorce papers]] Amy ''[[FreezeFrameBonus Williams]]''. Later in the episode, the Doctor once again calls Rory "Mr. Pond".

* MeatPuppet: Taken to all new levels of BodyHorror [[spoiler:The Daleks hollow out their victims with {{Nanomachines}} and put Dalek machinery inside.]]
** LivingBodysuit

--> [[spoiler: '''Oswin''': "Eggs-stir-minate!"]]

* MoralEventHorizon: In-universe: the Daleks manage to disgust the Doctor again, even after all they've done already. They keep the insane Daleks alive [[spoiler:as they feel their hatred is beautiful.]]

* MushroomSamba: Amy starts seeing a room full of waiters greeting her and spinning ballerinas. [[spoiler: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.

*** The spinning Dalek is almost certainly the one that the Daleks tested the Thal anti-rad meds on waaay back in The Daleks. It caused the Dalek to spin around constantly and moan.
** The Special Weapons Dalek is in the asylum. The EU novels identified it as insane as early as 1990.

* NeverTrustATrailer: Rory: "Who killed all the Daleks?" Doctor: [[BadassBoast "Who do you think?"]] [[spoiler: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.]]]]

* OurZombiesAreDifferent: They're [[spoiler:Dalek androids made out of human corpses. Anyone who lands on the Asylum becomes one.]]

* PietaPlagiarism: The Doctor, holding [[spoiler:nearly-emotion drained]] Amy.
* PoorCommunicationKills: [[spoiler: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. [[spoiler: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 [[spoiler: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: [[spoiler: 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.]]
* RedBaron: The Doctor gets a fresh one to go along with "The Oncoming Storm": [[spoiler:"The Predator of the Daleks"]]

** Where does she get the milk for all the soufflés? [[spoiler:This one turns out to be quite serious, though.]]
* SanitySlippage: Amy while affected by the nanocloud. [[spoiler:Also Oswin when reminded of her [[TomatoInTheMirror true situation]].]]

* 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''.

* SkewedPriorities: "Where do you get the milk for the soufflés?" Of course, TheCuckoolanderWasRight. [[spoiler: There are no soufflés.]]

* StrangeGirl: Oswin certainly came off as one, what with broadcasting ''Theatre/{{Carmen}}'' in a planetary asylum for insane Daleks to drown out their screaming, [[CasualDangerDialog casually flirting with Rory over the intercom despite being on said planet full of crazy Daleks]], [[DeadpanSnarker snarking]] about the Doctor's looks ([[LanternJawOfJustice especially his chin]]), making soufflés and writing to her mother about them despite them always going wrong. Heck, [[spoiler:she even still believes she's still human, despite having been converted into a Dalek long ago. And the soufflés are all in her head]].

* TakingYouWithMe: One of the Daleks, having a damaged gun-stick, activates its self-destruct next to the Doctor. [[spoiler: 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.]]

* TheXOfY: Yet again.

* [[spoiler:TomatoInTheMirror: Oswin is a Dalek.]]

* TooSpicyForYogSothoth: [[spoiler: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.]]

* TraumaInducedAmnesia: [[spoiler:Oswin forgets she is a Dalek and imagines life in the Asylum because the truth was too terrible.]]

* VisualPun: Astonishingly, this is the first time in 49 years that televised ''DoctorWho'' has acknowledged the resemblance between a Dalek gun and an egg whisk. Oswin's obsession with soufflés [[spoiler: turns out to be a subconscious way to deal with having aforementioned gun.]]
* WasOnceAMan: The Dalek Puppets. Also, poor, poor [[spoiler:Dalek Oswin.]]
* WhamEpisode: Although the whole episode was filled with whams, the biggest one that affects the whole series was [[spoiler:every Dalek, everywhere, losing all memory of the Doctor.]]
** A meta example was [[spoiler:future companion actor Jenna Louise-Coleman's early appearance as Oswin Oswald, only for it to be revealed that [[TomatoInTheMirror Oswin was a Dalek]].]]

-->'''The Doctor:''' [[spoiler:It's a dream, Oswin. You dreamed it yourself because the truth was too terrible.]]

--->'''Daleks:''' [[spoiler: '''[[TitleDrop DOC]]-[[ArcWords TOR]] [[LaserGuidedAmnesia WHO]]!?''']]

--->'''Amy:''' [[spoiler: 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''.]]

* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: [[PlayingWithATrope Played With]]. The Daleks successfully abduct the Doctor and his friends, but then turn out to need the Doctor to deal with the asylum of insane Daleks they're too afraid to go near.

** 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.