History Recap / DoctorWhoS35E4BeforeTheFlood

In the 1980s, at a fake town built by the British military to train for potential missions to [[UsefulNotes/ColdWar the Soviet Union]], the Doctor, Bennett and O'Donnell run into Prentis, the Tivolian who's a ghost in the future. He's still alive, and he's come to Earth to bury a recently-deceased conqueror of his planet, the Fisher King. He's doing it in the custom of Tivoli's ''current'' conquerors, the Arcateenians. After talking to him, the trio heads back to the TARDIS to confer. Prentis, after the conversation, returns to his ship to discover the Fisher King's corpse gone, and some familiar symbols carved in the wall . . .

!!Tropes

* AsYouKnow: At the end, the Doctor explains what a StableTimeLoop is to a mind-blown Clara, despite her having been at the center of one or two already.[[note]]In [[Recap/DoctorWhoS33E13TheNameOfTheDoctor "The Name of the Doctor"]] and [[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E5TimeHeist "Time Heist"]].[[/note]]

* BreakingTheFourthWall: The episode opens with the Doctor explaining the Bootstrap Paradox to the viewer, even at one point telling them to Google it. Although there have been some fourth-wall leaning and even the occasional apparent break, this is the first major case of the wall being demolished since the first Doctor wished his viewers a Happy Christmas in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS3E4TheDaleksMasterPlan "The Feast of Steven"]].

** The tear in the ghost-Doctor's jacket is pointed out as a clue, much as Ian's missing button was in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS2E7TheSpaceMuseum "The Space Museum"]]: the very ''first'' story in which the Doctor encountered apparent proof of his own future death.

** The Doctor's "damn the rules" attitude towards saving Clara directly anticipates events later in the season. Indeed, there are so many plot beats and even dialogue in this episode that directly anticipate [[Recap/DoctorWhoS35E12HellBent "Hell Bent"]] that [[Recap/DoctorWhoS35E3UnderTheLake "Under the Lake"]]/"Before the Flood" could almost be considered a prologue to the trilogy that ends the season.

-->'''Clara:''' I know that look. I ''do'' that look! . . . Okay, but we stick together.

* OurHeroIsDead: The {{Cliffhanger}} of [[Recap/DoctorWhoS35E3UnderTheLake "Under the Lake"]] revealed that the Doctor, in the process of fighting the Fisher King's EvilPlan, became another one of the ghosts haunting the mining base in the future. How can he fulfill this trope and ''not'' actually die without causing a massive paradox?
* PingPongNaivete: Clara acts as if she's never encountered the Bootstrap Paradox before, despite being part of two major ones in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS33E13TheNameOfTheDoctor "The Name of the Doctor"]], and in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E4Listen "Listen"]], the latter being one she created herself.

* InsignificantBluePlanet: Bennett has come to bury the Fisher King on a "barren, savage outpost. Not the abandoned military base, but Earth.

The one with the guy from Slipknot.

** O'Donnell namechecks Rose, Martha and Amy, and mentions [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E12TheSoundOfDrums Harold Saxon]] and "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E7KillTheMoon the moon exploding and a big bat coming out]]".

* FreakOut: Clara's unexpectedly emotional reaction to the Doctor resigning himself to death forces him to try and talk her down - while at the same time it inspires him to TakeAThirdOption to avoid his death.

* RedHerring: Prentis' ghost being the first one present in the arc implies that he's important somehow, maybe even being PatientZero. Turns out he's just another victim (from the distant past that is).

** A form of one appears to be under way between the Doctor and Clara, with Clara outright using the phrase "if you love me" in a conversation with him. This is unprecedented in ''Doctor Who''.

** The Doctor mentions that sometimes the TARDIS can make people sick. [[Recap/DoctorWhoS1E1AnUnearthlyChild The first two humans]] who ever travelled in the TARDIS fainted during their first trip, [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E14TheNextDoctor Jackson Lake]] had a mild panic attack, and [[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E6TheCaretaker Courtney Woods]] vomited.

** The Doctor mentions that sometimes the TARDIS can make people sick. [[Recap/DoctorWhoS1E1AnUnearthlyChild The first two humans]] who ever travelled in the TARDIS fainted during their first trip, and [[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E6TheCaretaker Courtney Woods]] vomited.

->''"Who really composed 'Beethoven's Fifth?"''

** A form of one appears to be under way between the Doctor and Clara, with Clara outright using the phrase "if you love me" in a conversation with him. This is actually pretty much unprecedented in ''Doctor Who''.

* {{Trigger}}: When the Doctor resigns himself to die, it causes Clara to have a FreakOut and tell him he can't die on her because "I'm not ready yet. I don't want to think about that." This is due to her still recovering from the death of another man she loved, Danny Pink.

''On a remote Army outpost, a fearsome alien warlord -- the Fisher King -- sets in motion a twisted plan to ensure his own survival. The ripples will be felt around the universe. Is this chain of events inevitable? And can the Doctor do the unthinkable?''

-->'''Clara:''' I don't care about your rules or your bloody survivor's guilt. ''If you love me in any way,'' you'll come back.

-->'''Clara:''' I know that look. I ''do'' that look! ... Okay, but we stick together.
* OhCrap: The Doctor talks about how he [[TemptingFate can't see anyone who's going to stop him]] saving Clara in the future. Cue cloister bell.

* WhamLine: "I'm changing history to save Clara." Especially when taken in context with the fact that at the end of the previous season he had all but condemned Clara for wanting to do the same for Danny Pink.

** The Doctor's "damn the rules" attitude towards saving Clara directly anticipates events later in the season. Indeed, there are so many plot beats and even dialogue in this episode that directly anticipate [[Recap/DoctorWhoS25E12HellBent "Hell Bent"]] that [[Recap/DoctorWhoS35E3UnderTheLake "Under the Lake"]]/"Before the Flood" could almost be considered a prologue to the trilogy that ends the season.

** The clockwork squirrel mentioned last episode is sat on top of the amp.

* ActOfTrueLove: Clara outright demands this of the Doctor as she tries to convince him to try and change his destiny.

* AsYouKnow: At the end, the Doctor explains what a StableTimeLoop is to a mind-blown Clara, despite her having been at the center of one or two already.[[note]]In "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS33E13TheNameOfTheDoctor The Name of the Doctor]]" and "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E5TimeHeist Time Heist]]".[[/note]]

* BittersweetEnding: Yes, the Doctor was able to save Earth from an alien invasion, but due to the laws of time he couldn't stop the deaths of four innocent people, including O'Donnell who is explicitly a sacrificial lamb for saving Clara.
* BizarreAlienSenses: Rare human example: when Cass touches the floor and feels the vibrations from the axe Moran's ghost is dragging towards her, her tactile impression of her surroundings is depicted as bright outlines tracing out the shapes of the floor, walls and axe-head. This 'seismic sense' allows her to escape a stalking ghost at the exact moment it strikes.

** At the end of the previous episode, Clara was telling everyone that the Doctor would save them all, then come back and they'd have to hear him explain how he did it. At the end of this episode, he comes back, quickly saves everyone then explains how he did it.

** Averted in a minor way with the clockwork squirrel. You'd think it would be significant but it just sits on top of a speaker and does nothing.

** The tear in the ghost-Doctor's jacket is pointed out as a clue, much as Ian's missing button was in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS2E7TheSpaceMuseum The Space Museum]]": the very ''first'' story in which the Doctor encountered apparent proof of his own future death.

* DirtyCoward: Prentis, as is standard for all Tivoli. Even though he's essentially a hearse driver, he's got a variety of tools and weapons should anyone he meets wish to enslave him.

* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything: Prentis saying he's got items in the ship the Doctor could use to oppress him. [[TooKinkyToTorture It's that eager tones he uses when asking that does it.]]

* {{Foreshadowing}}: When O'Donnell talks about the Doctor's past companions, she neglects to mention Clara and Donna Noble, the two companions impacted by memory wipes, though in the latter case the Doctor loses his memory of her.
** The Doctor's "damn the rules" attitude towards saving Clara directly anticipates events later in the season. Indeed, there are so many plot beats and even dialogue in this episode that directly anticipates "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS25E12HellBent Hell bent]]" that "Under the Lake"/"Before the Flood" could almost be considered a prologue to the trilogy that ends the season.

** The Doctor's amp is made by [[Recap/DoctorWhoS28E7TheIdiotsLantern Magpie]]. It's also a ContinuityNod.

* GenericDoomsdayVillain: The Fisher King never gets any more characterisation than "nasty dude that has invaded one planet and now wants to invade Earth."

* InternalHomage: The dangers of crossing one's own time stream to change the past are highlighted in a scene reminiscent of [[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E8FathersDay Nine and Rose going back to Pete Tyler's death multiple times]]. (The topic has also been touched upon multiple times in the classic and modern era.) [[Recap/DoctorWhoS35E12HellBent This won't be the last time]] this season this homage is made.

--> '''The Doctor''': You robbed those people of their deaths. Made them nothing more than a message in a bottle. You violated something more important than time. You bent the rules of life and death. So I am putting things straight. Here. Now. This is where your story ends.

* OurHeroIsDead: The {{Cliffhanger}} of "Under the Lake" revealed that the Doctor, in the process of fighting the Fisher King's EvilPlan, became another one of the ghosts haunting the mining base in the future. How can he fulfil this trope and ''not'' actually die without causing a massive paradox?
* PingPongNaivete: Clara acts as if she's never encountered the Bootstrap Paradox before, despite being part of two major ones in "The Day of the Doctor", and in "Listen", the latter being one she created herself.

** Cass and Lunn by the end of the episode, with some prodding, become a couple.
** A form of one appears to be under way between the Doctor and Clara, with Clara outright using the phrase "if you love me" in a conversation with him. This is actually pretty much unprecedented in Doctor Who.

* RuleOfDrama: Cass escaping from Moran has slowness to built anticipation and the visual of her "hearing" the ax through the vibrations on the floor. Just looking behind her and running wouldn't have been as dramatically effective.

* SealedEvilInACan: The deadlock sealed suspended animation casket which apparently contains the Fisher King [[SubvertedTrope turns out to contain the Doctor.]]
* SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong: The Doctor is determined change events before the flood in order to save Clara in the present, even though he has every reason to believe he'll fail.
* ShipperOnDeck: At the end of the episode, Bennett asks Lunn to sign a message to Cass for him: "Tell her you're in love with her and you always have been".

* SignatureRoar: The Fisher King roars when the flood kills him. The Doctor ends up using the same roar to lure the Ghosts into the Faraday Cage.

* TooDumbToLive: The Fisher King has knowledge of Time Lords and the Doctor, yet decides it's a good idea to mock the Doctor on the rules of Time. The Doctor has escaped fixed points where he was supposed to die before, such as at Lake Silencio and Trenzalore. At least once he did it using the same technique of preserving the chain of events in appearance, but using a duplicate, in this case a hologram, to appear dead.

** "If you love me in any way, you'll come back." Uttered by Clara during a minor FreakOut when the Doctor says he has to die.

** The Doctor's "damn the rules" attitude towards saving Clara directly anticipates events later in the season.

* YouWillBeBeethoven: The TropeNamer is discussed in length at the beginning -- and at the end -- of the episode. According to the Doctor, the bootstrap paradox (StableTimeLoop) anecdote that began this episode "didn't actually happen" -- in the "real" Whoniverse, Beethoven was a nice bloke, albeit "a little intense".

* {{Foreshadowing}}: When O'Donnell talks about the Doctor's past companions, she neglects to mention Clara and Donna Noble, [[spoiler: the two companions impacted by memory wipes, though in the latter case the Doctor loses his memory of her]].

* InternalHomage: The dangers of crossing one's own time stream to change the past are highlighted in a scene reminiscent of [[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E8FathersDay Nine and Rose going back to Pete Tyler's death multiple times]]. (The topic has also been touched upon multiple times in the classic and modern era.) [[Recap/DoctorWhoS35E12BHellBent This won't be the last time]] this season this homage is made.

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* InternalHomage: The dangers of crossing one's own time stream to change the past are highlighted in a scene reminiscent of [[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E8FathersDay Nine and Rose going back to Pete Tyler's death multiple times]]. (The topic has also been touched upon multiple times in the classic and modern era.)

** After O'Donnell is killed by the Fisher King, Bennett deduces that the Doctor figured out that his ghost self chanting their names in a certain order was a list of the order they'd die in, and O'Donnell was up next. Though the Doctor tried to keep her safe, Bennett believes he didn't press the issue because he wanted to test the hypothesis.