History Recap / DoctorWhoS35E2TheWitchsFamiliar

Written by Creator/StevenMoffat. Part 2 of the opening two-parter of Series 9.

* OutOfCharacterMoment: Specifically, the Doctor and Davros sharing a genuine laugh and the Doctor subsequently transferring regeneration energy to heal Davros... at the same time reinvigorating the decayed and bloodthirsty Daleks in the sewers.

[[caption-width-right:350:The Madman and the Psychopaths[[note]]Who's who?[[Note]] He's who.[[/note]].]]

[[caption-width-right:350:The Madman and the Psychopaths[[note]]Who's who?[[Note He's who.]][[/note]].]]

[[caption-width-right:350:The Madman and the Psychopaths[[note]]Who's who?[[Note]]He's who.[[/note]].]]

[[caption-width-right:350:The Madman and the Psychopaths[[note]]Who's who?[[/note]].]]

* HopeCrusher: Davros is pushing the already guilt-stricken Doctor to the DespairEventHorizon in hopes that he can turn him into a man willing to kill Davros' younger self, willing to commit genocide against the Daleks at last... all to prove his own belief that the Doctor and his compassion are wrong and have an ultimate victory over his nemesis.

** This isn't the first time (some version of) Clara [[Recap/DoctorWhoS33E1AsylumOfTheDaleks has been put]] [[Recap/DoctorWhoS34E2IntoTheDalek inside a Dalek]]. Nor is it the first time a character [[Recap/DoctorWhoS1E2TheDaleks used a Dalek casing]] [[Recap/DoctorWhoS2E7TheSpaceMuseum as a means of disguise]].

JustForFun/{{The one w|ith}}here the Doctor [[RefugeInAudacity steals Davros' chair.]]

The one where the Doctor [[RefugeInAudacity steals Davros' chair.]]

** And then ''[[UpToEleven another]]'' at the end of her story:

* SpotOfTea: The Doctor somehow procures one after he hijacks Davros' chair. He lampshades it.

* RuleOfSymbolism: This is used in the ending, to show that the Doctor and Davros are NotSoDifferent from each other. It consists of the Doctor taking a young Davros home, while the former is holding a Dalek gun, and the latter possessing the Doctor's sonic screwdriver.

* LostInTranslation: When Clara tries speaking in the Dalek casing, the words come out in Dalek form, and it is incapable of translating any concept foreign to the Daleks. Any expression other than hate is "[[AC:Exterminate!]]" and any concept of self is boiled down to "[[AC:I am a Dalek!]]", meaning she is unable to tell the Doctor she is Clara or even express herself in a non-Dalek fashion.

** The Doctor realises that the Dalek he is told killed Clara is unusual when it isn't trying to kill him and keeps saying "[[AC:Mercy!]]", a concept which should be foreign to it.

** Arguably one for the fans when the Doctor reveals that he had replaced his iconic Sonic Screwdriver:

** Davros, what are you doing trying to pass on the power of regeneration to your kids? Using it to heal yourself, okay, makes sense, but why give healing energy to a race of creatures that A) never enter combat physically and therefore have no real need to rejuvenate themselves; B) are only a threat when they're inside their mini-tanks, rendering their bodily health inconsequential; and C) were revealed in this very episode to ''already'' be functionally immortal? In fact, your plan failed as a direct consequence of that last point.

* UnexplainedRecovery: Averted when Missy surviving the events of both "Death in Heaven" and the previous episode (alongside Clara) are explained.

* MythologyGag:
** Moffat combines Daleks, the Master, a possible final end for the Doctor, exploring the fact that the Daleks have at least [[LampshadeHanging another chair]], and a trek through some distinctly unpleasant sewers for the first time since [[Recap/DoctorWhoTheCurseOfFatalDeath his first televised Doctor Who story]].
** "My vision is impaired! I cannot see!" -- Says a Dalek being overwhelmed by the sludge at the end, quoting a line from back when dealing with them was as easy as covering or gooing up the eye stalk, in the original series when suffering BadassDecay.