History Recap / DoctorWhoS35E3UnderTheLake

%%%% "elements of this." is not context.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Twice in the episode, a tragic event later in the season is foreshadowed directly. First, as the Doctor says one of the questions he'd like to ask the ghosts is whether death hurt, there is a close-up on Clara. Later, the Doctor says to Clara, "You live and you die. That's it." Again, we get a close-up of Clara as he says this. Both foreshadow Clara's painful death in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS35E10FaceTheRaven "Face the Raven"]].

The one with the cue cards.

* IndyHatRoll: The Doctor dives underneath a rapidly closing door as the base floods but he [[DownplayedTrope doesn't have a hat and wasn't retrieving his sonic glasses]].

* LivingLegend: By 2119, the Doctor's exploits with UNIT are well-known (or at least amongst military personnel). So when the Psychic Paper identifies him as ''the'' Doctor from UNIT the crew has no trouble trusting him, with O'Donnell going into full-out fangirl mode.

** Clara's cue cards for the Doctor display elements of this.

* EveryoneKnowsMorse: The ghosts send out a message in Morse asking for a rescue sub, hoping to lure in more victims. Fortunately, the sub radios ahead and the Doctor calls it off. The trope is further invoked by the fact that Morse Code hasn't actually been a standard for distress signals since 1999; whoever understood it in 2119 must have been a student of history (that, or in the Doctor Who universe it never went out of style, or it came back into style).

* CrazyPrepared: Clara and the Doctor have prepared a stack of cards with various apologies in case the Doctor says something insensitive.

* EveryoneKnowsMorse: The ghosts send out a message in Morse asking for a rescue sub, hoping to lure in more victims. Fortunately, the sub radios ahead and the Doctor calls it off. The trope is further invoked by the fact that Morse Code hasn't actually been a standard for distress signals since 1999; whoever understood it in 2119 must have been a student of history.

->''"So we're fighting an unknown alien force that has taken the form of your commanding officer and a cowardly alien... underwater... in a nuclear reactor. Anything else I should know? Somebody got a peanut allergy or something?"''

''When an underwater base comes under attack, the Doctor and Clara must save the frightened crew and defeat an impossible threat. But what is behind these terrifying events? And can they really be haunted by ghosts?''

* ArtisticLicenseAstronomy: The Doctor deduces that the "sword" in the coordinate is the sword on Orion's belt, with the earth at the point of the sword as seen from space. However, this in an interstellar message depends on the recipients knowing that other stars visible from earth create the approximate shape of a humanoid warrior, in order that the line of stars can be interpreted as a sword (and not all cultures on Earth even make this association). Further, the two stars and one nebula which form "Orion's sword" almost certainly don't line up to point at Earth (or, really, the Solar system in general). It's only workable if the signal's destination is ''directly'' on the opposite side of our solar system from Orion, and our Sun happens to lie in line with the sword's other stars from that location's perspective.
* AssholeVictim: Pritchard, the petroleum prospector who goes on and on about wringing as much profit from as many "assets" as he can "legally" claim regardless of the danger to the crew, is the second victim.

* BeyondTheImpossible: The Doctor says they will "attempt the impossible" by capturing the ghosts, but given that they already know that the ghosts can't ''enter'' the Faraday Cage it's a logical assumption that they can't ''exit'' it either. Thus, it is a DownplayedTrope at most.

* {{Dissimile}}: The Doctor likes adventures as much as the next man... if that man liked adventures.

** When first seen Pritchard is trying to assert his company's right to the spaceship.

* GenreSavvy: Cass compares their scenario to ''Film/CabinInTheWoods''.

* JumpingOnPoint: Although never promoted as such, this episode, along with [[Recap/DoctorWhoS35E4BeforeTheFlood Part 2]], serves as a good jumping-on point for people unfamiliar with the show's mythology as it manages to illustrate the (current) Doctor-companion dynamic - including the impact being a companion has on people, explain the concepts of time travel and paradoxes, explain a bit of the Doctor's backstory (at least in terms of his involvement with Earth), touches on the fact the TARDIS is alive, and even squeezes in a line in this episode to explain why the TARDIS is bigger on the inside. Except for some minor details, one can come into ''Doctor Who'' cold with these two episodes and understand virtually everything.

** Pritchard freaks out he sees a ghost outside the airlock instead one of the crew.

* OnlyInItForTheMoney: Pritchard is only in the base to recover the mass supplies of oil to be found there.

* {{Squee}}: O'Donnell has a moment of this when she first meets the Doctor.

* WeaselWords: Pritchard starts most of his sentences with phrases like "It could be argued..." that essentially insulate him from legal repercussions to his suggestions.

* AssholeVictim: Pritchard, the petroleum prospector who goes on and on about wringing as much profit from as many "assets" as he "legally" claim regardless of the danger to the crew, is the second victim.

* BilingualBonus: Fans familiar with sign language have indicated that when the Doctor attempts to sign to Cass, although it appears he may be signing gibberish, in fact he's signing "you're beautiful." Later, when the Doctor warns Clara not to "go native" and just before he says "I just had to say something" his right hand forms an unusual gesture that ASL readers have said comes close to being the sign for "I love you." This is immediately before the season's first use of the phrase "duty of care" that at the end of the season becomes a euphemism for I love you.

** The Doctor was driven nuts by hearing "Mysterious Girl" every day for two weeks so he turned the TARDIS' radio into a clockwork squirrel.

** One of the Doctor's "empathy cue cards" mentions leaving someone in Aberdeen, likely referencing when he left Sarah Jane Smith there instead of Croydon.

** The Doctor immediately pegs the alien ghost as a Tivolian, the same species as the cowardly Gibbis from "The God Complex".

** Clara is still the Doctor's "carer" but now she points out moments where he should put on a show of caring instead of just doing it for him. Later, the Doctor also states outright that he has a duty of care towards her.

* CowardlyLion: Despite his protestations of being a coward, and being the most reluctant to stay with the Doctor once the ghosts are contained, Bennet proves himself to be pretty brave.

* EpicFail: Clara's social-interaction cue cards don't work the way she hoped.

* EveryoneKnowsMorse: The ghosts send out a message in Morse asking for a rescue sub, hoping to lure in more victims. Fortunately, the sub radios ahead and the Doctor calls it off. The trope is further invoke by the fact that Morse Code hasn't actually been a standard for distress signals since 1999; whoever understood it in 2119 must have been a student of history.

* FanficFuel:
** The Doctor and Clara have just been to a world that's been celebrating New Year's Eve for 200 years and where Clara left "most of" her dignity behind.
** Clara once got into an argument with Gandhi, apparently.
** There's probably a cute fanfic to be written about the Doctor being driven so crazy by "Mysterious Girl" that he turned the TARDIS' radio into a clockwork squirrel.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Twice in the episode, a tragic event later in the season is foreshadowed directly. First, as the Doctor says one of the questions he'd like to ask the ghosts is whether death hurt, there is a close-up on Clara. Later, the Doctor says to Clara, "You live and you die. That's it." Again, we get a close-up of Clara as he says this. Both foreshadow Clara's painful death in "Face the Raven".

* HarpoonGun: Prentis tries to use one on the Doctor and Clara.

* JumpingOnPoint: Although never promoted as such, this episode, along with Part 2, serves as a good jumping-on point for people unfamiliar with the show's mythology as it manages to illustrate the (current) Doctor-companion dynamic - including the impact being a companion has on people, explain the concepts of time travel and paradoxes, explain a bit of the Doctor's backstory (at least in terms of his involvement with Earth), touches on the fact the TARDIS is alive, and even squeezes in a line in this episode to explain why the TARDIS is bigger on the inside. Except for some minor details, one can come into ''Doctor Who'' cold with these two episodes and understand virtually everything.

* LetsSplitUpGang: When the three Ghosts are pursuing Clara and Lunn tries to lure them away, only Ghost Pritchard follows him.

--->'''Clara''': I left my sunglasses there. And most of my dignity.

'''Doctor''': What?\\
'''Pritchard''': I mean powerful. Those power cells. I imagine they're pretty powerful.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Twice in the episode, a tragic event later in the season is foreshadowed directly. [[spoiler: First, as the Doctor says one of the questions he'd like to ask the ghosts is whether death hurt, there is a close-up on Clara. Later, the Doctor says to Clara, "You live and you die. That's it." Again, we get a close-up of Clara as he says this. Both foreshadow Clara's painful death in "Face the Raven".]]

* AndThenJohnWasAZombie: The episode cliffhanger is the Doctor apparently becoming one of the ghosts.

* EveryoneKnowsMorse: The ghosts send out a message in morse asking for a rescue sub, hoping to lure in more victims. Fortunately, the sub radios ahead and the Doctor calls it off.

* {{Fangirl}}: It turns out that O'Donnell is one, of both UNIT ''and'' the Doctor. She's giddy when she gets to see how the TARDIS is "bigger on the inside".

* EstablishingCharacterMoment:
** When first seen Pritchard is trying to assert his company's right to the spaceship.
** Even though this is the third episode of the season, Clara's urging the Doctor for more adventures - and the Doctor rising concern regarding his - establishes her character arc for the remainder of the season.
* {{Foreshadowing}}: Twice in the episode, a tragic event later in the season is foreshadowed directly. [[spoiler: First, as the Doctor says one of the questions he'd like to ask the ghosts is whether death hurt, there is a close-up on Clara. Later, the Doctor says to Clara, "You live and you die. That's it." Again, we get a close-up of Clara as he says this. Both foreshadow Clara's painful death in "Face the Raven".]]

* EarWorm: [[invoked]] Everyone who sees the mysterious writing inside the spaceship has their brains rewritten by it. When they die, they come back as ghosts who repeat the coordinates endlessly. The Doctor compares it to hearing "Mysterious Girl" by Peter Andre and being unable to get it out of your head.

** Even though this is the third episode of the season, Clara's urging the Doctor for more adventures - and the Doctor concern regarding his - establishes her character arc for the remainder of the season.

* LivingLegend: By 2119, the Doctor's exploits with UNIT are well-known (or at least amongst military personnel). So when the Psychic Paper identifies him as ''the'' Doctor from UNIT the crew has no trouble trusting him.

** The Doctor and Clara have just been to a world that's been celebrating New Year's Eve for 200 years.

* ActionGirl: Clara is in full-out InHarmsWay mode, which disturbs the Doctor, though he doesn't stop her from acting as bait for the ghosts later.
** Clara is the one who gets to tell the Doctor, "Run!"

* BlackDudeDiesFirst: Moran, the first victim of the episode, dies pushing Cass out of the way when the outer thrusters of the spaceship suddenly reignite. He's the only black character in the episode.

* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: The Doctor and the cue cards. Even Clara gives him an "are you serious?" look when he reads out all the dialogue options on the card by mistake.
** OK, we get that the Doctor was driven nuts by hearing "Mysterious Girl" every day for two weeks. But ... turning the radio into a clockwork squirrel?

* CueCard: The aforementioned cards with stock phrases for the Doctor to use. It doesn't quite work as planned.

* FanficFuel: The Doctor and Clara have just been to a world that's been celebrating New Year's Eve for 200 years.

* {{Fangirl}}: It turns out that O'Donnell is one, of both UNIT ''and'' the Doctor.

* EstablishingCharacterMoment: When first seen Pritchard is trying to assert his company's right to the spaceship.

* LaserGuidedAmnesia: The Doctor's habit of "deleting" unneeded memories and knowledge is referenced again. This time he appears to have forgotten how to correctly communicate in and understand sign language (although according to fans who understand the language, his attempt at communicating with Cass does result in him making an actual statement in ASL, just not the one he wanted. And some fans believe the Doctor subconsciously signs a rather intimate thought to Clara during their debate in the TARDIS (see ShipTease under YMMV).

* OffScreenMomentOfAwesome: Clara arguing with Gandhi.

* OhCrap: Pritchard freaks out he sees a ghost outside the airlock instead one of the crew.

* SuitWithVestedInterests: Pritchard, the Vector Petroleum rep who takes over when Moran dies.

* WhatTheHellHero: Cass gives this reaction to the Doctor when he's excited over the ghosts, telling him he can go and put himself in danger, but she's not endangering her crew.

* ShoutOut: Cass says the Doctor can stay and do the "Film/TheCabinInTheWoods" thing.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: Clara's somewhat reckless (or, at least, throw-caution-to-the-wind) behaviour, and the Doctor's subsequent concern for her safety foreshadow events later in the season.

* BilingualBonus: Fans familiar with sign language have indicated that when the Doctor attempts to sign to Cass, although it appears he may be signing gibberish, in fact he's signing "you're beautiful." Later, when the Doctor warns Clara not to "go native" and just before he says "I just had to say something" his right hand forms an unusual gesture that ASL readers have said comes close to being the sign for "I love you." This is immediately before the season's first use of the phrase "duty of care" that [[spoiler: at the end of the season becomes a euphemism for I love you]].

* YouNeedToGetLaid: When Clara says she wants more adventures, the Doctor says she needs to find another boyfriend. Clara subtly hints that she has.

* BlackDudeDiesFirst: Moran, the first victim of the episode, dies pushing Cass out of the way when the outer thrusters of the spaceship suddenly reignite.

** Clara is still the Doctor's "carer" but now she is point out moments where he should put on a show of caring instead of just doing it for him.

* CueCard: The aforementioned cards with stock phrases for the Doctor to use. It doesn't quite work.

** Even though this is the third episode of the season, Clara's urging the Doctor for more adventures establishes her character arc for the remainder of the season.