- "I find it fascinating that a living creature would subject itself to such dangerous experimentation. Knowing that it would die.."
This episode is the first part of the I, Davros origin story arc, the events of which more or less directly precede "Genesis of the Daleks". The story is told by Davros to the Daleks before his "trial" after the events of "Revelation of the Daleks". The story is somewhat modelled on Robert Graves' famous I, Claudius.
The Kaled and Thal races are at war. No one really remembers why, or when it started, but generations of people on both sides have lost so very much.
Born into an influential family is Davros. Now aged sixteen, he is being pulled in various directions: His father wants him to follow tradition and go into the military, his sister has joined the Military Youth and his scheming, devoted mother wants him to pursue a life of science.
But no one seems terribly interested in what Davros himself wants. So he must begin to assert himself, begin to take control over his own life, begin to work towards his destiny.
Tropes
- Better to Die than Be Killed: All Kaled soldiers have the right to request a mercy killing from their fellow officers if they are too ill, injured or infirm to continue fighting. Davros's father Colonel Nasgard demands that his subordinate Major Brogan kill him after Brogan betrays him by telling high command that Nasgard is too ill to maintain his command.
- Body Horror: What Magrantine's radiation chamber does to him after Davros seals him inside and switches it on.
- Black Widow: Calcula kills off her husband Nasgard with a bomb planted at their house, mostly to keep him from forcing Davros to become a soldier. It conveniently kills her sister-in-law as well, who was about to tell Nasgard that Davros was not his son. Then when Quested wants to make their relationship public, and tell Davros the truth about who his father was, she stands by while Davros kills him.
- Call-Back: The stalemate between Kaleds and Thaals resembles that between the Daleks and the Movellans in "Destiny of the Daleks", in which each response creates an automated and instantaneous counter-response. Likewise the Daleks are hoping Davros will be a Game Changer when facing a similar deadlock, in this case involving repeated defeat and civil war.
- Creepy Child: Young Davros is an intellectual prodigy, but arrogant, creepy and perfectly happy to commit murder even at that age.
- Et Tu, Brute?: Colonel Nasgard feels this way about Major Brogan after Brogan briefs their superiors on Nasgard's failing health, leading to his own promotion and Nasgard's forced retirement.
- Firing Squad: The episode opens with Nasgard presiding over the execution of soldiers (one of them Magrantine's son) who broke and ran during combat. Later Calcula arranges for her daughter to take part in her first execution—of Major Brogan whom she knows is innocent of the crime he's accused of.
- Fix Fic: The framing device revisits something that's long been thought out-of-character for the Daleks - putting Davros (and later the Master) "on trial". This story reveals they actually mean "trial" in the sense of "test". They're going to see if Davros can be of use to further the Dalek conquest.
- Framing Device: Davros is recounting his history to the Daleks before his "trial", placing the framing story after "Revelation of the Daleks
" - How the Mighty Have Fallen: Davros is not impressed with his Daleks warring among themselves instead of conquering others, and cites this trope.
- It Has Only Just Begun: At the end of the episodes Davros hears the sirens go off and asks his mother if this is The End. Calcula replies with this trope.
- Luke, I Am Your Father: Davros's response is to shoot Quested, saying he can't be his father because his father is dead. Calcula agrees.
- Mercy Kill:
- Colonel Nasgard asks Brogan to shoot him so he can die honorably on the field of battle. Brogan refuses, thinking he should spend his final days with his family; not that the latter are very grateful for this, with Calcula flat-out asking her husband why he didn't ask for the bullet.
- Magrantine begs for this after Davros mutates him.
- My Beloved Smother: Davros's mother Calcula adores and indulges him constantly, despite his irritation at her.
- Mythology Gag (or maybe Discontinuity Nod): Davros' sister Yarvel is named after Yarvelling, who created the Dalek travel machine in the old TV Century 21 comics.
- Parental Favouritism: Calcula clearly favours Davros over Yarvel.
- Revenge by Proxy: Magrantine wants to kill Davros as his stepfather had Magrantine's son executed. Davros talks him out of this, to Magrantine's later regret.
- The Scapegoat: Major Brogan is secretly a Peace Activist, which makes it easy for Calcula to frame him as a Thaal spy who planted the bomb that killed her husband.
- Skewed Priorities: After finding out what Davros has done to his tutor, Calcula is annoyed due to how difficult it is finding a good tutor.
- Teen Genius: Davros is shown to be one and Calcula appreciates it the most, wanting him to have the best education he can get.
- Tested on Humans: The alleged 'volunteers' who are subjected to the radiation chamber, to establish the long term effects on the Kaleds if nuclear war breaks out. Davros convinces Magrantine to conduct tests on casualties who will die anyway of their wounds, and when they run out of those subjects he locks his tutor in the radiation chamber to study the effects on a healthy subject.
- The Un Favourite: Yarvel is clearly this to her mother and knows it.
- Whole Episode Flashback: The episode begins with Davros as prisoner of the Daleks who want "to try him out" as a solution to their failures. He recounts the story of their creation in order to decide a new future for them.
