Episode two (which is also the 300th episode of Doctor Who) doesn't have much in the way of plot advancement, concentrating instead on ensuring that all the pieces are in their proper positions. So Benton and Yates are in Devil's End with the Doctor and Jo, and the Brigadier and any UNIT backup is stuck on the outside of the heat barrier. And Miss Hawthorne is stuck in a trunk so that Benton can hear her, rescue her, and then be assaulted by something that appears to be supernatural rather than scientific. The whole episode, in fact, is ensuring that everything looks supernatural indeed -- so it's making sure that the audience's mindset is also in the proper position, ready to be debunked by the Doctor in episode three.
The Doctor explains the Dæmons to Miss Hawthorne, Benton, Jo, and Yates. (The Dæmons Episode Three) ©BBC |
But if pseudo-explanations aren't up your alley, there are still some nice action sequences, such as Yates's fight with the unusually strong and resilient Girton (the implication being that's he tapping into some of that Dæmon science, thanks to the Master), and the subsequent car/helicopter chase between the Doctor and Jo in Bessie and Girton in the UNIT helicopter, which blows up in the heat barrier thanks to a last-minute swerve by the Doctor -- albeit one which throws Jo clear, injuring her in the process (entertainingly, the novelisation has the Doctor wondering why she didn't buckle her seatbelt). And there's also the Master's effort to place the entire town under his sway, which at times looks like attempted mass hypnosis but ultimately seems to be an effort to persuade them that his position is right; and when that doesn't work, he summons Bok to kill Squire Winstanley in front of them. If you can't make them see it your way, make them fear you, I guess.
And then the Master summons the Dæmon Azal into the cavern below the church, which causes an earthquake and leads to the Master being worried that Azal will crush him underfoot (underhoof?) -- a bit of an odd cliffhanger, as it requires the audience to be worried about the fate of the Master, the villain of the piece...