Susan’s Vine Attack and Barbara’s Disappearance
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
After Ian, Altos, and Sabetha depart, Susan reflects on recent events before Barbara dismisses Susan's claims of "evil" in the jungle. She moves to find an entry for them, and while relaxing, Susan is suddenly attacked by a living vine--confirming the jungle's active hostility.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Skeptical and dismissive of Susan's fears, but with an undercurrent of unease about the archway and tunnel. Her curiosity and impulsiveness override caution, driving her to act alone despite the group's earlier agreement to wait for Ian.
Barbara initially dismisses Susan's warnings about the unnatural sound, attributing it to Susan's imagination. When the sentient vine attacks Susan, Barbara rationalizes it as a fallen branch, refusing to acknowledge the vine's predatory nature despite Susan's insistence. She physically removes the vine with a rock, but her skepticism persists, even as she notices the archway's overgrowth. Her curiosity and impulsiveness drive her to explore the dark tunnel alone, lured by the grotesque idol statue. She ignores Susan's pleas not to proceed, setting herself up for the next phase of danger. Barbara's actions reflect a mix of pragmatism, skepticism, and recklessness, as she prioritizes progress over caution.
- • To find the micro-key and progress the mission, even at the risk of personal safety
- • To prove Susan's fears are irrational (by exploring the tunnel alone)
- • The jungle's dangers are overstated or imagined (until proven otherwise)
- • She can handle the risks alone, as she has in past situations
Terrified and desperate, oscillating between raw panic and frustrated helplessness as her warnings are dismissed. Her fear is rooted in an instinctive recognition of the jungle's malevolence, which she cannot articulate clearly enough to sway Barbara.
Susan is the first to perceive the jungle's sentience, hearing an unnatural screeching sound that triggers deep, instinctive fear. She reacts with visceral panic when a sentient vine lashes out, wrapping around her ankle and attempting to restrain her. Her screams ('It was alive! A snake crawling all over me!') are met with Barbara's skepticism, which only heightens her distress. Susan's emotional state oscillates between terror and frustration as she tries to convince Barbara of the vine's predatory nature, but her warnings are dismissed as irrational. She ultimately helps Barbara with the archway, though her unease lingers, and she pleads with Barbara not to enter the dark tunnel, foreshadowing the dangers ahead.
- • To warn Barbara and the group about the jungle's sentience and danger
- • To prevent Barbara from entering the dark tunnel (foreshadowing her own fear of isolation and danger)
- • The jungle is alive and predatory, not just a passive environment
- • Her instincts about danger are reliable, even if others dismiss them
Uneasy but focused on the task at hand (finding another entrance). His absence during the vine attack reflects the group's growing disorganization.
Altos is not physically present during the vine attack or Susan's confrontation with Barbara, as he is accompanying Ian and Sabetha in searching the ruins' perimeter for another entrance. His practical and cautious nature is implied in the group's earlier discussion about cutting down the creepers, which he suggests only as a last resort. Altos' absence during this event highlights the group's fragmentation, as key decisions are made without his input.
- • To find a safe alternative entrance to the ruins
- • To support Ian's leadership and maintain group cohesion
- • The jungle's dangers require careful navigation and caution
- • The group's success depends on coordinated effort
Concerned and frustrated, with a sense of urgency to regain control of the situation. His absence during the vine attack underscores the group's growing fragmentation, and his return marks a shift toward addressing the immediate dangers.
Ian is absent during the vine attack and Susan's confrontation with Barbara, as he is searching the ruins' perimeter with Altos and Sabetha. He returns to find Barbara missing and Susan distressed, immediately taking charge of the situation. His authoritative tone ('Barbara! What are you doing? I told you to wait until we got back.') reflects his protective instincts and frustration with Barbara's impulsiveness. Ian's leadership is tested as he must now address the group's fragmentation and the escalating dangers of the jungle.
- • To locate Barbara and ensure her safety
- • To reassert leadership and prevent further reckless actions by the group
- • The group's safety depends on his guidance and caution
- • Barbara's impulsiveness will lead to danger if unchecked
Uneasy and alert, with a growing sense of the jungle's hostility. Her absence during the vine attack reflects the group's disorganization.
Sabetha is not physically present during the vine attack or Susan's confrontation with Barbara, as she is accompanying Ian and Altos in searching the ruins' perimeter. Her observant nature is implied in her earlier comment about the eerie atmosphere of the place ('This is a dead place'), which foreshadows the jungle's sentience. Sabetha's absence during this event underscores the group's fragmentation, as critical moments unfold without her input.
- • To assist in finding a safe entrance to the ruins
- • To contribute to the group's understanding of the environment's dangers
- • The jungle is not a passive environment but an active threat
- • The group must proceed with caution
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
The sentient vine is the physical manifestation of the jungle's predatory nature, lashing out from the overgrowth and wrapping around Susan's ankle in a deliberate, aggressive motion. Its unnatural screeching and deliberate movement confirm the jungle's sentience, contradicting Barbara's rationalization that it is merely a fallen branch. The vine's attack serves as a turning point, exposing the environment's hostility and foreshadowing greater dangers ahead. Barbara removes it with a rock, but the incident leaves a lasting impression of the jungle's malevolence.
Barbara's defensive rock is a makeshift tool used to pry the sentient vine off Susan's ankle. Its solid strike breaks the vine's grip, freeing Susan and exposing the vine's deliberate aggression. The rock symbolizes Barbara's pragmatic approach to problems—using whatever is at hand to address immediate threats—though her skepticism about the vine's sentience undermines the full significance of the attack. The rock's use marks a shift from verbal dismissal to physical action, highlighting the escalating tension.
The grotesque idol statue serves as a lure for Barbara, drawing her into the dark tunnel beyond the archway. Its animal face, sunburst hair, and outstretched arms create an eerie, inviting presence that contrasts with the jungle's hostility. Barbara's curiosity about the statue—'It's a big grotesque statue'—foreshadows her solo confrontation with the ruins' deeper dangers. The idol's symbolic significance lies in its role as a deceptive gateway, masking the traps and perils that lie ahead. Susan's pleas for Barbara not to proceed underscore the statue's ominous allure.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
The jungle's external presence looms over the event, as its sentient vines lash out from the underbrush, wrapping around Susan's ankle. The jungle's whispers and unnatural sounds create an eerie, predatory atmosphere that contrasts with the ruins' quiet decay. Susan's fear of the jungle is validated by the vine's attack, confirming that the environment is not passive but actively hostile. The jungle's role in this event is to disrupt the group's mission and force them to confront the true nature of their surroundings. Its encroaching tendrils and screeching vines symbolize the inescapable threat they face.
The ruins' interior serves as the primary setting for this event, where the group's search for the micro-key is interrupted by the sentient vine's attack. The dense vegetation choking the space amplifies the tension, as the jungle's overgrowth is not merely an obstacle but an active threat. The ruins' archway, blocked by thick creepers, becomes a symbolic barrier between safety and danger. Susan's terror and Barbara's skepticism play out against the backdrop of this decaying, predatory environment, where the line between ruin and jungle blurs. The location's atmosphere is one of creeping dread, as the group's fragmentation mirrors the crumbling structure around them.
Organizations Involved
Institutional presence and influence
Arbitan's Couriers are represented indirectly through the group's fragmented efforts to recover the micro-key. The organization's mission—to gather the Keys of Marinus and activate the Conscience machine—drives the group's actions, but their disunity and individual impulses (e.g., Barbara's recklessness, Susan's fear) undermine their effectiveness. The couriers' role as tense allies is highlighted by their absence during the vine attack, as Ian, Altos, and Sabetha search the perimeter while Barbara and Susan confront the jungle's sentience alone. The group's growing fragmentation reflects the challenges of working under Arbitan's directives in a hostile environment.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
Within this episode
"The initial attack by a living vine on Susan escalates to the jungle tendrils pushing through the walls, and later actively attacking Barbara, demonstrating the jungle's growing hostility and the increasing danger they face."
Jungle encroachment and the micro-key breakthroughAcross episodes
"The moment Ian attempts to strangle Barbara under alien control (Episode 22) mirrors Susan’s vine attack and accusation of Barbara as irrational in Episode 23 — both episodes feature trusted companions turning hostile due to external manipulation."
Barbara destroys the Morphos' control"Barbara's resilience against the Morphos' illusion (Episode 22) foreshadows her determination to survive and navigate the dangers of the jungle (Episode 23). Her dismissal of Susan's warnings in Episode 23 echoes her earlier resistance to the Morphos' distortions of reality."
Morphoton’s Illusion and Barbara’s Resistance"Barbara's resistance to mind-control and perception of truth in Morphoton (Episode 22) directly informs her skepticism and impatience with Susan's warnings about the jungle's sentience in Episode 23. Her established role as the one who sees beyond illusions carries forward."
Barbara’s Resistance and Desperate Flight"Susan’s traumatic experience with the Morphoton mind-control device (where she was forcibly controlled and subjected to an illusion) directly sets up her subsequent paranoia and fear of an 'evil' presence in the jungle. Her reaction in Episode 23 is a continuation of her distrust of external forces manipulating perception."
Barbara Resists Mind Control"Barbara's role as the sole non-seduced companion in Morphoton evolves into her asserting leadership in the jungle, dismissing Susan's warnings as irrational—mirroring her earlier dismissal of the crew's perceptions under the city's illusion."
Barbara Sees the Truth Alone"Barbara's traumatic experience with the Morphos' brainwashing and subsequent destruction of their parasitic bodies seeds her heightened vigilance and skepticism about unseen influences in Morphoton. This trauma carries into her perception of the jungle in The Screaming Jungle, where she dismisses Susan's warnings as irrational but maintains a grounded pragmatism."
Barbara destroys the Morphos' control"The Morphos’ ruthless plan to replace Sabetha with Susan (Episode 22) escalates in Episode 23 to the jungle’s aggressive physical assault on Barbara—symbolizing that the environment itself is a sentient, hostile force acting against the companions."
Morpho and Altos plan companion exploitation"The Morphos’ order to destroy Barbara for resisting their control foreshadows the jungle’s aggressive assault on her in Episode 23. Both represent external forces trying to eliminate her for perceived threats to their systems."
Morpho orders Barbara’s destruction"The Morphos’ declaration that Barbara must be destroyed for seeing the truth (Episode 22) is immediately followed in Episode 23 by Susan hearing a 'screaming' sound associated with 'evil,' and later, the jungle physically attacking Barbara—narratively continuing the pursuit of the truth-seer."
Morpho orders Barbara’s destruction"Both events involve Barbara's struggle to assert her perception against others' acceptance of a fabricated reality (the illusion of Morphoton vs. Susan's genuine but initially untrusted warning of the vine)."
Morphoton’s Illusion and Barbara’s Resistance"Barbara's resistance to mind control in Morphoton mirrors her later resistance to hallucinatory threats in the jungle. Both scenes feature her as the sole voice of reason amid others succumbing to illusion or fear."
Barbara’s Resistance and Desperate Flight"Susan's paranoia about the jungle's malevolence parallels her earlier skepticism toward Barbara's warnings in Morphoton. Both episodes feature Susan dismissing perceived irrational fears until events force her to confront reality."
Barbara Resists Mind Control"Both episodes feature a character resisting an unseen influence—Susan in Episode 22 resisting Morphoton’s illusion of contentment, and Barbara in Episode 23 resisting the image of safety in the ruins."
Ian’s Distrust and Barbara’s Resistance"Susan's terrified perception of supernatural evil ('It was alive!') in Episode 23 is echoed by Barbara's recognition of human evil through Ayden's violent interrogation in Episode 25."
Ayden’s Violent Interrogation of Kala"The Doctor's earlier accusation about a 'third man in the room' during the reconstruction (Episode 25) mirrors the tension in Episode 23 where Barbara dismisses Susan's warnings of a 'third force' (the vine) in the jungle."
Ayden’s staged death exposes the Doctor’s deception"Susan's perception of the jungle's sentience and evil (as seen in her vine attack experience) foreshadows her later ability to sense danger in Vasar's hut, where she vocalizes the group's peril (e.g., her mention of Susan and Sabetha being alive in the cave)."
Barbara fights Vasar, Ian arrives with rescue plan"Barbara's survival instinct during the vine attack (Episode 23) — where she navigates the jungle's booby traps alone — is echoed in Episode 24 when she survives Vasar's trap and confronts him directly."
Ian discovers Vasar’s lethal trap"Susan’s initial perception of the jungle’s sentience (hearing an 'evil' sound and reacting with panic in Episode 23) foreshadows her heightened alertness and pragmatic leadership under extreme conditions in Episode 24. When she reunites with Barbara and Ian on the rope bridge, her ability to remain observant and vocal (e.g., 'Oh, Barbara!') demonstrates continuity in her capacity to first identify threats and then communicate them clearly to the group, despite her youth."
Vasar severs the rope bridge"Susan's escalation from fear (jungle vines attacking her) to pragmatic leadership (forcing Sabetha to navigate tunnels) shows her emotional resilience evolving into assertive decision-making."
Susan and Sabetha debate the tunnel escape"Susan's early fear of the jungle (Episode 23) transitions into her ongoing trait of fear-driven hesitation in Episode 24, where she pleads to turn back in the tunnel despite the need to find the key."
The Tunnel’s Unstable Truths"Ian's prior experience with Susan's warnings of unseen danger (Episode 23) foreshadows his skepticism and later trust in Altos' warnings about Vasar (Episode 24)."
Ian discovers Altos betrayed in the snow"Susan’s traumatic encounter with a living vine in Episode 23 emotionally resonates with Ian’s desperate attempts to protect Susan and the group from Vasar’s psychological traps in Episode 24."
Ian Gambles for Warmth and Trust"Susan's fear of the unknown, first triggered by the 'screaming jungle' in Episode 23, is amplified in Episode 24 by her plea to turn back in the tunnels. The fear escalates from a supernatural threat to a rational survival instinct."
The Tunnel’s Unstable Truths"Susan’s fear-driven identification of the jungle’s hostile sentience in Episode 23 foreshadows her fear of the tunnel’s unknown dangers in Episode 24. When she pleads in Episode 24, 'Can't we go back?' her earlier assertion that the jungle is 'alive' and malevolent (Episode 23) is rhetorically echoed by her reluctance to proceed further into the tunnel."
The Tunnel’s Unstable Truths"The tension between Susan’s fear and Barbara’s determination established in the jungle (Susan’s screaming, distrust of environment; Barbara’s pragmatism) continues in the tunnel scenes of E24, where Susan again tries to turn back and Barbara insists on pressing forward."
The Tunnel’s Unstable Truths"Susan’s initial perception of the jungle’s 'evil' (23) parallels Ian’s experience in the snowfield (24), where the cold and Vasar’s traps represent an equally hostile, sentient environment—both testing the group’s resilience."
Ian and Altos sprint for survival"Both episodes feature the TARDIS crew confronting hostile, sentient environments that attack them directly. The 'screaming jungle' in Episode 23 is mirrored by the reviving Ice Warriors in Episode 24, both acting as antagonists that must be outwitted to survive."
Guards Awaken, Key Becomes the Prize"Barbara's rational dismissal of Susan's fear of the sentient jungle (in Episode 23) parallels her confrontation with Vasar in Episode 24, where she refuses to accept his manipulative hospitality and threat, instead trusting her instincts and investigating his motives."
Barbara Confronts Vasar Over Stolen Goods"Both episodes feature the TARDIS crew being physically threatened and pursued by an animate, hostile environment — vines in E23 and ice/ice warriors in E24. The jungle's attack and the ice warriors' revival both embody the theme of nature or technology turning against intruders to protect a sacred/micro-key."
The Tunnel’s Unstable Truths"Barbara dismissing Susan’s warning about the jungle’s sentience ('It was just your imagination.') parallels the Doctor later reconstructing the murder to challenge Tarron’s narrative — both reflect skepticism of perceived truths and the cost of dismissal."
Ayden’s staged death exposes the Doctor’s deception"Susan’s paranoia about the jungle’s sentience in Episode 23 parallels Susan’s pragmatic rationality under pressure in Episode 24, as she tries to solve the tunnel escape while Sabetha hesitates."
Susan and Sabetha debate the tunnel escape"Both events feature Barbara dismissing unsettling perceptions (Susan's jungle sentience vs. Kala's distress) while simultaneously demonstrating her growing observational detachment that will later uncover the conspiracy."
Ayden’s Violent Interrogation of Kala"Susan's fear of the jungle's sentience in Episode 23 is complemented by Vasar's false hospitality masking danger in Episode 24, both demonstrating how characters misinterpret or confront malignant forces."
Vasar's calculated hospitalityThemes This Exemplifies
Thematic resonance and meaning
Part of Larger Arcs
Key Dialogue
"SUSAN: It was alive! A snake crawling all over me!"
"BARBARA: No, no. It must have fallen on you from the trees."
"SUSAN: It didn’t, it didn’t. It’s alive."
"BARBARA: Now stop it, Susan. Stop it."
"SUSAN: It was trying to twine all round me."
"BARBARA: It was just your imagination."
"SUSAN: Oh look, you can move some of these back quite easily."
"BARBARA: (She goes through the archway.) Yes, I thought so."
"SUSAN: What is it?"
"BARBARA [OC]: It’s all right, I can see it now. It’s a big grotesque statue."
"IAN: Barbara! What are you doing? I told you to wait until we got back."