Susan’s Injury and Resistance Roles Assigned
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Jenny examines Susan's injured ankle and instructs Barbara to gather food and sign up for work detail, and insists Susan can do seated work despite her injury.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Hesitant and slightly overwhelmed, but committed to supporting the resistance. She is concerned about Susan's injury but recognizes the need to follow Jenny's instructions.
Barbara hesitates about Susan's ability to work due to her injury but ultimately complies with Jenny's directive to gather food and sign up for work detail. She seeks clarification on where to get the food, revealing her unfamiliarity with the resistance's operations. Her actions reflect her concern for Susan's well-being but also her willingness to integrate into the resistance's efforts.
- • Ensure Susan's injury is properly cared for and that she is not overworked.
- • Follow Jenny's instructions to gather food and sign up for work detail, integrating herself into the resistance's operations.
- • Susan's health should not be compromised for the sake of the resistance's needs.
- • The resistance's survival depends on everyone's cooperation, and she must do her part.
Painful but resigned, understanding the necessity of contributing despite her injury. She is willing to adapt to the resistance's needs.
Susan identifies herself as the one with the injured ankle and reacts to Jenny's examination with a pained exclamation. She is assessed as having a non-broken ankle but is still in need of care. Despite her injury, Jenny insists she can contribute to the resistance's efforts by working seated at a table, reflecting the group's desperate need for every able body.
- • Allow Jenny to assess and treat her injury so she can return to contributing to the resistance.
- • Follow Jenny's instructions to find a way to help the group, even with her limited mobility.
- • The resistance's survival depends on everyone's effort, and she must do her part despite her injury.
- • Jenny's medical assessment and instructions should be followed to ensure she can contribute effectively.
Focused and determined, with a hint of urgency. She is not overly sympathetic but recognizes the need to balance care with the group's survival needs.
Jenny takes the lead in assessing Susan's injured ankle, removing her shoe and flexing her foot to determine the extent of the injury. She then delegates tasks to Barbara, directing her to gather food and sign up for work detail. Jenny's actions are efficient and no-nonsense, reflecting her role as the group's medic and her pragmatic approach to managing resources and labor in the resistance.
- • Assess and treat Susan's injury to ensure she can contribute to the resistance's efforts.
- • Delegate tasks to Barbara to secure food and integrate her into the resistance's work detail, ensuring the group's survival and operational readiness.
- • Every member of the resistance, regardless of injury, must contribute in some way to the collective effort.
- • Medical care should be efficient and focused on enabling functionality rather than comfort, given the group's dire circumstances.
Authoritative and domineering, their broadcast exudes a cold, mechanical threat that underscores their control over the situation.
The Daleks' presence is felt through their chilling surrender ultimatum broadcast over the radio, which sets the tense backdrop for the resistance's task delegation. Their demand for unconditional surrender looms over the group, driving their urgency and desperation.
- • Assert dominance over the survivors of London through their surrender ultimatum.
- • Crush any resistance by demanding unconditional compliance and threatening extermination.
- • Humans are inferior and must submit to Dalek rule without question.
- • Any defiance will be met with swift and merciless punishment.
Dortmun is not physically present in this specific event, but his defiance of the Daleks' ultimatum and his leadership role …
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
The work detail sign-up sheet is a practical tool for organizing the resistance's labor, ensuring that every able body is assigned a task. Jenny directs Barbara to sign up for work detail, emphasizing the group's reliance on collective effort and the integration of newcomers into their operations. The sheet symbolizes the resistance's structured approach to survival, where roles are clearly defined and no one is exempt from contributing.
The wet bandage is referenced as a necessary medical aid for Susan's swollen ankle, though it is not yet applied during this event. Jenny identifies it as essential for cooling the injury and enabling Susan to contribute to the resistance's efforts. Its mention underscores the group's limited medical resources and the pragmatic approach to care, where comfort is secondary to functionality.
Food supplies are a critical but scarce resource in the underground HQ. Jenny tasks Barbara with gathering food, highlighting the resistance's desperate need for sustenance to maintain their strength and operational readiness. The absence of physical details about the food underscores the group's stretched logistics and the urgency of securing even basic necessities.
The radio serves as the medium through which the Daleks' chilling surrender ultimatum is broadcast, setting the tense and urgent tone for the resistance's task delegation. Its mechanical voice permeates the underground HQ, reminding the group of the Daleks' oppressive control and the stakes of their resistance. The broadcast is a constant threat, driving the group's desperation and urgency.
Susan's shoe is removed by Jenny during the medical assessment of her injured ankle. This simple act symbolizes the group's immediate and practical approach to care, as well as the vulnerability of its members. The shoe, scuffed from their flight through ruined London, is set aside as Jenny examines the injury, highlighting the resistance's makeshift and resource-stretched environment.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
The underground resistance headquarters serves as a cramped but vital refuge for the group, where they coordinate their efforts to survive and resist the Daleks. In this event, it becomes a microcosm of their desperate circumstances, with Jenny assessing Susan's injury and delegating tasks to Barbara amid the tense atmosphere created by the Daleks' surrender ultimatum. The dimly lit tunnels and flickering lights underscore the group's precarious situation, while the concrete floors and damp stone walls evoke a sense of urgency and vulnerability.
Organizations Involved
Institutional presence and influence
The Underground Resistance is actively represented in this event through the delegation of tasks and the integration of newcomers like Barbara and Susan. Jenny, as the group's medic and logistician, ensures that every member—regardless of injury—contributes to the collective effort. The resistance's survival depends on this pragmatic approach, where medical care, food procurement, and labor assignments are all critical to maintaining operational readiness. The group's unity and resourcefulness are on full display as they adapt to the Daleks' oppressive demands.
The Africa Group is referenced in this event through Man 2nd's report of their complete loss, which looms over the resistance's efforts. Their absence highlights the group's vulnerability and the global scale of the Daleks' oppression. The loss of the Africa Group serves as a grim reminder of the resistance's thin margins and the high stakes of their struggle, reinforcing the urgency of their task delegation and integration of new members.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
Across episodes
"Tyler’s manipulative urgency in separating Barbara from her companions (World's End) is revisited in his pragmatic role assigning tasks to Barbara and Susan in the resistance (The Daleks), reinforcing his inconsistent but commanding authority."
Tyler forces Barbara’s escape decision"Susan’s injured ankle in Episode 4 directly necessitates her being assigned manual tasks (by Jenny) in Episode 5, as Barbara and Tyler discuss her limitations."
TARDIS Buried Under Collapsing Bridge"The integration of Barbara and Susan into the resistance in Episode 4 (rescue by Tyler, role assignment by David) directly causes their presence in the underground HQ in Episode 5, where Jenny assigns Susan a passive task (ankle care) and bars her from combat roles."
Underground Integration and Crisis Escalation"Susan’s physical vulnerability (twisted ankle) from Episode 4 carries over into Episode 5, where Jenny assesses her injury and assigns her a passive role (table work) in the resistance. Her injury evolves from a moment of danger into a defining limitation that shapes her contributions."
TARDIS Buried Under Collapsing Bridge"Barbara's horror at witnessing death in the Thames in Episode 4 ('Who are you? Do you want to get killed?') echoes her later horror when Jenny reveals Robomen are forced prisoners ('They die. I've seen the Robos when they break down.')."
Barbara discovers death and Tyler’s threat"Barbara’s realization that they are not in their own time in Episode 4 escalates in Episode 5 to a sustained resistance effort against the Daleks, where Susan and Barbara are integrated into the underground HQ’s operations."
Barbara and Susan confront temporal displacement"Jenny’s pragmatic assignment of roles (e.g., Barbara gathering food) in Episode 5 is directly echoed in Episode 6, where Tyler’s collapse leads Barbara to abandon her loyalty to Susan in favor of mission objectives. Both reflect the growing disintegration of resistance unity."
Barbara chooses the mission over Susan"Susan’s earlier injury and pragmatic role in Episode 5 (treating her ankle, participating in resistance tasks) foreshadows her resilience and physical vulnerability in Episode 6 (hiding in a warehouse, pleading to escape Earth). Her continuity as a physically resilient yet emotionally conflicted character spans both episodes."
Susan and David’s Breaking Point"Susan’s loyalty and concern for her grandfather in Episode 5 (placing herself within the human resistance effort) continues into Episode 6, where she tends to the drugged Doctor and insists on his authority and care, showing her deep emotional bond despite his weakened state."
Doctor’s Leadership Fractures Under Pressure"Susan’s injury in Episode 5 (albeit minor at the time) foreshadows her physical vulnerability and need for care in Episode 6, where she avoids immediate danger compared to others. Barbara's focus on Susan's injury later influences her moral dilemma about choosing between the mission and Susan's safety."
Resistance fractures over rescue mission"Barbara’s pragmatic delegation of tasks in Episode 5 (supporting Susan’s injury assessment) mirrors her later struggle in Episode 6, where she must choose between loyalty to Susan and her commitment to rescuing the Doctor."
Barbara chooses the mission over Susan"Susan’s physical injury (ankle) in Episode 5 (requiring Jenny’s care) escalates into her emotional breakdown and despair over identity and belonging in Episode 6."
Susan and David’s Breaking Point"Susan’s injury and Jenny’s pragmatic caregiving in Episode 5 mirror the later emotional injuries of the group in Episode 6—David’s abandonment, Barbara’s choice to leave Susan, and Jenny’s detachment from Dortmun’s fate."
Daleks abandon extermination policyThemes This Exemplifies
Thematic resonance and meaning
Key Dialogue
"JENNY: "Obey motorised dustbins? We'll see.""
"JENNY: "She can do something with her hands, sitting at a table, can't she?""
"TYLER: "Jenny, see if you can find them some food, will you, and look after her ankle.""