Master's reckless summoning of Kronos backfires
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
The Master activates TOM-TIT to maximum power and summons Kronos, who appears as a flying man dressed in white. Kronos pounces on Percival, causing him to vanish.
The Master attempts to command Kronos, but Krasis warns that Kronos cannot be controlled. The Master insists, using the Atlantean seal to force Kronos back.
The Master gains temporary control over Kronos, shutting him in the radiation lab.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Initially arrogant but rapidly devolving into panic and desperation as his illusion of control evaporates
The Master manipulates the TOM-TIT device with aggressive confidence, shouting commands at Kronos while holding aloft the Atlantean seal as if it might exert control over the deity. When Kronos strikes Percival, the Master’s bravado dissolves into frantic orders and a pathetic attempt to imprison the entity.
- • Summon and control Kronos to serve his own temporal ambitions
- • Assert dominance over the entity to prove his superiority over time itself
- • Time is a resource to be conquered and weaponized
- • Masters of time like himself can manipulate even the most primordial forces
Alarmed and fatalistic, certain of imminent catastrophe despite protestations of false confidence from the Master
Krasis witnesses the entire sequence with growing horror, shouting warnings about Kronos’ true nature and the futility of attempting to control time itself. His prophecies of doom are validated as the Master’s plan collapses before Kronos’ indiscriminate violence.
- • Prevent the misuse of temporal forces
- • Warn others of the dangers posed by arrogance
- • Time is sacred and cannot be dominated by mortals
- • Destruction follows when time’s order is broken
Neutral and implacable, acting according to his fundamental nature as a devourer of time
Kronos manifests as a spectral figure in white, a living embodiment of time’s destructive power. Without hesitation or explanation, he attacks Percival upon appearance, demonstrating instantaneous and indiscriminate violence. When commanded to obey the Master, he recoils only to be imprisoned, revealing his true nature as an uncontrollable force.
- • Maintain existence as a primal temporal force
- • Resist subjugation by mortal wills
- • Time cannot be owned, only experienced
- • Destruction is inherent to the order of time
Startled and terrified as the manifestation of time’s fury strikes without warning
Percival stands in the doorway when Kronos manifests, only to be violently pounced upon and vanished by the temporal entity. His brief appearance underscores the immediate and indiscriminate danger posed by Kronos.
- • Survive the encounter
- • Understand the nature of the threat
- • Temporal phenomena should not manifest violently in the physical world
- • Unseen forces cannot be trusted
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
The Atlantean crystal pulses with erratic energy as the TOM-TIT device amplifies its temporal output, facilitating Kronos’ manifestation. It glows fiercely as the entity appears, then flickers during the Master’s failed attempts to assert control.
The Master brandishes the Seal of the High Priest as a symbol of temporal authority, attempting to command Kronos to obey his will. The seal’s violet radiance syncs with the crystal, stabilizing the temporal rift briefly before the entity recoils.
The TOM-TIT device, cranked to maximum power by the Master, generates the unstable energy required to summon Kronos from the Atlantean crystal’s temporal field. Its controls are aggressively manipulated as the Master attempts to assert dominance over the entity.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
The Radiation Lab adjacent to the main facility serves as the site of Kronos’ manifestation and initial violence. Its walls bear scorch marks from the entity’s passage, and the chamber’s containment systems fail spectacularly under the assault of time’s primordial force.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
Within this episode
"The Master's successful summoning of Kronos (#1) escalates to his deployment of increasingly dangerous temporal weapons, such as the World War II flying bomb (#2), showing his willingness to escalate chaos to achieve his goals."
Master drops final gambit on UNITAcross episodes
"Kronos is summoned by Krasis in E22, which directly triggers the Master's attempt to control it in E23."
Krasis summons Kronos with forbidden ritual"The Brigadier's assertion of military authority in Episode 22 contributes to the chaos that allows the Master's reckless summoning of Kronos in Episode 23 to spiral out of control."
Brigadier asserts military authority over institute"Kronos's manifestation as a 'ravenous white creature' in E22 repeats in E23, reinforcing its role as an unstoppable force."
Krasis summons Kronos with forbidden ritual"The Master's successful manipulation of Percival and securing of his consent in Episode 22 escalates into the reckless summoning of Kronos in Episode 23, where his overconfidence leads to catastrophic consequences."
Master secures Percival's unwitting consent"The dangerous energy and 'time-devouring' nature of Kronos foreshadows the violent manifestation of the entity in the Newton Institute lab, emphasizing the risks of meddling with temporal forces first hinted at in Atlantis."
Krasis welcomes Kronos ritual begins"Both episodes feature Krasis participating in rituals that seek to harness Kronos's power—first in the Temple of Poseidon (Episode 22), then under the Master's guidance in the laboratory (Episode 23)—highlighting a shift from spiritual devotion to coerced technological manipulation."
Krasis summons Kronos with forbidden ritual"The Master's reckless summoning of Kronos in Part 3 (Episode 23) sets the stage for his eventual unleashing of Kronos in Part 4 (Episode 24). The failed attempt in Part 3 foreshadows the catastrophic success in Part 4."
Crystal unleashes Kronos finally"The Master's arrogance and lack of comprehension of Kronos's power in Part 3 directly lead to his hubris and willingness to unleash Kronos recklessly in Part 4."
Crystal unleashes Kronos finally"Kronos's initial manifestation and uncontrollable power in the Newton Institute (#1) echoes in the Master's later gloating over trapping the Doctor and Jo in the TARDIS (#2), where the entity's power is about to be unleashed again."
Master gloats over Doctors arrival"The Master's reckless summoning of Kronos, which backfires and threatens UNIT operatives (#23), directly escalates to his gleeful destruction of the TARDIS and the Doctor's allies in the following episode (#24)."
Master revels in devastation around him"The escalation from the Master's failed summoning of Kronos in Part 3 to his complete unleashing of the entity in Part 4 demonstrates the increasing desperation and moral decay of the Master."
Crystal unleashes Kronos finally"The Master's reckless summoning of Kronos and initial failure (#1) directly precedes his final, successful unleashing of the entity in the TARDIS (#2), closing the narrative arc of the Master's plan."
Crystal unleashes Kronos finally"The Master's reckless summoning of Kronos backfires, leading to Trenchard being attacked by the temporal entity. In the later episode, as Governor of the Lunar Penal Colony, Trenchard enforces harsh rules that crush any hope of escape, mirroring the destructive consequences of absolute control."
Prisoners processed under harsh rules"Both episodes explore the theme of human arrogance in the face of cosmic power (Kronos), with the Master's actions bridging the two episodes."
Crystal unleashes Kronos finally