Susan’s Fear of the Doctor’s Withdrawal
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Barbara attempts to reassure Susan that they will retrieve the TARDIS, but Susan expresses doubt due to their current predicament.
Susan worries about the Doctor's withdrawn state, prompting Barbara to suggest he's feeling defenseless without his TARDIS.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Calm and reassuring on the surface, but with an undercurrent of bittersweet acceptance. She masks her own concerns about the group’s future while providing emotional support to Susan.
Barbara stands outside the tent, engaging in a heartfelt but pragmatic conversation with Susan. She attempts to reassure Susan about the Doctor’s ability to retrieve the TARDIS, framing his withdrawal as a reaction to losing his ‘wonderful machine’ rather than sulking. Her dialogue is calm and measured, reflecting her role as the group’s emotional anchor. She acknowledges Susan’s longing for stability but also subtly reinforces the transient nature of their existence. Her presence is both reassuring and bittersweet, as she foreshadows the eventual goodbye between her and Susan.
- • To reassure Susan and maintain group morale
- • To encourage Susan to trust the Doctor’s resilience and leadership
- • The Doctor will recover and find a way to retrieve the TARDIS
- • Their transient existence is a temporary phase, but stability is not guaranteed
Anxious and frustrated, masking a deep longing for stability and fear of abandonment. Her emotional state is a mix of irritation at the Doctor’s perceived sulking and despair over their transient existence.
Susan stands outside the tent, her posture tense and her voice laced with frustration as she vents her anxiety about the Doctor’s withdrawal. She expresses longing for a permanent home and stability, contrasting with Barbara’s pragmatic reassurances. Her dialogue reveals her deep emotional investment in the group’s survival and her fear of the Doctor’s emotional detachment, which she interprets as sulking rather than vulnerability. She is physically present but emotionally distant, her focus inward as she grapples with the uncertainty of their situation.
- • To understand the Doctor’s emotional state and reconnect with him
- • To find a way to retrieve the TARDIS and secure a permanent home for the group
- • The Doctor is sulking and refusing to engage, which is a sign of weakness
- • Their current situation is temporary, and they will eventually find stability
Withdrawn and vulnerable, possibly helpless. His emotional state is inferred through Susan and Barbara’s dialogue, revealing his struggle with the loss of his ‘wonderful machine’ and the security it provides.
The Doctor is not physically present in this scene but is the central subject of the conversation between Barbara and Susan. His emotional withdrawal—refusing to eat or speak—is interpreted by Susan as sulking, while Barbara frames it as a reaction to losing the TARDIS. His absence underscores the group’s growing dependence on him and their fear of his inability to guide them through the escalating peril of the caravan’s journey. The Doctor’s vulnerability without his tools is a key theme, highlighting the TARDIS as his source of security and identity.
- • To regain control and retrieve the TARDIS
- • To reconnect with Susan and the group emotionally
- • The TARDIS is essential to his identity and the group’s survival
- • His withdrawal is a temporary reaction to the loss of his tools
Neutral but authoritative; his absence from the emotional confrontation suggests he is focused on practical matters rather than the group’s internal conflicts.
Marco Polo is mentioned in passing as playing chess with Ian inside the tent, serving as a background figure to the emotional confrontation between Barbara and Susan. His presence underscores the broader context of the caravan’s survival challenges and the group’s fractured dynamics. Though not physically present in this exchange, his role as the caravan’s leader looms over the scene, highlighting the tension between his leadership and the group’s internal struggles.
- • To maintain the caravan’s progress and survival amid dwindling resources
- • To keep the group united despite internal tensions
- • The group’s emotional struggles are secondary to the immediate survival challenges of the caravan
- • His leadership must remain steady, even if the group is fracturing
Kublai Khan is referenced indirectly by Susan as the potential location where the TARDIS might be retrieved. His mention serves …
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
The TARDIS is the central symbolic and functional object in this event, serving as the group’s lost home and source of security. Barbara frames its loss as the root of the Doctor’s emotional withdrawal, emphasizing its role as the ‘only home we have at the moment.’ Susan’s longing for stability is tied to the TARDIS’s retrieval, as she envisions it as the key to ending their wandering. The object’s absence looms over the conversation, driving the group’s anxiety and shaping their immediate goals. Its retrieval at Kublai Khan’s court is framed as both a hope and a distant, uncertain possibility.
The TARDIS is the central symbolic and functional object in this event, serving as the group’s lost home and source of security. Barbara frames its loss as the root of the Doctor’s emotional withdrawal, emphasizing its role as the ‘only home we have at the moment.’ Susan’s longing for stability is tied to the TARDIS’s retrieval, as she envisions it as the key to ending their wandering. The object’s absence looms over the conversation, driving the group’s anxiety and shaping their immediate goals. Its retrieval at Kublai Khan’s court is framed as both a hope and a distant, uncertain possibility.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
The space outside the Mongol tent serves as a neutral ground for the emotional confrontation between Barbara and Susan. It is a liminal area—neither fully private nor public—where raw emotions can surface without the constraints of the tent’s shared space. The open expanse amplifies the group’s vulnerability, as the vastness of the Gobi Desert looms in the background, symbolizing their isolation and the perils of their journey. The location’s mood is tense and introspective, reflecting the group’s internal fractures and their longing for stability.
Organizations Involved
Institutional presence and influence
Kublai Khan’s court is referenced indirectly as the potential destination for the TARDIS, framing it as both a goal and a looming obstacle for the group. The organization’s influence is felt through the group’s discussion of their future and the TARDIS’s whereabouts, underscoring the broader political and survival stakes of the caravan’s journey. The court represents imperial power and control, looming over the group’s immediate struggles and shaping their sense of urgency and desperation.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
Within this episode
"Susan's longing for a permanent home parallels the Doctor's need for the TARDIS, highlighting their shared sense of displacement and wish for stability."
Susan’s longing for permanenceAcross episodes
"The TARDIS's critical failure in Episode 14 establishes the Doctor's immediate helplessness without his ship, which carries into Episode 15 where Susan laments his withdrawal and refusal to engage ('he won't even talk to me')."
TARDIS Systems Fail in the Himalayas"Ian's voluntary act to find fuel despite the peril in Episode 14 (despite the Doctor's dismissal) mirrors his later pragmatic leadership when rationing water in the Gobi Desert, a trait Susan acknowledges."
TARDIS systems fail; Ian and Barbara volunteer for fuel mission"Barbara's acute awareness of danger (spotting the non-human figure/call for shelter) evolves into her panic over the missing girls (Susan and Ping-Cho), showing her persistent role as the group's alarm system."
TARDIS failure and mountain threat revealed"The cultural and emotional dislocation revealed when the Doctor and his companions learn they are in 1289 Cathay (Episode 14) directly informs Susan's conversation with Barbara about her longing for a permanent home and her frustration with the Doctor's withdrawal (Episode 15)."
Polo reveals their stranded location"Susan's quiet but curious observation of Marco Polo and the caravan's hospitality in Episode 14 evolves into deeper emotional investment in Episode 15, where she worries about the Doctor's emotional state."
Ian Corrects Polo on Altitude Science"Ping-Cho’s tearful revelation of her arranged marriage in Episode 14 emotionally triggers Susan’s later exploration of attachment versus freedom in the desert, emphasizing their shared vulnerability."
Ping-Cho reveals her arranged marriage"Polo’s manipulation of the Doctor’s compliance in Episode 14—masking his own desperation with politeness—echoes in Susan’s emotional breakdown in Episode 15. Both scenes feature a character (Doctor/Susan) isolated from their usual support system, while a deception or misunderstanding (Polo’s plan/Susan’s belief the TARDIS is out of reach) deepens their despair."
Polo Manipulates the Doctor’s Compliance"The Doctor’s helplessness without the TARDIS in Episode 14 parallels his withdrawal and physical decline in Episode 15, emphasizing the theme of displacement and loss of control."
Polo reveals their stranded location"Susan’s anxiety about the Doctor’s withdrawal and her longing for stability (Episode 15) foreshadows her later emotional reliance on him when he discovers water in the TARDIS (Episode 16), where she wakes him urgently to collect the resource."
Doctor discovers water in TARDIS"Susan’s anxiety about the Doctor’s withdrawal and her sense of displacement in Episode 15 deepens her emotional investment in finding him in Episode 16, motivating her to take action."
Tegana’s Inconsistent Alibi and Polo’s Blind Trust"The Doctor's emotional withdrawal ('sulks by himself') in Episode 15 establishes a characterization of vulnerability and loss of control that directly informs Tegana's assessment of the Doctor as a 'magician' whose TARDIS is a prize worth killing for in Episode 16."
Tegana orders TARDIS ambush for Noghai"Susan's anxiety about the Doctor’s withdrawal and helplessness in Episode 15 echoes in Episode 16 when the Doctor is physically unable to act due to exhaustion."
Doctor discovers water in TARDIS"Susan’s anxiety about the Doctor’s emotional withdrawal in Episode 15 echoes the Doctor’s later quiet defiance in Episode 16, where he defies Polo’s orders to search for Barbara."
Doctor quietly defies Polo’s order"Susan's anxiety about the Doctor's withdrawal due to the loss of the TARDIS in Episode 15 parallels Barbara's accidental involvement in Tegana's plot in Episode 16. Both events hinge on the vulnerability of the TARDIS and the characters' diminished agency in the face of external forces (Marco's distraction and Tegana's conspiracy)."
Barbara’s eavesdropping exposes the plotThemes This Exemplifies
Thematic resonance and meaning
Key Dialogue
"SUSAN: We'll get the Tardis back, Susan. BARBARA: Yes, at Kublai Khan's court when it's too late. We should be up there. Another time, another galaxy."
"SUSAN: How? Ian's playing chess with Marco. Grandfather's being rude and sulking by himself. BARBARA: Oh, I don't think he's sulking, is he? SUSAN: Well, he won't eat. He won't even talk to me. BARBARA: Well, you know him better than I do, but I'd have said he was just feeling defenceless. He has a wonderful machine, capable of all sorts of miracles, and it's taken away from him by a man he calls a primitive."
"SUSAN: Will he talk to me? Confide in me? BARBARA: Oh, he's like a rubber ball. He'll come bouncing out of there soon full of ideas. SUSAN: One day we'll know all the mysteries of the skies, and we'll stop our wandering. BARBARA: Then you and I will say goodbye."