By Richard Sellers
The Doctor and Zoe barely escape being crushed by huge blocks of concrete only to find that the Gonds have sold them out. The Krotons finally appear in the flesh (err, metal?) to the Gonds and promise to leave the plant if they deliver them the high minds i.e. The Doctor and Zoe. Remembering Jamie they head back into the Hall of Learning only to find a group of Gonds who usher them into the Kroton’s machine, but not before the Gond scientist hand s them a small vial of acid he made using the sulfur The Doctor gave him . At the same time they enter the Krotons let Jamie go out the other door and they never see each other.
Inside, the Krotons reveal the entire plan to The Doctor. Apparently their ships runs on brain waves and since two of their crew members were killed in the initial war a thousand years ago they haven’t been able to leave. They’ve been trying to breed smarter Gonds over the millennia in hopes of escape, but the Gonds have proved to be anything close to truly intelligent.
After their spiel The Doctor splashes them with the acid which quickly renders them helpless. The Doctor and Zoe run out to find Jamie and some of the Gonds pouring massive amounts of acid into the Kroton’s machine effectively erasing every bit of them from the planet. The Gonds automatically start discussing what to do with their new found freedom as our heroes quietly exit.
This was not a bad arch, but a bit too simple and it felt as if it lacked something. It might have been the absurd villains after the brilliant showing from Vaughn.
Doctor Who #231 S06E01P04/ The Krotons part 4
Original air date: January 18th, 1969
3/5 melted villains
As Always, Richard
