The Satan Pit - Plot

Plot

The episode opens where "The Impossible Planet" left off, with the Doctor and science officer Ida Scott investigating a strange door deep in the planet Krop Tor. Rose and the rest of the crew flee from the advancing Ood, who have all been possessed by the Beast and are killing people with their translators. The group initially believe Toby to be possessed by the Beast, but change their minds after a force leaves his body and enters the Ood. The Doctor makes contact with the crew, revealing that nothing has exited the door outside. He offers to rappel down into the pit to further investigate, but Captain Zach orders everyone to regroup so that he can execute "strategy nine". Ida and the Doctor become trapped when the lift cable snaps and leaves them stranded.

The crew struggles to fight against the advancing Ood and make their way to the escape rocket while The Doctor uses the lift cable to descend into the pit. The Beast communicates with the Doctor and the rest of the crew through the Ood and explains that he is the epitome of evil across many different religions. The Beast tells them that he was sealed in the pit before the universe began and is seeking to escape. When the Doctor runs out of rope, he decides to unhook and drop down into the chasm. Ida finds herself unable to return to the surface and running short on air. As the Ood continue their attack, the crew is whittled down to Zack, Rose, Danny and Toby. They board the escape rocket and leave the planet.

The Doctor lands in the pit thanks to an air cushion and finds that he can breathe. He finds cave paintings depicting the Beast's final battle and imprisonment and discovers two jars on pedestals a few feet from each other. Touching the jars causes the cavern to fill with light and reveals the physical form of the Beast. The Doctor quickly deduces from the unintelligible grunts coming from the Beast that the consciousness of the Beast has already managed to escape. The Doctor works out that Krop Tor was the perfect prison for the Beast, as should it escape the planet would plunge into the black hole and the Beast would be destroyed. The Doctor realizes he must sacrifice Rose and the others to destroy the Beast, and begins smashing the jars. With the generators destroyed, the planet begins plunging into the black hole and the rocket becomes ensared as well. Accepting his fate, the Doctor mocks the Beast before stumbling across his TARDIS while fleeing the collapsing cave.

On board the rocket, the collapse of the gravity field causes Toby to reveal the consciousness of the Beast is still possessing him. He begins to taunt the others and breathes out fire. Rose takes Captain Zach's bolt gun and shoots out the rocket's front window. She also unhooks Toby' safety harness, causing Toby and the Beast's consciousness to be blown out into space and into the black hole. The cabin is sealed by automatic shields but the rocket still lacks the power to escape the gravity well. Suddenly their ride smooths out and the rocket turns away from the black hole. A confused Captain Zach is relieved to hear The Doctor proclaim that he is towing the rocket to safety with the TARDIS. The Doctor asks for Rose and jokingly offers to trade Zach back Ida for Rose. The Doctor reports he did not have time to go back and save the Ood, who were innocent victims of the Beast's possession. Once safe, the respective crews depart on their separate ways. As they return to Earth, Captain Zack reads off the list of personnel that died, including the Ood.