9. The Daleks, Part V: The Expedition

Ian’s initial position that he can’t force the Thals to risk their lives so the TARDIS crew can retrieve the fluid link seems pretty reasonable to me. However, it sure doesn’t take him long to abandon this reasonable position in favor of the Doctor and Barbara’s wanton desire to let a couple Thals get smoked by Daleks and/or swamp creatures.

Speaking of swamp creatures, I sure got a Hobbits-going-into-Mordor vibe from the swamp crossing. I guess Tolkien novels date back to the 1950s, so it may have been a deliberate homage. This seems like the appropriate meme for the episode:

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