Doctor Who does philosophy, dream snakes, and a crash course in “why colonialism is bad.”
Short Synopsis
The Doctor, Adric, Nyssa (briefly), and Tegan land on the jungle planet Deva Loka, where a bunch of colonists are trying to “civilize” the locals. Things spiral out of control when Tegan gets possessed by an evil snake spirit called the Mara, and the Doctor has to stop a psychic apocalypse before breakfast.
Extended Storyline
The TARDIS lands on Deva Loka, a lush jungle world that looks suspiciously like the BBC backlot with some extra plants stapled to the set. The locals, the Kinda, live in harmony with nature and are telepathic, silent, and suspiciously serene. Naturally, this makes them the perfect target for some “enlightened” human colonists, who’ve shown up with clipboards and a patronizing attitude.
The colonists aren’t exactly stable: their leader Sanders is an old-school imperialist who thinks guns solve everything, while his deputy Hindle is a twitchy bundle of nerves just waiting to crack. And crack he does — when given authority, Hindle immediately goes full despot, deciding the best way to protect the expedition is to blow up the entire jungle. Because nothing says “safety first” like mass deforestation via explosives.
Meanwhile, Nyssa faints early on and gets benched for the rest of the story. (Production note: she was given the week off because juggling three companions was already overwhelming the scripts.)
The real action is with Tegan, who dozes off under a wind chime (yes, really) and gets sucked into a dreamscape where she’s taunted by creepy clowns, sinister doubles, and eventually possessed by the Mara — an ancient psychic snake spirit that thrives on fear and chaos. Janet Fielding absolutely nails her performance as Evil Tegan, smirking, hissing, and chewing the scenery like she’s auditioning for pantomime villain of the year.
The Doctor eventually pieces together what’s happening: the Mara has taken over Tegan and, through her, tries to manifest itself in the real world by corrupting the peaceful Kinda. Throw in a mysterious wise woman named Panna and her apprentice Karuna, who deliver a prophecy of doom in true cryptic style, and suddenly the story is less about jungle camping and more about resisting the embodiment of chaos itself.
The climax comes when the Mara tries to manifest physically as a giant snake. The Doctor manages to trap it inside a circle of mirrors, forcing it to confront itself. The Mara is banished (for now), Tegan is freed, and Hindle’s complete mental breakdown is mercifully reset when Sanders returns from a spiritual vision quest carrying a mystical “Box of Jhana” that helps restore balance.
In the end, the Doctor saves the day, the colonists learn a lesson about respecting indigenous people (probably), and Tegan wakes up wondering why she keeps signing up for space holidays that turn into therapy sessions.