The Daleks emerge from the Thames, and within a few minutes, even though the Daleks do not recognize the Doctor as The Doctor and thus as their arch-nemesis, they’re terrified of him. As the Doctor is led off to prison, the Dalek neurotically repeats “We are the masters of Earth,” making it sound less like a triumphant Dalek boast than like a small child rocking itself back and forth and trying to convince itself that it will all be OK. Paul Cornell’s great line that the Doctor is what monsters have nightmares about starts here.
