The Massacre Part 4/4: Bell of Doom

So, the Doctor is dead? And everyone thinks Steven killed him, and also they think that the Doctor is this  Abbot dude, so Steven is being chased across Paris by a bunch of cardinal guards and a horde of angry Catholics. Also there is a part where a character mentions that it's St Bartholomew's Day tomorrow, and as the full title of this serial is The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve, then I think I have an inkling of what's going to go down.

It is the morning after and Steven is okay! He managed to evade the guard and hid... somewhere... during the curfew. He goes back to Preslin's abandoned shop and finds Annevieve! She asks what he plans to do with his life now everything has gone to shit, and the only thing Steven can think to do is to find the TARDIS key and get out of there. Maybe the Doctor changed into his Abbot clothes while he was at the shop, Steven reasons, so maybe his Doctor clothes are still kicking around somewhere and MAYBE the TARDIS key is in the pocket or something. It's a long shot, everyone admits, but the two of them set about to searching the shop anyway.

After a while Annevieve finds the Doctor's walking stick and brings it to Steven. Steven demands to know where she found it and if there was anything else with it; Annevieve says that, no! It was in the back room! There are no clothes anywhere!

ANNE: I've searched everywhere!
STEVEN: Then why the stick? He - he couldn't have pretended to be the Abbot dressed as he was. So he must have changed somewhere. But where?
ANNE: Perhaps he went away somewhere with the apothecary who used to live here?
STEVEN: With Preslin? No he couldn't.
ANNE: Why not?
STEVEN: Because Preslin is either dead or in prison.
DOCTOR: He is not.

OHHHHH what an entrance. You got STYLE, Doctor.

Meanwhile, Admiral de Coligny is still all shot in the arm and stuff. Angry Gaston warns him that the Catholics still want him dead, he should leave Paris right now! Boyfriend/Carer Nicholas gently tells Gaston that, look bro, the Admiral has a pretty hefty bullet wound, he can't really go sneaking out of heavily guarded buildings into the night. Gaston walks away in a huff, and the Admiral and Nicholas have a nice little chat (of course, because Nicholas is wonderful).

Back au magasin de Preslin, the Doctor is acting like the Abbot was not him at all. I... don't know what to believe. Maybe the Abbot really did just look exactly like him? Steven seems to think so. The Doctor, who has missed being obnoxious in the hours that he was maybe dead(?), dives right back in.

DOCTOR: Oh, my dear boy, had you stayed at the tavern all this mix-up could have been avoided.
STEVEN: I did stay in the tavern, you didn't turn up!
DOCTOR: Yes, well, I was unavoidably delayed. Never mind that now. Come along, we must go. Come along.

Then Anne mentions something about it being St Bartholomew's Day tomorrow and the Doctor pauses. He demands to know the year (1572) and then gets crazy and interrogates Anne, asking her if there's anywhere she can go stay for the night. She's points out that she's kipping in an abandoned shop, she's pretty low on choice, but the Doctor forces her out of the door and tells her to go stay at her aunt's house or something. As soon as Anne is out of the way, the Doctor grabs Steven and tells him that they need to leave too! Right now!

The Catholics, who are definitely the bad guys in this serial, are busy plotting. Marshal Tavannes (Catholic in Charge) is drawing up a list of Huguenots they need to kill, but then the Queen Mother knocks on his door and is all, 'You know what? We don't really need a list. Kill them all!' Tavannes asks if that includes Prince Henri, her son-in-law, and she cheerfully replies that it definitely does, yep! Tavannes tries to talk her down from her crazy, and she eventually concedes that if he's out of the city by tomorrow then he will have no death brought upon him. Simon is put in charge of the prince's safekeeping. He's pretty gutted that he's not allowed to even injure him a little. Catholics are all bloody crazy, man.

Hiding behind a wall near the Abbot's house, where there are Catholics standing guard, the Doctor and Steven debate how they're going to get past them and back to the TARDIS. They can't risk just walking past them because it's early morning, the curfew is still in effect. But then! Two other guards come to relieve the old ones of the post, and then a bunch more arrive and start battering down the door to the Abbot's house. Steven and the Doctor make a run for it!

And... well, I mean, they make it. And then dematerialise. So. That's that story over with, then, isn't it. Oh, and Steven never got to say goodbye to Nicholas! Boo. There's still like ten minutes of the episode left but after it's done you can bet your arse I'm reading the Wiki article for this massacre thing so I can get some decent closure. Anne/Genevieve and Nicholas better be mentioned in that article and they better have happy endings. God.

Floating around in time and space, Steven gets pretty angry that the Doctor knew all this was going to happen and yet he left people like Anne and Nicholas (of course he mentions Nicholas I'm actually pretty sure their ~love was canon) there to die. He also says that he's sick of this, and next time the TARDIS materialises somewhere, he's getting off. BABY, NO.

I hate everything.

The Doctor then has a little soliloquy where he reminisces about his past companions. Ian Chesterton of the Pre-Moosh Watches Who era gets a special mention, which is nice, cos I liked him, and the Doctor also says that he wants to go back to his home planet, but because he has a shit TARDIS, he can't. It's all very sad.

BUT THEN a girl bursts inside the TARDIS, looking for the phone, because the TARDIS looks like a police phone box. The Doctor tells her to go away, there is no phone here. But there's been an accident, she says in a really endearing northern accent, she has to ring the police right now and also who are you, crazy man in a box? The Doctor tries to explain that he's a man of science! And this is his machine for travelling relative dimensions in space! But before he can finish bewildering the poor girl, Steven comes back! Hello, sweetheart! I missed you!

Steven is all, 'Look I can't go into it right now but there are two policemen coming this way so can we dematerialise now pls,' so he's almost definitely defiled some public property or something. The Doctor genuinely says, "They'll want to use the telephone or something like it!" like telephones are the worst thing ever thought of, and dematerialises in a hurry.

It's at that point that Steven notices that, hello, there's another person in this TARDIS. Steven is distressed, because that is a young girl that the Doctor has just taken away from her entire life with no way of returning, there. The Doctor is confused at Steven's displeasure.

STEVEN: Doctor, how could you?
DOCTOR: What else could I do, dear boy? You don't want a couple of policemen aboard the TARDIS, do you? You know you're the most inconsistent young man? Just now you were telling me off for not having that Chaplet girl aboard!
STEVEN: Yeah because this is the EXACT SAME SITUATION you complete moron.

It's all cool, though, the new girl doesn't have any parents, she lives with her great-aunt and they don't get along. Also they ask her name - it is Dodo, but her full name is Dorothea Chaplet, which is the same surname as Anne/Genevieve. Fancy that.

And that's it! The next episode is called The Steel Sky. Do you reckon it's a cyberman one? If it were a reboot episode I'd say it was definitely cybermen, but I think the cybermen of Classic Who were made of cloth or smthn, so. Let's wait and see.

Also I guess the Abbot was just the Abbot all along? Um. Okay. Well. Good.

Moosh

The Massacre Part 3/4: Priest of Death

Chief Protestant, Admiral de Coligny, is due to be given a shiny new nickname and then assassinated; Steven knows the nickname and the plan but not who the nickname refers to, Nicholas (boyfriend/carer) knows the nickname and the referent but not the plan, and the Catholics know everything, because they're the evil masterminds of this whole thing. The Doctor has wandered off somewhere, and Steven is holed up with Anne But-If-Anyone-Asks-My-Name-Is-Genevieve in Charles Preslin's abandoned shop, which wasn't abandoned yesterday when the Doctor visited but also has been empty for two years.

It seems relatively empty now, because that's where Steven and Anne wake up. The end of the curfew prompts Steven to make a plan; they will go to the Abbot's house and try to see just what the deal is with him looking like the Doctor. Anne, reasonably, tells Steven that the guards will definitely recognise them before he even gets close; Steven refutes this claim, saying that he'll wear a disguise! And then promptly just puts on a different cloak and hat. Excellent espionage skills there, Steven.

Meanwhile, there's an early-morning meeting of important people over at the Louvre. In attendance: King Charles IX, Admiral de Coligny ('Sea Beggar', Protestant in Charge), Marshal Tavannes (Catholic in Charge), Teligny (Councillor, hopefully a one-scene character because I'm losing track of everyone) and Catherine de Medici (Queen Mother, silent observer).

They're all discussing the possibility of France allying itself with the Netherlands and declaring war on Spain. This would, Admiral Protestant claims, unify the country and prevent further civil strife. Marshal Catholic claims that, psh, the country is already unified! There was that marriage between two royals mentioned in the first episode that did that! Also, we're too poor to do war lol. De Coligny argues with this and says that England will definitely be on their side, and the two of them bicker. After a while, King Charles basically says, 'Oh my god guys shut up I'm bored of this war talk,' and then changes the subject to last Saturday's episode of X Factor or something. I definitely like him.

De Coligny and Tavannes are pretty determined, however, and the talk turns to the religious rift in France. De Coligny is pretty pissed that his protestant homebros keep suffering at the hands of the Catholics, who run the joint. Tavannes says that there was a treaty drawn up by the Queen Mother and they're following the rules laid out in that and is he questioning her judgement? Admiral de Coligny says something sarcastic in response, and everyone gets angry. The Queen Mother storms out, Marshal Tavannes goes with her, and King Charles IX is amused and asks if the Admiral wants to play tennis with him. Not even kidding.

Steven and Anne Call-Me-Genevieve make it to the Abbot's place. After arguing with a servant for a bit, they make it inside and the Doctor stays in character, acting all obnoxious and authoritative and... well, actually, acting much the same as usual, just not answering to the name of 'Doctor'. Steven is taken aback by this, and panics.

DOCTOR: What is this?
PRIEST: My Lord Abbot.
STEVEN: Doctor!
DOCTOR Silence! Who is this man? And why does he disturb my peace?
PRIEST: It appears he comes from a dying man.
DOCTOR: Well?
STEVEN: Um, I... I - I've brought back the servant who ran away!
ANNE: You little shit!

The priest leaves and Steven whispers that he thought Anne would be safer here, with there being an assassin kicking about, but before anyone can reply, Marshal Tavannes storms in wanting a private word with the Abbot regarding the Sea Beggar. The Doctor tells Steven and Anne to wait outside.

So, they go wait outside the door but they can totally still hear the conversation and they find out who the Sea Beggar is! Steven is all like, 'I must tell Nicholas!' because he is a poor lovestruck fool, and the two of them hurry out the side door over to Protestant HQ.

Nicholas is obviously overjoyed to see him, but there isn't time for make-up cuddles, cos there's gonna be a death on the Rue des Fosse St. Germaine if they don't hurry! Meanwhile, Admiral de Coligny is walking along said street and the covertly-named Bondot is setting up his killing weapons. Just as Bondot fires, though, the Admiral bends down to pick up something he dropped (convenient), so he only gets shot in the... arm? How did he even bend over? Do they do that differently in France? Jesus. Anyway, Teligny (forgettable character from the council scene earlier) and Nicholas rush over to him and urge him to a surgeon and he's all alive and stuff so everything's fine.

Teligny rushes to tell the king of this treachery (Charles's reaction: "Will I never have any peace?!"), while Steven and Nicholas have a touching reunion.

STEVEN: Nicholas, I'm sorry. I tried to tell Gaston, he wouldn't listen to me.
NICHOLAS: I know, he told me.
STEVEN: I knew that the 'Sea Beggar' was going to be killed. Until this morning I didn't know who that was.
NICHOLAS: I could've told you.
STEVEN: ;____; Take me back please I'm sorry I didn't mean it I love you.

Unfortunately before they can even have a tiny little kiss, Teligny, who is suddenly a character in this serial, burst in and tells them that shit is going mental outside. The Abbot of Amboise was just murdered outside his own house because he let that pesky Englishman overhear the assassination plans, but the Catholics are blaming the death on the Protestants and things are basically going crazy. Steven races off because, like, that wasn't the Abbot, that was his buddy the Doctor, and Nicholas, charged with watching over the wounded Admiral, watches him leave as a single tear runs down his face. I imagine.

Steven makes it to the crowd outside the Abbot's house. There are a bunch of people - just, like, commoners, I think - all gathered around a body on the floor and talking about how terrible these Huguenots are. They should be banned from entering towns, what with all their 'free-thinking' bullshit! Shady Roger is also nearby, quietly talking to the Captain of the Guard about how cool it is that the crowd believes their deception. Steven doesn't hear this, he's too busy collapsing on the floor next to the body, being all distraught and that. Shady Roger sees him, though, and shouts that HE'S THE ONE WHO KILLED THE ABBOT! The guards arm themselves and go after him. Steven shits himself and runs for it.

Next episode: Bell of Doom. Did not hold back with the ominous titles this serial, did they? Jeez.

Moosh

The Massacre Part 2/4: The Sea Beggar

So we ended last episode in sixteenth-century France in the midst of a little Catholic/Protestant kerfuffle. Steven is off being seduced by a hot French Protestant dude, and the Doctor, bizarrely, is somehow in charge of the Catholics. No idea how that happened.

It is the morning after the end of the last episode, and everybody is carefully avoiding the subject of what happened between Steven and Nicholas. Gaston showed up at Nicholas's place while Steven was checking the tavern to see if the Doctor was there (he was not) and now all three of them are having a light morning chit-chat. Steven is visibly worried about where the Doctor could have gone (Gaston's mutterings about the Catholics probably killing him don't help much) and Nicholas offers to take him to Port St Martin. What a gentleman.

Before they can leave, though, Shady Roger arrives looking for the servant girl. Gaston and Nicholas both evade the questions about her, but then she ruins everything by walking in to serve them all drinks.

SHADY ROGER: Surely, that is the very girl!
GASTON: That girl?
SHADY ROGER: Yes, her name is Anne Chaplet. Allow me take her with me.
GASTON: Oh, no, no, no! You must be mistaken! That girl is called... erm. Genevieve. And she's been working here ever since the Admiral came to Paris.
NICHOLAS: And this is my platonic friend, Steven! We didn't have sex last night!
SHADY ROGER: ... I don't even know with you people.

Shady Roger leaves, and Gaston watches him go from the window. He voices his amazement that the Abbot himself took the trouble of coming out to Protestant territory for the sake of a servant girl; Nicholas and Steven go over to the window and Steven is all, '... but... that's my bro the Doctor?' He tries to leave so as to go and speak to him, but Gaston holds him back because in his eyes Steven just admitted to being a Catholic spy, there. A brief interrogation occurs before Steven tells them that they'll go to Port St Martin and they'll see the Doctor there and they can all see how weirdly similar the Doctor and the Abbot look and then they'll laugh about it over drinks. Nicholas suggests that maybe Gaston should stay there while just he and Steven go. I'm not even kidding.

So, Nicholas and Steven head on over to Port St Martin and find the shop. There's no answer, and a weird old woman passing by tells them that Charles Preslin (the apothecary) has been dead for YEARS. Steven is confused, and Nicholas is hurt that Steven lied to him. They have a bit of a fight, which results in Steven knocking Nicholas over and then running away. The hearts of Tumblr users everywhere break in two.

Meanwhile, Simon, who I get the impression is the Lord Varys of these episodes, is consorting with all sorts of people. He hung out with a guy called Tavannes, Marshal of France, who told him to keep an eye the Abbot, because he has a weird feeling, and also to watch out for the new Englishman who has appeared (Steven), because it would be just typical of Queen Elizabeth to butt in on French matters. Simon then meets up with Shady Roger, and tells him that they're suspicious of the Englishman now too. Also they talk about an assassin, whose name is Monivere, but who they're calling Bondot so people don't get suspicious. Come on, lads, if you're going to use a secret code name, don't use a French version of the name 'Bond'. Skyfall's just come out, anyone can see right through that.

Simon and Shady Roger then BOTH go to meet up with Marshal Tavannes, who tells them that the Abbot has disappeared somewhere, because as we know, the Doctor likes to disappear off on his own for 15 minutes per episode, and also the French Queen Mother has instructed Bondot to assassinate the 'Sea Beggar', which is apparently French slang for a Dutch person, or something. Steven, who had crept over to Catholics United HQ to see if he could find the Doctor, overhears this and rushes back to Nicholas's crib to pass on what he's learnt.

When he gets there, though, he doesn't find Nicholas, but Gaston. Hot-headed foo' that he is, Gaston goes a bit mental at Steven and threatens him with some sword action (not a euphemism) before kicking him out again. Nicholas shows up just after Steven leaves and asks what all the commotion was about. Gaston proudly tells him that he just spared that little shit of an Englishman's life instead of killing him dead, and Nicholas is immediately concerned for Steven. Of course.

GASTON: Oh, you're having a very bad effect on me, my friend. I just spared that wretch's life.
NICHOLAS: What are you talking about?
GASTON: That... Englishman!
NICHOLAS: Steven?
GASTON: Yes, I caught him here!
NICHOLAS: What did he say?
GASTON: Say? Nothing.
NICHOLAS: Why did he come back?
GASTON: He was spying! I caught him going through your papers!
NICHOLAS: He must have had a message otherwise he'd never have come back...
GASTON: Getting a little jealous over here, man. I thought you and I had something special.

Cold, dejected and alone, Steven is wandering the streets of Paris just before the curfew. He slowly comes to realise that he is being followed, so as the bell signalling the start of the curfew rings, he turns around and manages to grab his pursuer. It's Servant Girl Anne/Genevieve! She wants to go with Steven because the Catholic baddies are looking for her at Nicholas's place, and also Steven was nice to her. Steven is like, 'That's cool and all, but I ain't got nowhere to stay tonight, love, so unless you fancy cuddling in a doorway somewhere, you should probably go.' But eventually they decide to go back to Port St Martin and have a kip in Preslin's apparently-deserted shop.

Back at Nicholas's place, the Admiral de Coligny (Protestant In Charge, I think) shows up to tell Nicholas that he has great news! The King has agreed to ally himself with the Dutch and go to war with Spain! Excellent! And even better: the King said that if everything goes well, the Admiral will go down in history as the 'Sea Beggar'! How cool a nickname is that?!

See, at first I thought the Admiral meant that the Sea Beggar was Nicholas, so I'm actually not too bothered by this. The Admiral has a voice that just makes me a little uncomfortable. It's all oily and strange. Assassinate him all you want, Bondot, anything to make him not say words at me any more.

The end screens for this serial are weird and difficult to read, so. The next episode is called Priest of Death! Sounds well cheerful, I look forward to it.

Moosh

The Massacre Part 1/4: War of God

Hello! Welcome to Day Four of NatWhoWatMo (National Who Watching Month). I'm feeling much more enthusiastic about watching a Classic Who episode than I have been for the last few weeks. It's the beginning of a new serial and I have no idea what to expect! Some kind of war, maybe, going from the title. A bit of casual death here and there, but I'm HOPING that no one I care about is going to die. At the moment the list of surviving characters about whom I give a crap is limited to Steven, so. Surely the odds are in my favour?

I don't know how much time has passed since the Dalek Extravaganza; the TARDIS materialises in a courtyard and the Doctor and Steven emerge from it, fully recovered from the horrors of their past.

Oh, they're in France! The Doctor figures they're in the mid-sixteenth century, and gets excited about meeting the Famous Apothecary Charles Preslin, who I have just googled and I don't think he was a real person, but I may be wrong.

The Doctor's excitement was prompted by the appearance of a dude, Gaston, knocking on a door and asking for Nicholas Muss, who I again googled and who, it turns out, is now working as a dentist in Reston, Virginia. So I imagine, like, probably fictional. The Doctor recognises the name, though, and mentions a "strange brotherhood of apothecaries" who are "way ahead of their time". Nicholas appears and listens patiently while Gaston insults Catholics, before they both disappear off. The Doctor and Steven take this opportunity to go back into the TARDIS and change clothes.

Nicholas and Gaston make their way to a tavern where they meet up with some other dudes, one of whom is called Simon. Gaston proposes a toast to Henri of Navarre, the Protestant Prince (it's a religion episode, apparently), and Simon puts in that they should also toast to Henri's Catholic Princess. Gaston pointedly spits out his wine and has a loud and obnoxious conversation with the landlord about the quality of the alcohol in this joint. Nicholas, who is acting like Gaston's boyfriend/carer, tries to shut him up, with limited success.

Simon then pulls Gaston up and is all, 'Dude, come on, don't be insulting Princess Marguerite, now,' and Gaston is basically like, 'Shut up, I don't like you.' Simon sighs and has a quiet word with the landlord, asking him to keep an eye on the rowdy peasants, and leaves.

The Doctor and Steven pass him on the way in to have a quick dash of booze before exploring the city. Steven is complaining that he doesn't want to sit in the TARDIS while the Doctor goes off talking to his apothecary person, and the Doctor is adamant that Steven will just hold him back when he's talking science.

Steven then insists that he'll just explore the city, then, and after some heavy warnings not to get into trouble, Steven, and don't talk to strangers, Steven, and don't put your real name on the internet, Steven, the Doctor agrees that they'll meet back at the tavern that evening and jet off in their time machine again. He leaves, followed by a mysterious gentleman who had been waiting in the shadows. Steven notices this and moves to go after them, but the landlord holds him back because the Doctor walked off without paying for the wine. What a shit.

Steven confusedly presents the landlord with a big gold coin - I'm going to call it a galleon, for comprehension's sake - and the landlord is like, 'What the hell, dude, the wine is two sickles. I don't have change for this.' Steven gets nervous because the galleon is the only French money he has, but then boom, Nicholas, apparently a carer/boyfriend to everyone, appears and buys Steven the drinks.

Steven is duly charmed by this, and casually asks if Nicholas knows the way to Port St Martin, where the Doctor was headed. Nicholas tells him that if he's a tourist, there's pretty much no chance that he'll make it there alone. Steven gets out his puppy eyes and Nicholas, the charmer, invites Steven to have some wine with him and his buddies, and then afterwards the two of them can go on a little wander down the side streets, if you know what I mean (Steven does).

After quarter of an hour of awkwardly drinking wine and being interrogated by a jealous Gaston, Steven says that he really should be getting on now, actually. Nicholas stands up and says that they'll go see Paris together! But Steven notices Gaston's evil eye and assures Nicholas that he'll be able to find his way, if Nicholas just points him in the right direction.

Nicholas is disappointed, but agrees, but before Steven can go anywhere, a little girl runs past them into the tavern, followed by a bunch of cardinal guards. Gaston leaps up to confront the guards and refuses to let them further into the tavern because his defining character trait is apparently hating Catholics. They all exchange insults for a bit, then the guards give up and go away. Gaston, cheered by this run-in with the fuzz, tells Steven that it's dangerous for him to be outside alone, and invites him back for more booze.

Steven is concerned about the girl and wants to go look for her, but Gaston says she'll probs be fine. Weirdly, Steven isn't comforted by this, but the girl pokes her head out from where she was hiding and Gaston calls her over to show Steven just how very fine she is, Englishman, do not even worry. Steven gently asks her why she was frightened, and she doesn't answer. Gaston tells her that if she doesn't answer, they'll call the guards back (Nicholas hits him round the head), and she tells them that she used to be a servant working for the Catholics, and she overheard them saying that something that had happened at this place called Vase would happen again? And her father died there so she got scared and ran away. Or something.

Boyfriend/Carer Nicholas explains that about ten years ago, the Catholics slaughtered a bunch of Huguenots (I googled - they're basically just Protestants) in this little town Vase, a few miles south of Paris. He then handily explains a bunch more of the plot for us poor viewers while chatting up Steven a little more.

NICHOLAS: I'm afraid you have arrived in Paris at a most unfortunate time.
STEVEN: I wish I understood what was going on.
NICHOLAS: My dear English friend, it's really quite simple. Henri of Navarre is a Huguenot, a Protestant prince. Yesterday he married Marguerite of France, a Catholic. The marriage was arranged by the Queen Mother in the hope that it would heal the religious wound that is tearing France in two. But in the light of what that girl overheard, it looks as if the Catholics of France are plotting against Navarre's life. Do you understand?
STEVEN: You might need to go over it again. At your place. With coffee. Without your clothes on. I mean, what?

Meanwhile, the Doctor has found Charles Preslin, and Charles Preslin is doing some handy explaining of his own. There's this Abbot of Aboise, who hates the apothecaries, and is hunting them all down. He's the right-hand man to the Cardinal of Lorraine, who is in Rome. The Doctor is intrigued by this and wonders if there's any point going to go see the Abbot and having a chat. Preslin strongly advises against this, and the Doctor smiles and leaves for a super-secret undisclosed location, but I bet I know where he's gonna end up.

A while later, Steven is sitting on his own in the tavern, waiting for the Doctor to come back. Simon, the dude from the beginning of the episode, has come to the tavern to try to find the little girl who ran away, and he spots Steven and goes over to try and find out what his deal is. Steven tells him that he's waiting for a friend and he's not interested, thanks, and Simon huffily replies that the curfew is coming up, Steven should be leaving soon. Steven tells him that he'll be all right, thanks, and Simon stalks off.

Enter Nicholas who, I shit you not, invites Steven back to his place because the curfew is approaching and Steven shouldn't be out here alone. You can meet your friend in the morning, Nicholas says, it only makes sense for you to come back to mine. Steven, as you'd imagine, is well up for it, and follows him out of the tavern.

Cut to the cardinal residence where Roger, the shady guy who was the one who followed the Doctor out of the tavern, is telling the Abbot of Amboise about their balls-up of letting that little girl escape. The Abbot, who is hidden in the shadows all sinister-like, taps his cane impatiently. Roger begins to poop himself a little bit, but then Simon bursts in with information of where the girl is hiding that he learnt from his little trip to the tavern. The Abbot leans forward to reveal his face and OMG, IT'S THE DOCTOR. THE DOCTOR IS THE ABBOT. HOW IS THAT EVEN A THING?

His French accent really is terrible, but still. Cool plot twist, man. Did not see that coming.

Moosh