Today I learned that Aladdin was actually a bad guy who raised an army of trained killers by getting them all whacked out on weed - hence why there were named the Hashshashin. And that, my friends, is the origin of the word "assassin". So there you have it, Doctor Who fulfills its educational mandate, and teaches us all about the perils of reefer madness. I also watched a story about people on the verge of death by dehydration while I, myself, was literally dripping with sweat. How's that for irony?

Marco Polo continues, let's talk about it.

Five Hundred Eyes

Yesterday's dehydration cliffhanger is resolved by condensation, providing just enough water to get the caravan to the next oasis. Bad guy Tegana continues to fool Mr Polo, by convincing Marco that he did not return with water because of bandits. The Doctor and company are extremely suspicious, but what can they do? At the next village Susan's new friend Ping-Cho tells the rousing story about the Cave of Five Hundred Eyes, so named for the 250 Hashshashin who used it as a base for their rampages. Barbara is mad curious to see the cave, and sneaks off alone to go check it out, whereupon she is captured by Tegana's crew.

The Wall of Lies

Of course Barbara is rescued, but by this point Tegana has Marco Polo turned around so that he thinks the Doctor and company are troublemakers. The caravan continues its journey, now along the Great Wall of Cathay, and the court intrigue grows. Although the Doctor has surreptitiously repaired the faulty TARDIS circuit, before he can install it the entire group is taken captive by Marco and put into a guarded tent. The episode ends with Ian, Man of Action, cutting his way out of the back of the tent and sneaking up on the guard with the full intention to kill him so that he and the rest of the group can flee to the TARDIS. Shockingly, Ian finds the guard already dead by someone else's  hand. 

Sorry, Ian, you'll have to pick another day to become a murderer.

There was lots of great tension in both of these episodes, and Tegana makes an excellent villain by seeming to not be one. Even the educational stuff about Cathay is played well, and doesn't feel "educational" at all - just good storytelling. It is a genuine shame that no part of this story remains as anything other than audio and still images. I would have liked to have seen the performances of both Marco Polo and Tegana, as both actors seem quite well-suited to their roles. I am really looking forward to the next two episodes tomorrow. 

STATS:

Doctor(s): First
Companion(s): Ian Chesterton, Susan Foreman, Barbara Wright
Episode(s): Five Hundred Eyes, The Wall of Lies
Obvious Pratfalls: 0, it's hard to pratfall in a still image
Steps Walked: 6,531 today, 60,496 total
Distance Walked: 2.85 miles today, 26.34 miles total
Weight: 304.00 lbs (five day moving average), net change -3.30 lbs