Doctor Who “Cold War” just finished airing in the U.K. This episode saw a rather interesting plot with the Doctor and Clara being on a Russian submarine and finding a martian.

The episode opens up in Antarctica in 1983 on a submarine preparing to launch nuclear weapons. A man enters the war room singing “this mean nothing to me” and the drill is abandoned. The man singing is a professor who has collected some interesting specimens.

The next scene is of a sailor thawing a very large block of ice. He says “Who are you? The professor wants to thaw you out back in Moscow but life is too short to wait.” He takes a blow torch to the block of ice and an arm shoots out from the ice and grabs him.

The next scene cuts to the submarine crew in a panic stating they are under attack. Everything seems to be going wrong as water starts to fill the submarine when suddenly the sounds of the Tardis break through the panic. The Doctor and Clara arrive thinking that they were landing in Las Vegas. The Doctor quickly assess the situation and tells the captain how to save the sinking submarine.

The submarine comes to rest on some rocks and the crew seems relieved. The Doctor and Clara are searched and some interesting things come from the Doctor’s pockets: a Barbie doll and his sonic screw driver. The captain takes the sonic screw drive just as the submarine lurches and the Tardis decides it is time to make an exit from the submarine. Clara is pulled underwater and knocked out. When she awakens she can hear the Doctor arguing with the captain.

The submarine has sunk and now it is a race against the clock to be saved before the oxygen runs out. As the captain and Doctor continue to fight, a strange hissing noise catches everyone’s attention. The creature from the ice block is free and is attacking the crew.

The professor begins to explain that they were digging for oil and thought he found a mammoth but instead found an ice a warrior from the planet Mars. He had been in the ice for five thousand years. The warrior is named Grand Marshall Skaldak. The Doctor seems to recognize the name but before anything else can happen a sailor shocks the Skaldak and knocks him out.

The Doctor is very concerned by this considering Skaldak is an incredibly well known, fierce warrior. He tells the captain to lock up Skaldak. There is a basic Ice Warrior code that an attack on one is an attack on all, and the crew member who zapped Skaldak has unwittingly declared open war. The Doctor starts to fill in the captain and Clara about the Ice Warriors. The Doctors says there isn’t time that Skaldak is dangerous but LT. Stepashin believes the Doctor and Clara are spies. Clara says, “I’m a bad spy mate, I can’t even speak Russian.” At which point she realizes that she is speaking Russian and looks to the Doctor for information. He doesn’t think it is the best time to discuss how she can understand other languages.

The Doctor realizes the Skaldak has sent out a distress signal and warns the captain that they must be prepared. He asks to speak to Skaldak but the captain wants to be the one to do it. The Doctor insists he must do it because the captain will be viewed as an enemy soldier. The captain’s response to the Doctor is how will he view you, insinuating that the Doctor is also a soldier. While the two men fight Clara interrupts and declares that she will be the one to speak with Skaldak.

The Doctor protests heavily against Clara being involved and yet she goes in to see Skaldak on her own. He is talking her through the conversation with Skaldak but Skladak realizes that the Doctor is the one doing the talking. They discuss how Mars will rise again and that his people are scattered across the galaxy. Skaldak starts to reminisce about the last battle he was in with his daughter beside him and how they sang the songs of old. Clara continues to move closer to Skaldak as he and the Doctor talk and she realizes that Skaldak is not in his shell.

The Doctor tells Clara to get out of the room and as he tries to get to her the captain holds him at gun point. The Doctor admits that he has never seen one do this before that he has actually never seen one out of armor before. The captain allows him to go to Clara as a lizard-like creature slips by her and the others.

Clara tells the Doctor she is fine and asks how she did. She seems overly surprised when the Doctor says she did great. He tells Clara this wasn’t a test and tenderly touches her cheek. The professor realizes the signal has stopped, and that Skaldak thinks he has been abandoned meaning he has nothing left to lose.

The next scene is Lt. Stepahsin alone in a corridor and you can hear the sounds of Skaldak as he stalks the lieutenant. Eventually Skaldak places his gnarled claws on Stepashin’s head and neck. When Stepashin asks what he wants with Skaldak replies much.

The Captain has gathered the rest of the crew together to give a rather sobering speech about what the danger they are in and that rescue is unlikely. He also informs them that they are the only ones between the monster and the rest of the world.

Meanwhile Stepashin tries to negotiate with Skaldak saying that they understand each other. They are both warriors, peace doesn’t suit them, and together they can form an alliance. Stepashin continues to talk about winning the cold war and mutually assured destruction which seems to appeal to Skaldak.

Clara and the Doctor have a conversation about what would happen if a missile were launched. He has to explain to Clara that history is in flux and something could change and she would never be born. The professor interrupts to give the Doctor back his screw driver and Barbie doll. The Doctor is very excited to see both.

The Doctor, Clara and the professor all go out looking for Skaldak. The professor talks about singing to make things better and he suggests Duran, Duran’s Hungry Like the Wolf.

The next scene shows Skaldak stalking some of the other crew members. The Doctor’s group hears screaming and when they go to check it out they find the men dismembered. Skaldak is learning their weaknesses. Clara is having difficulty accepting what is going on around her. She is happy about doing the scary stuff but seeing the bodies makes it more real.

The Doctor goes exploring on his own and finds a wallet with a picture of a martian girl in it next to Stepashin’s body. He continues to explore the submarine looking for Skaldak. Clara starts to hear strange noises and the professor tries to distract her by asking her questions. She is amused by the professor whose only concern about the future seems to be musical groups. Just then Skaldak grabs Clara. The professor shoots at Skaldak to protect her. The Doctor comes running to them as Skaldak grabs the professor. Skaldak says that because they attacked him the entire planet is forfeit per Martian law and that he now knows how to end this Cold War with one missile.

The Doctor tries to convince Skaldak that there is something left for him, mercy. The captain arrives bearing arms saying that they will negotiate from a position of strength. Skaldak has other plans to make the planet red with the blood of humans.

The Doctor confronts Skaldak right before he launches the missiles. The Doctor is willing to sacrifice himself to stop Skaldak from launching the missiles. He and the Doctor are in a stand off and Clara begins to speak. She reminds Skaldak that he was with his daughter singing with his daughter and that he hesitated when she asked him not to kill the professor. Before anything else can happen Skaldak’s people arrive and take him away.

The end of the episode shows the Doctor admitting that he was playing with the Tardis’ settings and that is why it left the submarine. The Tardis is currently at the South Pole and the Doctor asks the captain for a lift.

Check out the preview for next week’s episode which looks very creepy, and the behind the scenes video.