Post Description

In Victorian England, a young orphan boy builds a snowman but refuses to play with the other children. The snowman starts speaking to the boy, telling him that the other children are "silly" and that he "doesn't need anybody", to which the boy agrees. Fifty years later, the boy has grown up as Dr. Simeon, proprietor of "The Great Intelligence Institute". He sends his employees to collect snow to use in a large snow-filled globe in his laboratory, and then later has them killed by a group of animated snowmen. The Silurian, Madame Vastra, and her human companion Jenny follow Dr. Simeon's movements.

Elsewhere, Clara, a barmaid, investigates a disturbance outside her tavern to find the Doctor walking by. She accuses him of creating a snowman nearby, but the Doctor realizes the snowman is made of snow with some type of memory. As more snowmen suddenly appear, the Doctor deduces that they are being created based on the thoughts of Clara, who has a powerful psychic ability. He instructs her to imagine the snowmen turning to water, destroying the snowmen. The Doctor tries to slip away but Clara follows him, curious to his nature. The Doctor fears taking on another companion, and has his ally, the Sontaran Strax, try to administer an alien slug that will wipe her memory of seeing him. Instead, he recognizes that she will not remember his advice for dealing with the snowmen, and lets her go, disappearing into the sky.