Lets start with what a Dalek actually is, because there's more going on than simply a giant brass shuttlecock. Daleks come from the planet Skaro, and are the survivors of vicious war and mutation caused from radiation. Daleks were engineered to be the most hateful and remorseless killing machines in existence and encased in battle armour, in addition to armour, Daleks are armed with devastating energy weapons and genius level intelligence, the perfect soldier. Daleks are hateful, as the Doctor said, "anything different is wrong," the Daleks honestly believe that any living thing that isn't Dalek is inferior and the universe should be cleansed of these inferior life forms, and it's this hatred that drives their conquest. Go back to my Legends post about Godzilla where I claimed Godzilla is a metaphor, I could also argue that Daleks are a metaphor; think about it, they are hateful, believe the universe should be cleansed of anything that is inferior to them, and have advanced weapons and technology and a mighty army. I think the Daleks are a metaphor for Nazi Germany, who also had a believe that the world should be cleansed of inferior creatures, and had a mighty army and advanced technology, and a hatred for things that don't align with their master plan.
Spoilers ahead for Dalek.
What's special about the Dalek in Dalek is he is mutating. At the start of the episode he is chained up and very badly damaged, but at this point his perfectly engineered genes are uncontaminated, he is pure. When Rose touches him he extrapolates her genetic material and is able to regenerate himself. While this brings him back to life effectively, it has a very dire effect. He begins to mutate, he loses his remorseless urge to kill, failing to kill Rose, which results in the Dalek questioning why he can't kill her, and why he is changing. The episode ends with the Dalek deciding that his cause is no longer worth fighting for, calling his condition a sickness, and ultimately chooses to commit suicide, not wanting to be "like you" as he says to Rose. While the Dalek still felt the hatred of inferior life forms, his hatred of them drove his decision to die. What's really interesting in this episode is while the Dalek was becoming less Dalek, the Doctor was oddly becoming more Dalek. "The Daleks have failed, why don't you finish the job, and make the Daleks extinct, rid the universe of your filth, why don't you just die!" I love that line, but what's important in there is "rid the universe of your filth" Key word is Filth. It's ironic that while the Dalek mutates and becomes less remorseless and hateful, the Doctor goes in the opposite direction, becoming more remorseless and hateful, and letting that hatred consume him, to the point that he effectively becomes a Dalek himself. You can see this in the very first meeting of the Doctor and the Dalek, when he tries to kill it, the Dalek begs for pity and the Doctor refuses, continuing to torture it. At the very end when the Dalek is exposed and powerless, the Doctor still points the blaster at it, unable to control his hatred. This role reversal is one of the things I love most about the episode, as it explores an interesting part of the Doctor's character, and it's a fascinating grey area the creators of Doctor Who didn't need to explore. And they do end up showing the Dalek sympathetically, but it works, because you understand why the Dalek has made the decisions he has made, same with the Doctor.
I overthink things a lot, but I like overthinking things, it's how I think, and I love a good bit of food for the overthinking. This episode of Doctor who gives a good amount of food, in addition to being a great piece of entertainment. I love the role reversal of the Doctor and the Dalek, as it means that Doctor Who isn't black and white, and good story telling is never black and white.
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