For those of you who haven’t seen Doctor Who’s it’s an amazing British sci-fi show about an alien who travels through time and space. Sounds silly, I know–and it is. But it’s also filled with amazing storytelling, philosophical debates, and memorable characters.
The newest season of Doctor Who was produced during the pandemic, so we get a six episode season 🙁 that consists of one serialized story called Flux :). So, shorter season but a fun experiment that fans have been clamoring for since 2005, when the revival began. The first episode of Flux, The Halloween Apocalypse, aired this Sunday on Halloween.
Warning: Some minor spoilers in the next section, though nothing is discussed in detail.
Filled with action and a multitude of story lines, Flux is certainly a wild ride in the TARDIS, a TARDIS that may be experiencing some slight technical difficulties (Nothing to worry about. It’s fine. I’m fine, TARDIS is fine. We’re all fine.)
It’s certainly different than I was expecting, especially with the serialized nature and Chibnall’s (the showrunner’s) past writing. Yet instead of a slow buildup, the story leaps right in and continues at a breakneck pace, beginning in media res. Normally I don’t have a problem with Chibnall’s writing, but I really liked how exciting this was. It reminded me a lot of the RTD’s era (the first showrunner of the revival).
The episode set up a lot of threads:
But, there will be five more episodes to flesh them out, plus some specials afterwards. And I think it’s better this way: the more plot threads that begin in Episodes 1 and 2, the less we’ll feel like characters or plot devices came out of nowhere in Episodes 5 and 6. So, I think that this is a good sign that the story was well-planned out and won’t be pulling things out of a hat. Hopefully, the threads will come together into a wibbly wobbly timey wimey ball by the end of Flux–and I believe that they will.
Yaz in this season has developed the potential she showed in Seasons 11 and 12. Now a seasoned companion*, she’s helping to pilot the TARDIS, showing Dan around, and definitely not putting up with the Doctor’s…uhm, Baloney Sandwich? It’s really enjoyable to watch, and it’s heartening to see that all she needed to go from good to great (in my opinion) was some offscreen adventures with the Doctor.
*the Doctor’s friends/people who travel with them have been called “companions” by the fandom since Classic Who for some reason, and I always feel weird using this outside the fandom
I have reservations about any older male companion, and I was annoyed that Yaz wouldn’t get to be a solo companion. But she interacted really well with Dan, and having a newbie around let her take a position of authority and show off her skills. Dan was also just such a good person at heart and his strong passion for the museum made me immediately like his character. Instead of feeling like he was encroaching on Yaz, I now view him as a great compliment to the TARDIS crew.
In tried and true Doctor Who tradition, fans have been making up insane theories for the rest of the season, and I’m right there alongside them. Here are a few of my favorite theories (some mine, most not):
Warning: Major spoilers from here on out.
I will be ranking these theories in accordance with my Highly Scientific Scale:
The TARDIS Will Explode
The TARDIS is definitely not looking too great. In fact, it’s leaking a strange black substance, its interior orientation is all out of whack, and its currently streaming out Vortex energy towards the Flux. Vortex energy may or may not refer to the heart of the TARDIS, which is what created Bad Wolf…
The TARDIS has been through a lot, but we can’t claim that it has made it through unscathed. It already exploded once before, and Very Bad ThingsTM happened. I know nothing about cars, since I can’t even get a learner’s permit, but generally once a car breaks, it’s liable to break again. And this car has exploded.
Something is wrong with the TARDIS, whether it has to do with Gallifrey’s destruction, the Swarm, the Doctor’s percussive maintenance, or something else. And the Doctor’s always been fond of explosions. Might as well include the worst (best) one of all… Bad Wolf
The Master Will Return
The Master is never dead. That’s simply how it works. Never. Dead.
As further evidence, which you really shouldn’t need, I’ve seen fans claiming that, in addition to a name, Swarm is an acronym: Sontarans, Weeping Angels, Ravagers, and, you guessed it, the Master.
I’d say it’s pretty likely that this theory is true. Bad Wolf
Swarm is the Master
This one is borne from a theory similar to the One Bob Rule. I call it the One Creepy Archnemesis Rule. Basically, the Swarm is claiming to be the Master, but even scarier and even more important. We can’t have that, so he must actually be the Master. There, solved!
I’ve got to say, this is certainly an attractive theory. I want to justify it, because it fits with the idea I have of the Master; they are the Doctor’s foil, their archnemesis, their equal and enemy. The Master is partially upset about the Doctor being the Timeless Child because it implies that they are insignificant in the Doctor’s life. I want him to be wrong. It also parallels better with Zellin and Rakaya–the creepy finger immortal and the other immortal whom Zellin was feeding nightmares. “She was always the more powerful of us, the more dangerous. That’s why they imprisoned her. I just… ride in her slipstream.” Sound familiar? But adding another powerful character, Swarm, into the fray ruins the comparison.
How likely is it that Swarm will be the Master? Generally, I’d say it’s unlikely. But due to the One Creepy Archnemesis Rule, Swarm will be redundant otherwise. Unless… Bad Wolf
The Master and the Doctor Will Fight Against Swarm
If Swarm isn’t the Master, then he’s still a major threat. And, due to the One Creepy Archnemesis Rule, the Doctor really can’t keep both. And though Swarm might have theoretically been around longer, the Master has existed longer in our reality–since the Third Doctor Era, in fact.
The Master should theoretically be enemies with Swarm. Swarm seems to be destroying the universe, and the Master only destroys the universe by accident, folks. And besides, they’d be the only one who gets to destroy the universe. Plus, Swarm is trying to steal the Master’s best enemy position, the upstart!
Alternatively, the Master tries to team up with Swarm…but, as we all know, working “with” other evil forces never works out well for them. When he is inevitably betrayed, it will be back to the beginning–side with the Doctor and hope for the best.
Of course, the Master will no doubt betray the Doctor, but a temporary alliance looks likely…
…that is, if the Swarm and the Master are not one and the same. I’d say it’s a tossup between the two, but when it comes to fan theories, I’m extremely indecisive. Maybe about a 45% chance for each and a 10% chance that the Master isn’t involved at all? Bad Wolf
Doctor Who Isn’t Queerbaiting
Since before the first season came out, fans have been shipping the Thirteenth Doctor with her companion, Yasmin Khan. Personally, I’m not really one of those people, but I do want to take a look at the likelihood of it becoming reality.
On the “for” side, there has been some degree of ambiguity on Yaz’s feelings for the Doctor, fueled by the Doctor’s apparent confusion on the matter as well (“I don’t think so. Are we?”). Additionally, Mandip Gill, Yaz’s actress, has been somewhat cryptic on the possibility. On the “against” side, this Doctor has shown little interest in romance, there hasn’t been a clear indication of romantic feelings in over two seasons, and I don’t know if five more episodes is really enough time for a developed romance plot. Plus, the Doctor’s age is even older than we thought and Yaz is in her early twenties. Technically, older than Rose, but it’s still not something I like to think about.
I can pick out one major “maybe it will happen” piece of evidence per season:
11 – Najia Khan’s question and the Doctor’s confused response
12 – Yaz comparing her relationship with the Doctor to that of Claire Clairmont
13 – So far, the thing where they fell on a mattress together was kind of suspicious (or, as my thirteen-year-old brother would doubtless want me to say, “sus”)
This is pretty weak evidence, but complex fan theories have been based on less. Added to the evidence is Mandip Gill’s vague interview that seems designed to make people second guess their assurances that it won’t happen. Although, maybe she just ships it.
I would be inclined to say “Keep Dreaming!”…only I feel like it would totally be in character for Chibnall to do it. So I’m just going to go with “Unlikely” because my intuition is saying that Doctor Who is, once again, teasing a romance that won’t actually amount to much–and because there hasn’t actually been that much evidence, in my opinion. Feel free to try and convince me otherwise, and I’ll re-evaluate my opinion after next episode. Bad Wolf
Rose Tyler Will Return
Sure, fans have been guessing this since she left in Doomsday…but to be fair, Billie Piper (Rose’s actress) has returned to the show twice since then: once as Rose Tyler and once as the Moment. Sure, Rose may be living in a parallel universe, but the Flux is a pretty big event. Perhaps it weakens barriers between parallel universes, or even threatens their collective existence. Or perhaps it is from a parallel universe (one theory I saw is that it is the result of the Solitract interacting with this universe, but unfortunately I can’t find the source for that one).
The fact that Vinder works at Outpost Rose appears to be a clue or a massive red herring. I’ve also seen people point out that Lupari comes from Lupus, which is Latin for “Wolf,” and Rose is Bad Wolf…but this seems like it might be stretching it. It seems equally as plausible to claim that since compressor technology was used on Dan’s house and the Master uses the Tissue Compression Eliminator, Dan must be the Master (another theory I saw). Similar names or technologies is not really much of a basis.
I’m going to guess that Outpost Rose is either a red herring or what was supposed to be a fun reference but got out of hand with the fandom. It seems far more likely that Martha or Ace, cool female companions who are currently alive and involved on Earth, will return in Flux. Bad Wolf
Dan is the Rani
And, of course, I had to include a classic Doctor Who theory.
The Rani is another Time Lord from Classic Doctor Who (1963-1989), who specialized in genetic experiments. Her episodes…left a lot to be desired. But, the character remains a fan favorite among many dedicated Whovians.
She has yet to return in the Revival Series, but, as any Doctor Who Fan Theorist worth their salt knows, every single character is secretly the Rani. Under the Chameleon Arch, or hiding, or whatever, but it’s true!
Dan is the Rani. Yaz? She’s the Rani as well. The Doctor? Actually the Rani. And me? I’m…also the Rani. Chris Chibnall is the Rani too, you know. It’s Irrefutably Proven.
All kidding aside, I would love to see the Rani appear. She’s a fun character and a genetic experiment theme would be a perfect tie-in after the Timeless Child Arc. Yet, because the BBC (the network that runs Doctor Who) doesn’t actually have the rights to the character (which belongs to her creators) and because very few people even know she exists, she’s extremely unlikely to return.
And Dan’s selfless, deeply-caring personality is practically the opposite of the cold and unfeeling Rani. So, I’m going to have to rate this one: Bad Wolf
Honorable Mentions
These are theories that are less large scale, have less evidence, or are less insane than the theories above, so thus don’t have full explanations.
The Valeyard Will Return — The Valeyard is basically the Doctor’s evil self and tried to steal the Doctor’s regenerations. While somewhat more likely than the Rani, I’d put my odds on RTD bringing him back rather than Chibnall. Bad Wolf
The Timeless Child is a Stable Time Loop — The theory goes that the Timeless Child is a Gallifreyan or evolved Gallifreyan who somehow ended up back in time/through a rift to create the Time Lords. Not too insane, but only one plausible theory of many. Bad Wolf
Season 6b — The Second Doctor was forced to regenerate by the Time Lords. This long-held theory states that during a time jump between Season 6 and Season 7 (the Third Doctor’s first season), the Doctor worked for the Time Lords. People have been theorizing that, despite the Timeless Children, Ruth could still be in-between the Second Doctor and the Third Doctor, explaining why her TARDIS is a police box. It’s extremely obscure, but it could be explained in a few minutes with accompanying clips or graphics like those from Can You Hear Me? Bad Wolf
Claire Works for the Division — Her time confusion seems to go a bit beyond the Weeping Angels, seeing as how she gets touched after approaching the Doctor and talking about the Long Way Around. There’s something else going on, perhaps, and this could tie into the Division plot-line that we know will be sustained. But, I ultimately think that Claire is too confused to be a member of the Division. Bad Wolf
Does Swarm Control the Flux? — Maybe? He’s definitely related, given the similarity in how they both disintegrate matter/life force to feed. Is the Flux truly an event? Or does it have a mind of its own? And if so, is it working for Swarm, or the other way around? Or with? Or even against? I have a lot of questions here and…no answers. Bad Wolf
Some Loose Ends
There are a couple of things I wanted to address before the end of this post. Bad Wolf
- Pronouns. I’m using they/them pronouns for Time Lords that have changed their gender at least once, but I use the pronouns of the actor for a specific version. Ex: The Thirteenth Doctor is great; I really enjoy watching her. I also liked the Tenth Doctor because he had a fun personality. The Doctor is an interesting character because they change with each regeneration. There are no true agreed-upon pronouns in the fandom, so I don’t think anyone is offended if you do it differently.
- I clarify many things in this post in a way that could come off as insulting to the average Doctor Who Fan. Yes, I know that you are probably aware of the BBC, Chibnall, RTD, Mandip Gill, etc. I mean no insult; I want to make this blog as accessible as possible even to people who have only seen one episode of Doctor Who.
- I’ve gotten a lot of my fan theory education from thedoctorwhoforum.com, an amazing source of insane Doctor Who fan theories. It has become less positive in recent years, but it is still far and away the best and least toxic Doctor Who fan theory source I’ve been able to find…however I’d love any recommendations.
- The key is flux.
Thank you for reading!
Izh’q yflk dzoo glwh, izh’q qzih fhuv, fyx aty’n yqthh. Lzia qfwh.
Bad Wolf
