Note: this is coming from someone who watched 2005-current Doctor Who & the TV movie special ft. the 8th Doctor. I didn’t watch the classic series or listen to the Big Finish audioplays.
SPOILERS FOR DOCTOR WHO!!!!
The Series 12 Finale of Doctor Who has finally aired and I have to say… that was quick. I guess I’m still used to the show ending around October/November before the holiday specials start. But unlike past series finales where it leaves in a satisfying note, this one just confused the hell out of me.
What happened in the finale
Basically, the Master (played by Sacha Dhawan) showed the Doctor (Jodie Whittaker) the destroyed Gallifrey (seen in Episode 1 of the series) and explained to her (sorta) why he did it. Meanwhile, the Cyberman army arrived in Ko Sharmus to kill the remaining humans. The Master shows the Doctor the Matrix to where she learns about her past (once again… sort off… to some extent), and how she’s the ‘Timeless Child’. Afterwards, the Master shows her his new cyber army, using dead Timelord bodies, regenerating when shot. Overall, the companions + some of the remaining human survivors made it back to the 21st century, Ko Sharmus sacrifices himself to detonate a bomb to kill the Master and his new Cyber army, and the Doctor was sent to prison by the Judoon
Why all of this confused me
Because this episode is retconning so many things that even I’m confused.
In the past, whenever a series ends, it’s usually easy to follow or leaves a tiny cliffhanger for the special. And usually, the information can be found within the season itself with tiny breadcrumbs from the classics. This one does the complete opposite. Not only things got confusing for me, but some of the information was revealed in the classics that I had to Google and Reddit my way to find the answers.
But what annoyed me the most is how this episode just wants to CHANGE EVERYTHING WE KNOW ABOUT DOCTOR WHO!!! (Omg, I can see why the Master is pissed).
What made sense
Before I rant my heart out, I will share what ‘somewhat made sense’ to me. Note, these are just my thoughts and theories.
‘Gallifrey being missing’ back in Series 8
So after Missy (Michelle Gomez) told the 12th Doctor the coordinates of Gallifrey after her ‘gift’ of a cyber army constantly rising up from the dead backfired, the Doctor visited Gallifrey and it was missing. We didn’t get to see it until the end of series 9.
The Master’s regeneration
It is theorized that Missy is the final incarnation of the Master after John Simm Master shoots her back in Series 10. Afterwards, no regeneration scene as the Master (John Simm) says “Don’t even bother to regenerate”.
So theory-wise… Missy or the Master does become good but dies by their own hand. Would make sense to why Missy would give the co-ordinates to Gallifrey then it wasn’t shown, then it was shown after escaping his own confession dial. Meaning by the time Jodie came along, she knew where to find her home planet whenever.
What changed/confuses me???
How Timelords work
This has been an ongoing thing for quite some time and back then, it really didn’t matter and it was somewhat explained. Yes, it didn’t make sense but it was reasonable. But one thing was clear since the classics – 13 REGENERATIONS per Timelord.
This one… JUST THROWS EVERYTHING OUT THE WINDOW!!!
I understand they need a reason why the Doctor constantly regenerates to keep the show going for… who knows… but saying that The Doctor is the adopted Timeless Child and her genetic code was duplicated and was given to all the other Time Lords?!?!
The fact that the Doctor got their memories erased
So… is the show telling me that every time the Doctor reaches their 13th cycle, they have their memories wiped right??? Is this a constant thing? Is that why the ‘Ruth!Doctor’ is a fugitive?
Did they just forget Time of the Doctor?
In Time of the Doctor, Clara asked the ‘crack on the wall’ to help change history so the Doctor (Matt Smith) doesn’t die in Trenzalore. So what happened back then was that the Time Lords gave their regeneration powers to the Doctor and his cycle resets. It was even said in the episode ‘It’s just a reset, a whole new regeneration cycle’.
So… did they just forget that??? Or was there something I’m missing? The Doctor HAS TO DIE??? I mean… it was shown in Series 7. Even Steven Moffat said something about ‘Wiggle Room’ (can’t find the source cuz it was like from 2013).
There is this one theory I was willing to accept. The fact that the crack on the wall and the new regeneration cycle made the Doctor unlock his old regeneration abilities. But that still has plotholes. Why was it cut off? Did they finally found a way to make it restricted after capturing the fugitive Doctor (Ruth)? Why was it so late in the regeneration cycle that it was only till Ruth that they only got 13?
All the other regenerations
If it wasn’t for Reddit, I would have been super lost. Apparently, it was shown in the classic era that the Doctor had past incarnations prior to the ‘First Doctor’ but fans disregarded it. It was until now that we find out it’s canon. According to the Doctor Who Wikia, the Doctors seen in the Division Era were from a TV story called The Brain of Morbius.
Look, I like how they like to throw in easter eggs from the past. I mean I was cool with them bringing back past characters like Sarah Jane Smith. And it’s good since we get to see them in action again, get some small backstory on who they were, and why they never came back.
So why am I mad???
I got the impression that Series 12 will be the series where we were treated like we’re new fans but will leave something to those who’ve been watching for some time. I mean, episode 1 of series 12 made it clear. But the last episode… NOPE. It was confusing and it took a while for me to understand.
You know what’s funny, Honest Trailers for the modern Doctor Who finally made sense to me.
Overall thoughts
This finale is somewhat confusing, not unless you connect with other fans to get a general idea on what’s going on. It was ok but I was confused for a while. All I ask is context if you’re going to pull something from the classics.
But can’t wait for the ‘Revolution of the Daleks’. Hopefully, it would put in some context on what just happened.
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