Doctor Who Series 10: 7 Big Questions We're Asking After 'Oxygen'

7. Did The Doctor Already Know About The Space Station?

Before setting off, the Doctor gives a lecture on the dangers of outer space, including a graphic description of how exposure to the void would kill you. It’s all very prescient for Bill who to the Doctor’s delight recalls the lecture when she’s left without a space helmet.

It begs the question, is this just a poorly written coincidence or an indication that the Doctor had been orchestrating the whole thing? He’s supposed to be lecturing on crop rotations, so the change of subject is quite deliberate.

There are times in the new series where the Doctor has come across as a godlike figure, controlling the destinies of others, and there’s a hint of that here too, from the grand opening voiceover, to his throwaway biblical reference “Oh death where is your sting?”

The Doctor is not at all surprised that the events on the Space Station became a catalyst for the collapse of capitalism. Whether he knew they would survive his suicide bluff at the end is another matter, but the Doctor is convinced from the outset that their involvement will be necessary and critical.

Perhaps it’s all a narrative set-up to deepen the shock of the Doctor’s blindness (notice the contrast between the omniscient opening narration and the black screen at the end), but it certainly appears as if the Doctor has been playing everyone from the start. Just like the relief ship, he was already reacting to the crisis before the distress signal went out.