Doctor Who: 5 Possibilities (And Potential Pitfalls) Of The New Master

5. Vitality

Both the version of the Master we have seen in Modern Who and most of his Classic Who predecessors have struggled with the basic need of staying alive long enough to carry out any grander evil. Past versions of the Time Lord have been at various stages of death throughout multiple points in his lifespan. For the less familiar among us, the Master has clung to life in a decayed state when his natural life cycle ran out, spent ages as a calcified statue, restored himself from only a few inches tall, burned through two different long-term possessed bodies, and managed to come back from a mere pile of goo known as a deathworm, if you include the adventure from the film. His most recent exploits were had in a body "born out of death" that emphasised the issue. His appearances in Modern Who thus far have put this issue at centre stage. It was a clear part of the Master's schemes in series three and four, and it certainly upped the dramatic tension in both deaths Simm's version suffered. It was important for a character like the Master who has been around for so long and done so much to be given that extra emotional impact, and it pays nice homage to the Master's history. Given that he was presumably dead when we last left him, and his body is once again going to change, this is still a concern. But, once that has been addressed, matters of vitality have been well exhausted for now. The Doctor just got a fresh pack of lives, why not have the Time Lords €” assuming they are still able to make fancy cracks to whisper through and what not €” make good on that promise from "The Five Doctors" and start the Master off with a fresh set too. For fans of the Master it is certainly a win.