Doctor Who: 10 Clever Moments Of Foreshadowing You Probably Missed

The tease about the Tenth Doctor's death that none of us noticed...

Doctor Who David Tennant Tenth Doctor Midnight/The End Of Time
BBC

Doctor Who treats time like it's a ball of string. The events of some episodes - and hell, the events of some series - happen in the wrong order, characters create paradoxes like they're going out of fashion, and meeting older/younger/alternate versions of yourself is more common than it really should be.

And so, in a show that's as wibbly-wobbly as this one is, is it any surprise that foreshadowing is an extremely common occurrence?

While the classic era certainly has the odd moment of hinting at future events, the modern era's shift towards series-long (often multi-series long) arcs means that there are tons more examples to be found here. These range from the obvious - like Series 1's constant mentions of a certain "Bad Wolf" - to the more cleverly-placed, subtle, and easy-to-miss examples we've gathered on this list.

Whether it's a throwaway line of dialogue, a blink-and-you'll-miss-it visual cue, or a suspiciously specific action that clearly has a deeper meaning, there's foreshadowing in Doctor Who that even NuWho addicts are likely to miss - yet another reason why this show is such a joy to rewatch.

10. Everything Is Dangerous

Doctor Who David Tennant Tenth Doctor Midnight/The End Of Time
BBC

Poor old Danny Pink didn't have much luck during his time on Doctor Who, with his tragic military backstory, his bumpy relationship with Clara, and ultimately, his death, which came about when he was struck by a car while crossing the road.

It was a shocking moment, because nobody expected him to die so suddenly, let alone in such a "boring" manner, as Clara describes it. And yet, eerily, Danny's death was actually foreshadowed by the Twelfth Doctor a couple of episodes earlier, in a quick line of dialogue from Kill The Moon.

While traversing the surface of the moon midway through the episode, Clara expresses worry at how dangerous their current situation is - mainly out of concern for Courtney, a young school girl who has tagged along on this particular adventure.

In response, the Doctor reminds her that everything in life has the potential to be dangerous, citing scenarios such as eating chips... and crossing the road.

In the moment, the Doctor's response just seems like his typically nonchalant, jokey attitude towards any sort of peril, but in hindsight, it was clearly a deliberate piece of foreshadowing for Danny Pink's untimely end.

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WhoCulture Channel Manager/Doctor Who Editor at WhatCulture. Can confirm that bow ties are cool.