Doctor Who: 8 Unanswered Questions From The Thirteenth Doctor's Era

2. Why Didn't Anything Go Anywhere?

Doctor Who Thirteenth Doctor fob watch
BBC Studios

The Thirteenth Doctor's era presented a lot of new possibilities and concepts, but none of them were ever fully developed. The Fugitive Doctor? Doesn't go anywhere. Thasmin? Doesn't go anywhere. Flux? Doesn't go anywhere. The Grand Serpent? Doesn't go anywhere. Division? Doesn't go anywhere. The list goes on...

There's no denying that Chibnall is brilliant at introducing intriguing ideas, but the outcome of each element was half-baked or nonexistent. Granted, COVID-19 changed production during Thirteen's final series, so it's possible that secrets were supposed to be revealed here, only for the pandemic to change those plans.

However, the introduction of many new concepts - followed by a complete disregard for them - suggests that each idea (the Timeless Child, the Fugitive Doctor, Tecteun) existed to shock, rather than to serve a broader story.

Because all of these new concepts are incredibly disruptive to Doctor Who lore, ignoring them seems like a disservice to even introducing them in the first place. No new stories were told because of these changes - they were changes for the sake of changes. It doesn't exactly make for satisfying viewing.

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James joined WhatCulture in early 2022. He is an expert on Doctor Who (well, the modern era) and Harry Potter. Currently, James is studying media, film, and communications at the University of Otago in New Zealand.