Doctor Who Christmas Special 2017: What ‘Twice Upon A Time’ Really Means
5. The Doctor Of War
Arguably, one of Steven Moffat’s greatest innovations was the introduction of the War Doctor (though fans of River Song or Missy might beg to differ). Even after his redemption in The Day of the Doctor, the shadow of this forgotten incarnation loomed heavy over the Doctor and there are parallels to be drawn between the Twelfth and First Doctor wanting to die and the War Doctor saying ‘no more’. Yes, the Hurt incarnation was unnaturally born thanks to the elixir of the Sisterhood of Karn, but the dark side to the Doctor’s personality has been a constant presence even when below the surface.
Steven Moffat was never afraid to tackle the tension between the Doctor’s pacifist leanings and his commitment to actively opposing evil, or the contradictions between his idealistic mission statement (never cruel or cowardly) and his pragmatic actions in the heat of battle. They played a huge part in the Doctor’s death arc in series six and returned again in the ‘of the Doctor’ 50th anniversary trilogy, and the “Am I a good man?”/ Doctor and Danny Pink conflict of series 8. Series 9 ended with the Doctor going off the rails to save Clara, and series 10 ended with the Doctor failing to redeem Missy and protect Bill, Nardole and the other victims of the Master’s cyber conversion plans. No wonder he begins this episode a tired and spent force.
Whilst some fans are up in arms about the characterisation of the first Doctor, the various names ascribed to his successors are far more damning. Well known phrases from the Russell T Davies era ‘the destroyer of worlds’ and ‘the oncoming storm’ are joined by others as the view from the other side of the Doctor’s more recent exploits, such as The Imp of the Pandorica, The Beast of Trenzalore, as well as even earlier labels (though previously unknown to the viewers) including The Destroyer of Skaro, The Butcher of Skull Moon and The Shadow of the Valeyard.