Doctor Who Flux: 10 Huge Questions After Once, Upon Time
6. Did Swarm Regenerate Like A Time Lord?
When Swarm was freed from prison in The Halloween Apocalypse
his body was transformed (from actors Matthew Needham to Sam Spruell). At the
time it was unclear if he had been rejuvenated or had undergone a complete regeneration
like the Time Lords. We now know that in the first assault on the temple of
Atropos, Swarm, as played by Needham, looks identical to the one who was in
prison. Following his escape, he has somehow used the regeneration ability of
the Time Lords.
Did he steal a regeneration when draining the life-force of the division operatives, or was it a power he already possessed? Could Swarm be either a Time Lord or a member of the Doctor’s species? If the latter, it could present a conflict of interests for the fugitive Doctor as she works for the Time Lords against one of her own.
If he is in fact a Time Lord (and it’s possible for them to take
a non-humanoid form) is it someone we already know who is connected to the Timeless
Child story, such as the Master, or even the Doctor’s adoptive parent Tecteun? We
could also cast out a wider net and consider other renegade and powerful Time Lords
such as Rassilon or Omega.