Doctor Who Flux: 10 Huge Questions After Survivors Of The Flux

6. What Is The Grand Serpent's Plan?

Doctor Who Flux Survivors of the Flux
BBC

Long term Doctor Who fans will no doubt be arguing again over the UNIT dating controversy (a notorious piece of discontinuity), with the origins story for the organisation in Survivors of the Flux adding yet more confusion. But we are dealing with an altered timeline thanks to the Flux, so it’s not worth getting into any debate over it. The Grand Serpent is time travelling to influence the organisation, though why he is playing a long game is unclear.

If we knew who he was, we might have a better idea about why he is so keen to manipulate UNIT. His MO fits neatly with the goals of the Division which suggests he has been recruited by them, perhaps sometime after he met Vinder. Since they have expanded to employ all manner of aliens, he isn’t necessarily a Time Lord, but some fans are linking the snake to the deathworm morphant form the Master once took (the 1996 TV Movie). Are he and the snake one and the same, or has he been possessed by another alien form?

The Division have no qualms about using Weeping Angels if it is in their interests, so hiring the services of an alien with such little regard for life wouldn’t be a surprise. If the Doctor’s friends are as much a threat to them as the Doctor herself then it makes sense to keep tabs on them. But the Grand Serpent is now also working for the Sontarans who are out for revenge. Has he switched allegiances, or has he always been following his own agenda? We assume the Sontarans are wanting payback against the human race for the destruction of the Sontaran fleet in War of the Sontarans, but could the Division be their real target?

Contributor
Contributor

Paul Driscoll is a freelance writer and author across a range of subjects from Cult TV to religion and social policy. He is a passionate Doctor Who fan and January 2017 will see the publication of his first extended study of the series (based on Toby Whithouse's series six episode, The God Complex) in the critically acclaimed Black Archive range by Obverse Books. He is a regular writer for the fan site Doctor Who Worldwide and has contributed several essays to Watching Books' You and Who range. Recently he has branched out into fiction writing, with two short stories in the charity Doctor Who anthology Seasons of War (Chinbeard Books). Paul's work will also feature in the forthcoming Iris Wildthyme collection (A Clockwork Iris, Obverse Books) and Chinbeard Books' collection of drabbles, A Time Lord for Change.