Doctor Who Season 11: 10 BIg Questions After The Ghost Monument

Last week we suggested that the Doctor’s brief mention of her family could go in one of two ways. By saying, to paraphrase, that her family has been lost and that she carries them around in her hearts, Chibnall could have been drawing a line under all the speculation about the Doctor’s background that was such a feature of the Moffat years. But it might also have been placed there as part of a theme for the series, playing into the wider narrative of family ties. The former seemed the most likely, given that we were led to believe there would not be a series arc as such.

The Ghost Monument felt much more like 21st century Doctor Who than last week’s episode, not least because of the scene in which the Doctor is confronted by something from her past – the timeless child. Even the incidental music changed to a Murray Gold like theme. We might even call this episode The Revenge of the Arc. There was something about the whole scene that called to mind David Tennant’s Doctor, and the teasing of Rose Tyler’s return in series four.

So who or what is the timeless child? Are we back in the territory of speculating about a return of the Doctor’s granddaughter Susan Foreman - that perennial discussion starter during the Steven Moffat years? Could it even be Rose Tyler, after all Jodie Whittaker has gone on record to say she would love to work with her? In all likelihood, given Chibnall’s writing style in these first two episodes and his insistence that there are no returning characters, the answer is far more straightforward. The Doctor herself could be the Timeless Child, out of time and space, cut off from her people, with the phrase itself being one that is all too familiar to her, perhaps as a mark of rejection all those years ago.