Doctor Who Series 10 Finale: 7 Big Questions We're Asking After 'The Doctor Falls'
1. What Happens Next?
The extraordinary series 10 finale may have followed some
predictable and well-trodden paths, combining the best aspects of Steven Moffat
and Russell T Davies’s eras, but thanks to that unexpected First Doctor reveal
at the end, The Doctor Falls demonstrated the show’s wonderful ability to wrong
foot its audience.
Over the next few months the flurry of excitement for that rare treat of another multi-Doctor adventure will undoubtedly be overshadowed by announcements about series 11, in particular the identity of the next Doctor, but for now at least it’s time to speculate on how that Christmas Special might play out.
It’s fairly clear that from the First Doctor’s perspective the adventure will take place shortly before his own regeneration at the end of The Tenth Planet. Both Doctors are asking the same question, though probably from entirely different motivations – why the need to change? There’s a wonderful symmetry to the whole set up, with Capaldi effectively being the First Doctor mark two and with the pair of them having just defeated the Cybermen.
The Doctor is rightly suspicious that the TARDIS has brought the Doctor back to this point in his past in order to force him to accept the gift of regeneration.
Knowing Moffat’s fondness for a festive riffs on familiar stories, such as A Christmas Carol and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, many are speculating that given the Doctor’s state of mind this could be Doctor Who meets It’s a Wonderful Life. Will David Bradley’s Doctor play the role of Clarence against Capaldi’s George Bailey? It seems all a bit of stretch, with a more obvious choice being Clara or even Bill.
Another possible move would be to have the two Doctors working together to save Gallifrey, tying the Christmas special into The Day of the Doctor and Capaldi’s surprise debut. We still don’t know when in the Twelfth Doctor’s timeline he joined his predecessors in freezing Gallifrey into a single moment in time. If it does prove to be Capaldi’s final act as the Doctor, then returning to the beginning would be a lovely way of closing the curtain on the Twelfth Doctor and Steven Moffat’s adventures.
What questions did The Doctor Falls leave you with? Let us know down in the comments.