Doctor Who Series 12: 10 Huge Talking Points After The Timeless Children
5. Will The Ruth Doctor Return?
Jo Martin made a welcome return as the mysterious, previously unknown Doctor in The Timeless Children. It has been all but confirmed that she was indeed a previous incarnation of The Doctor, though there is still wiggle room on where she fits in the Doctor’s biography. Chibnall wasn’t bluffing when he said she was a genuine Doctor, who should be seen as part of the established timeline and not from some alternative universe. The official Doctor Who Magazine celebrates that fact with a cover-spread entitled Jo Martin Is The Doctor.
The Timeless Children feels like a midpoint break, rather than a finale, in that it doesn’t bookend the series or tie up the loose threads. Maybe this is down to the style of writing, but there are dots created that are never joined, such as between Daniel Barton and the Master, and between the Kasaavin and the Cybermen. And certainly, when it comes to the Jo Martin Doctor, and her possibly human, possibly Time Lord protector Lee Clayton, there are connections yet to be confirmed.
Lee Clayton’s service medal could have come from the mysterious Division. Gat could be another incarnation of a Time Lord seen wearing similar clothes and giving out orders in The Timeless Children. These are surely set up for future storylines. We still don’t know why the Jo Martin Doctor had to use the chameleon arch, why she is a fugitive, or why her TARDIS is a Police Box. All this points to Jo Martin returning for series 13.