Things are about to get very dicey for the 13th Doctor (Jodie Whittaker) in Doctor Who. The series showrunner, Chris Chibnall, recently commented on the two-part season 12 finale, indicating that it would be a wild ride for fans. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, he said:
“It is an emotional and narrative roller coaster — for the characters, for the audience. I think you’re going to need a very strong drink … It’s big, it’s action-packed, it’s very, very epic and very, very emotional, and there is a blistering performance from Jodie Whittaker in that final episode. People, I think, are going to feel wrung-out and possibly a little bit open-mouthed.”
In the most previous episode of Doctor Who, the Doctor and her companions land near Lake Geneva, on the night that Lord Byron challenged Mary Shelley to write the first sci-fi novel, Frankenstein. However, strange things are afoot, and what at first seems a ghost story turns into a tale of the lone Cyberman, a creature that the Doctor was previously warned about. And although the warning included not giving it what it wants, the Doctor must do exactly that to save history, spawning events that will result in a great Cyber War.
A teaser for the next two episodes, a 2-part season finale, show that the Doctor’s actions will create a massive Cyber War. The Doctor and her companions will land in a timeline that takes place after that war, where the Cybermen are hunting down the last of humanity. Chibnall said:
“And it’s a big, space-spanning, spaceship-lasery, Cyberman-y sci-fi story. Properly epic. It’s set in the aftermath of a Cyber War, and a large band of human refugees are on the run from a very determined, zealous Cyberman, who’s determined to hunt down and eliminate the very last of humanity and finally win the war. Enter the Doctor and her friends.”
There is also the mysterious “timeless child” to consider. So far, the series has kept this concept a secret, although it will probably somehow factor into the two-part season finale. Chibnall, though, wouldn’t say much about it, though, and instead said:
“[The episode] will pay off a lot of the strands that we’ve set running both last year and this year. I’m going to do classic British understatement here: It’s a relatively seismic episode for the Doctor, and for the show. You will get some answers, but you will also be left with a whole load of new questions in true Doctor Who style.”
Does that mean fans will get an answer when it comes to Ruth, the other Doctor? That is certainly a thread that needs following, especially considering that no one seems to know how Ruth as the Doctor is even possible. There are a lot of theories about her existence, but fans won’t know for sure until Chibnall decides to reveal her truth. Will that happen during the season finale or later?
Whatever the case, grab those glasses, Whovians, and fill them with your favorite alcoholic beverage: the next two episodes are going to be doozies!
