What the Hell Just Happened on ‘Doctor Who'?
Doctor Who's latest season has just come to an end—and with it, we just got hit with an absolute shocker of a cliffhanger. Let's discuss, shall we?
Preparing to sacrifice himself to shift time and save the young Poppy–a descendant of human and Time Lord biology–by shunting his regenerative energy into the Time Vortex, the 15th Doctor shuts himself in his TARDIS and flies away, bracing to give it all. The paradox of time itself splitting apart, however, gives him a helping hand… in the form of none other than Jodie Whittaker's 13th Doctor. Who doesn't take much convincing, strewn out of her own timestream by the impending schism, to help this new Doctor say good bye for the sake of reality.
After an emotional farewell where the two of them ruminate on lives cut short, the Doctor exposes himself to the TARDIS' console, practically ripping the regenerative energy out of his own body to blast the time machine. Everything shatters, and the Doctor realises that his time his up. Delaying regeneration as long as possible, the 15th Doctor starts his long goodbye, realising that he's managed to save the day and bring Poppy to back to existence.
Bidding a tearful goodbye to Belinda and Poppy (who has become human in the process of being restored), the Doctor returns to the TARDIS. Unable to hold it back any longer, the 15th Doctor begins his regeneration, bursting with golden light as he stands leaning out of the TARDIS doors and into the whole universe.
He changes. Into a woman. A blonde woman. She looks an awful lot like Rose Tyler, because Billie Piper is the Doctor.
'Oh hello,' the new Doctor says. And that's how Doctor Who's current season comes to an end.
Just how long we have to wait to see the ramifications of the 16th Doctor's familiar face remains to be seen. The BBC and Disney have yet to confirm just when, or if, Doctor Who will return in its current form. There's probably something to be said with the fact that the episode credits Piper as-is, rather than introducing Billie Piper 'as The Doctor', as is the usual tradition with these things (for what it's worth, by Ncuti Gatwa and Jodie Whittaker were credited as such, making the absence for Piper stand out all the more.
Neither company has yet to officially confirm future seasons of Doctor Who, although a regeneration, with Piper or otherwise, obviously leaves things open for a new era to begin at some point. Not even a Christmas special for 2025 was commissioned, and with the upcoming spinoff War Between Land and the Sea on the way, it might be a good while yet until we see just what the real deal is here.
Regardless though, Ncuti Gatwa's time on Doctor Who has come to an end… and very uncertain future lies ahead of the TARDIS' latest inhabitant.
We'll be back on Monday to deliver our full recap of 'The Reality War.' In the meantime, let us know what you thought in the comments.
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