Doctor Who’s season 12 finale was set up before the BBC even confirmed Jodie Whittaker would be the Thirteenth Doctor. Showrunner Chris Chibnall promised viewers that Doctor Who season 12 will redefine the series. The key appears to be the mystery of the Timeless Child, which has played a prominent role throughout this season. “They lied to us,” the Master told the Doctor. “Everything we were told was a lie. We are not who we think. You or I. The whole existence of our species - built on the lie of the Timeless Child.”
Doctor Who season 12 has largely depended on misdirection, and the scripts have frequently failed to signpost this. As accomplished Doctor Who author Lance Parker noted on Twitter, “misdirection is great, but getting lost isn’t.” As a result, and with so many mysteries still left to resolve in season 12, there’s been some concern Chibnall’s Timeless Child will fail to deliver on its setup.
Fortunately, there are signs Chris Chibnall has had the Doctor Who season 12 finale in mind since he began working on the show. In July 2017, the BBC issued a teaser video indicating they’d completed their casting for the Thirteenth Doctor. It featured the TARDIS key materializing on a mysterious stone plinth that was situated on a hillside. Surprisingly, preview clips for the season 12 finale have revealed Doctor Who is actually heading to this specific location.
The clip is brief, but significant. It shows the Doctor and the Master stood together, and is accompanied by a voice-over from the Master. “I told you before that everything you knew was a lie,” the Master declares. “Well, now you get to face the truth.” The rolling hills appear to correspond to locations seen in “Ascension of the Cybermen,” in mysterious and unexplained scenes featuring a character named Brendan. Although these scenes seemed to be set in Ireland, there’s been some speculation it was actually ancient Gallifrey, and Brendan himself is a Timeless Child. Certainly this clip indicates he is connected to the main mystery of Doctor Who season 12 in some way.
Whatever the truth of the Timeless Child may be, it does look as though Chris Chibnall has had it in mind from the beginning of his tenure. It’s surely no coincidence this location was used in the teaser video back in 2017, and now plays such a key role. What’s more, the Timeless Child was first mentioned in Doctor Who season 11, episode 2, in October 2018. Hopefully that means this is the core of the Thirteenth Doctor’s story, and Chibnall will deliver on the setup in the season 12 finale.
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