‘Doctor Who’s Susan Twist mystery: Breaking down the clues and fan theories

“There is often a twist in the finish!” Russell T Davies warned us at the finish of “The Devil’s Chord,” with a musical quantity that proved prophetic. Whilst Whovians could have believed at initial that Medical doctor Who‘s Season 14 showrunner was speaking plot twists, we’re now realizing he meant Susan Twist is often in the finish credits.

Who is she, and why are Whovians losing their collective cool more than Susan Twist? Nicely, it really is since the elderly English actress is popping up once more and once more on Medical doctor Who, and in a incredibly timey-wimey way. 

Positive, all sorts of actors have appeared on the iconic series more than its decades of tv, often a lot more than after a single even got upgraded from Pompeii resident to Twelfth Medical doctor (Peter Capaldi). But there is one thing specially curious about Twist’s appearances, as they’ve all come in a current jumble. 

This collision of cameos has got fans theorizing all sorts of possibilities for what Season 14 showrunner Russell T Davies has up his sleeve. With the most current episode, “73 Yards,” there are fresh clues to who Twist is truly playing. So, let’s choose by means of the appearances and the fan theories a single by a single. 

Susan Twist in “Wild Blue Yonder” 

This episode was the second of the 60th anniversary specials, which saw David Tennant and Catherine Tate reprising the roles of the Medical doctor and Donna, respectively. In this adventure, the two are flung far into the future, exactly where they are plagued by creepy doppelgängers of themselves. But Twist pops up ahead of these freaky sci-fi events. FAR ahead of. We’re speaking the opening sequence set in 1666 England. 

There, a dashing Isaac Newton (Nathaniel Curtis) is on the brink of “discovering” gravity. On his stroll to that fateful apple tree, he comes across Mrs. Merridew (Twist), a smiling, bonneted servant who tells him, “Never come back till you obtain a truly very good notion, sir!” 

And that is it — so short a moment, longtime Whovians took no notice of it on its personal. 

Susan Twist in “The Church on Ruby Road” 

Susan Twist as a concert-goer in “The Church on Ruby Road.”
Credit: Disney+ screenshot

Moving along to “Specific four” — as Disney+ has labeled the Christmas particular, “The Church on Ruby Road” — we obtain Susan Twist once more in a function so short, you could have effectively missed it. The initial complete episode featuring Ncuti Gatwa as the Fifteenth Medical doctor also introduces his new companion, Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson). A foundling who lives in London, when Ruby’s not browsing for her birth parents or rescuing newborns from sky-sailing gremlins, she’s in a band! 

On December 22, 2023, Ruby is playing keyboard at a Christmas concert at a bar. The Medical doctor is watching this efficiency, but he’s not the only a single. A extended-haired lady yells out to the lead singer, “Give it some welly!” Then she requests a song, saying, “Can you do ‘Gaudette’?” 

If you do not recognize that title, it could be since this rowdy concert attendee (also played by Twist) is referencing a Christmas carol that dates back to the 16th century. So regardless of her vaguely flower-youngster vibe, with her paisley jacket, extended locks, and headband, her references go way, way back. 

Susan Twist in “Space Babies”

Susan Twist as as Comms Officer Gina Scalzi in “Space Babies.”
Credit: Disney+ screenshot

The premiere episode of Medical doctor Who Season 14, which sees Davies’ return as showrunner, also brings Twist back — this time aboard an abandoned space station repurposed as a child center. Nicely, sort of. 

The Medical doctor and Ruby uncover the video logs of the crew, who left beneath protest of the business directive to abandon the babies. In a single video, Twist pops up in a teal and gray crew uniform (providing Star Trek vibes), and introduces herself as Comms Officer Gina Scalzi ahead of signing off in the year 21506. So from her initial look to this a single, Twist’s face is popping up across 19,840 years. 

Susan Twist in “The Devil’s Chord”

Susan Twist as Tea Lady in “The Devil’s Chord.”
Credit: Disney+ screenshot

Released the exact same day as “Space Babies,” episode two of Season 14 imagined a globe with out music, courtesy of the maleficent Maestro (Jinkx Monsoon). The Medical doctor and Ruby have been hoping to take in the groovy mood of 1963 London — and a lot more especially, the recording of the Beatles’ initial album at what would someday be identified as Abbey Road Studios. But the beat is off. Music is poor, and individuals really feel poor. And although Ruby and the Medical doctor are hunting to give John Lennon and Paul McCartney a pep speak, a chatty cafeteria worker butts in with a bizarre interjection. 

They are obtaining tea in the studio’s cafeteria, when Tea Lady (Twist!) provides two cups for half a crown. The pair are mock-outraged by the cost, and she responds, “Take it or leave it, sweetheart.” The Medical doctor chides, “That is daylight robbery,” and she replies, “That is me: Margaret Lockwood in The Wicked Lady. Now there was a lady. Statuesque!”

The Wicked Lady is a film from 1945, in which Margaret Lockwood played Barbara Skelton, a noblewoman who steals a friend’s affluent betrothed and then hits it off with a rakish highwayman. So, that robbery connection explains why the character is referencing this film. But what is Davies undertaking with this dialogue? 

Susan Twist in “Boom.” 

Susan Twist as “Ambulance” in “Boom.”
Credit: Disney+ screenshot

Written by former showrunner Steven Moffat, this third episode of Season 14 requires Ruby and the Medical doctor to a war-torn planet, exactly where weaponized Anglican priests are fighting the Kastarions — a seemingly invisible enemy. But these mysterious foes are not the only difficulty. An overenthusiastic AI ambulance can also be a significant threat, as a lately blinded John Francis Vater (Joe Anderson) discovers when the ambulance non-consensually euthanizes him into a pocket-sized “casket” produced of smelted marine.

And guess who is the face of the wickedly stoic ambulance? Yup. Susan Twist plays the AI ambulance produced by the weapons manufacturer Villengard. 

Susan Twist in “73 Yards.” 

This creepy Medical doctor Who episode gave Susan Twist her largest interaction with Ruby however! Set in contemporary-day Wales, “73 Yards” starts with Ruby losing the Medical doctor more than a fairy ring. Then, she realizes she’s becoming stalked by an old lady — who stays regularly 73 yards away. As fans have currently been giddy to recognize Susan Twist in every episode, you could effectively have anticipated her to be the mystery lady on the far-off hill. But as an alternative, she played a satisfied hiker Ruby met as she produced her way to a regional village.

Dressed warmly for the chilly cliffside climate, Twist sports an aqua-colored winter coat, white gloves, and a matching knit hat as effectively as a pair of walking sticks. By contrast, Ruby in her mini-skirt and fall jacket is clearly underdressed for the temperature, which is why this hiker says, “You need to be mad! Is that all you happen to be wearing?!”

From there, the unnamed hiker tells Ruby that the town she can spy in the distance is Glyngatwg. But then this lady with the English accent adds, “If you will forgive my pronunciation — which they do not.” This suggests that like Ruby, she’s an outsider to the region. But ahead of she can say significantly a lot more, Ruby interrupts.

“I have not met you ahead of, have I?” Ruby asks. Whilst fans could be gasping at dwelling, Twist’s hiker says basically, “I do not assume so. Have you?” Ruby dismisses the notion, then asks the hiker to speak to the stalking lady for her. She has some initial reluctance. (“Have I walked into one thing?”) But she kindly obliges just after urging Ruby, “Get into the warm, each of you — whatever tiny game this is.” Then the hiker approaches the lady and talks to her. They are as well far away for us — who are locked at Ruby’s side — to hear what they say. But we can hear the hiker screaming as she runs away from the lady and Ruby.

Notably, in their exchange, Ruby mentions “the Medical doctor,” to which the hiker asks, “Do you require a medical professional?” That could recommend she has no notion who the Medical doctor is — which would dispel some fan theories. Or perhaps she does not know however? Time is a funny factor on Medical doctor Who.

What does all this imply? Right here are some fan theories. 

Fan theory: Susan Twist is The One particular Who Waits.

In “The Devil’s Chord,” Maestro mentions becoming a component of a “Pantheon” of god-like beings, which we currently know consists of their father The Toymaker (“The Giggle,” Specific three). But ahead of the musical villain is gobbled up by an iconic piano, they cry out a warning: “The One particular Who Waits is practically right here!” 

This suggests The One particular Who Waits is a component of this Pantheon, and perhaps even its most highly effective member. So, The One particular Who Waits could effectively be the Significant Undesirable of Season 14. 

Possibly this is why Twist is popping up once more and once more, with a lot more screen time and a lot more crucial components to play in the Doctor’s adventures. If she is The One particular Who Waits, is this how the highly effective becoming is crawling closer and closer to the Medical doctor? Unbound by time and space as each the TARDIS and the Medical doctor are, this would make The One particular Who Waits a fearsome foe to be confident. 

Fan theory: Susan Twist is Ruby’s birth mother. 

The Medical doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) stands in the snow.
Credit: Lara Cornell / Undesirable Wolf / BBC Studios

Some thing strange is going on with this Ruby Sunday. She’s not your typical Christmas-born foundling. “The Church on Ruby Road” showed that coincidence and poor luck stick to her. “The Devil’s Chord” revealed there is a song in her heart, but also one thing that scared Maestro adequate to proclaim, “This creature is incorrect!”

Even the Medical doctor has slyly provided Ruby a TARDIS scan, although he hasn’t shared with the audience what he discovered. 

There are other strange components about her origin. The Doctor’s memory of it adjustments, with her cloaked mother turning toward him in an apparent warning. And then there is the recurring snowfall, which follows Ruby into the TARDIS and onto the warring planet with no clear explanation. Could it be that Susan Twist is somehow a component of the Ruby Sunday mystery? What a twist that would be! 

Fan theory: Susan Twist is Ruby Sunday.

Millie Gibson is Ruby Sunday.
Credit: Lara Cornell / Undesirable Wolf / BBC Studios

In “The Devil’s Chord,” the Medical doctor described that in 1963, he was living in London with his granddaughter Susan on Totter’s Lane. This aside slyly reveals to Whovians new and established that a character can cross their personal timeline. And possibly what ever Ruby truly is permits her to do this, resulting in two actresses secretly playing the particular companion. 

Alternatively, Davies could be pulling a Moffat move from Season six, episode ten, “The Girl Who Waited.” In that misadventure, an alternate version of Amy Pond is trapped in a resort planet for 36 years alone. Could it be that Susan Twist is playing an alternate reality version of Ruby Sunday? And could the title “The Girl Who Waited” be a clue that this alternate version could also be The One particular Who Waits? Possibly! Even though now that we’ve noticed the twist of the “73 Yards” mystery lady, this theory appears much less probably.

Fan theory: Susan Twist is… Susan Foreman? 

Back once more to “The Devil’s Chord,” exactly where the Medical doctor name-drops his granddaughter Susan but says he has no notion if she survived the Time Lord genocide. Ruby appears astonished he hasn’t looked into this. But is it doable his granddaughter is hunting for him? 

Susan Foreman was the initial companion of the Very first Medical doctor when the show started in the 1960s, but she hasn’t been a significant component of the lore of the relaunched Television series till Davies brought her up in Season 14. Her function was originated by Carole Ann Ford, who has reprised the component in podcast adventures, most lately 2023’s Medical doctor Who: As soon as and Future. So, you could effectively wonder, why would Davies recast her? Possibly bringing back Ford would give the game away as well quickly. 

With decades of lore to play with and all of time and space as his playground, Davies has fans in a tizzy more than what the which means of Susan Twist’s curious recurring roles will be. So, if “There is Normally a Twist in the Finish” is a meta clue to indicate we need to appear for Susan Twist, could her initial name be a clue, as well?

Possibly this Susan Twist could be the new Susan Foreman, browsing the complete of the universe and existence for her extended-lost grandfather, the Medical doctor.

Only time (and a lot more episodes of Medical doctor Who) will inform. 

How to watch: New episodes of Medical doctor Who drop each and every Friday evening at 7:00 p.m. ET on Disney+, exactly where accessible, and simultaneously at midnight on BBC iPlayer in the UK. The season finale airs June 22.