What next for ‘Doctor Who’ after ‘Empire of Death’

Sutekh’s Empire of Dying has crumbled. And with it, Ncuti Gatwa’s first season of Physician Who (a.okay.a. Season 14 of the present that was rebooted in 2005) is within the books. 

Whereas some plot threads have been tied up neatly (the Susan Twist thriller; the seek for Ruby Sunday’s actual mum), others remained teased however untied. 

So for the reason that TARDIS is now not being dogged by the canine-headed god of demise, listed here are the massive questions that can proceed to canine Whovian brains till Season 15 hits our screens — beginning with one other Christmas particular in December 2024, then persevering with with one other 8 episodes in 2025. 

Who’s Mrs. Flood? 

Showing on the finish of “Empire of Dying” in a fetching new white fur outfit on a rooftop of snow, Mrs. Flood (Anita Dobson) warns us that the Physician’s story ends in “absolute terror.” However how does she know? And who’s she, anyway?

We already knew that Mrs. Flood is aware of our hero (whom she referred to as a “intelligent boy” when her life was restored in “Empire of Dying”) and his machine (which she recognized as a TARDIS within the season opener, “The Church on Ruby Highway.” We all know she died lamenting her “many plans” and that she at all times appears “to cover myself away.”

That latter assertion appears to be probably the most telling. In the identical episode (“Legend of Ruby Sunday”), the Physician famous that Time Lords generally change faces with the intention to disguise themselves. May Mrs. Flood be a Time Woman, then? A brand new model of Missy, or maybe the Physician’s much-teased granddaughter Susan?   

Which different ‘Pantheon’ gods will the Physician meet?

The Toymaker, The Maestro and Sutekh: all defeated, at the very least for now. However there are different gods within the so-called Pantheon, as outlined by Harriet Arbinger in “The Legend of Ruby Sunday,” and a few of them have been within the present already. There’s the Mara, which hails from the Peter Davison period. There’s the Trickster, from the spin-off present The Sarah Jane Adventures. And there is the “threefold deity of malice, mischief, and distress” — unidentified as of but, however a transparent tease for upcoming adventures (in addition to a approach to launch a thousand fan theories as to which traditional villain or villains this god may symbolize).

What’s with the fourth-wall breaking?

Mrs. Flood has now talked on to digital camera 3 times. The Maestro particularly seen and winked at it a number of occasions in “The Satan’s Chord.” And the Physician winked at digital camera proper earlier than the “Twist on the Finish” track in that very same story. Is that this an influence that members of the Pantheon have – through which case, the Physician himself is within the Pantheon – or another unexplained twist? 

How will the Physician and Ruby Sunday reunite?

“Ruby Sunday, I’ll see you once more,” the Physician stated as he coldly kicked his good friend out of the TARDIS. However that truth wasn’t precisely a spoiler. In the meantime, Mrs. Flood stated that the story of “Ruby Highway” had come to an finish, not Ruby’s story itself.

We all know Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) is coming again for season 2, alongside a brand new companion performed by Varada Sethu. We all know Nicola Coughlin of Broadchurch and Derry Ladies fame is within the Christmas particular, referred to as “Pleasure to the World” and written by former showrunner Steven Moffat. However will Ruby even be within the Christmas particular, or does she get a well-earned vacation break together with her new household?  

Will the Physician meet Susan once more?

“Perhaps I will discover her in the future,” the Physician stated casually to Ruby. We actually hope so! Carole Ann Ford, who performed Susan in 1963-4, plus as soon as in 1983, is now aged 84. Russell T Davies, showrunner and traditional Who fan, had higher have filmed her regeneration scene already. 

Will the Physician discover out extra about his background?

The Physician has identified (s)he is an orphan for the reason that controversial “Timeless Baby” reveal within the Jodie Whittaker period: principally, (s)he has lived numerous lives since being discovered by a portal, and a shadowy Time Lord group saved wiping his/her recollections of these regenerations that return past the early historical past of the present. Davies has already signaled his willingness to include the Timeless Baby into his tales this season. 

So is that seek for his origins going someplace within the fifteenth Physician’s period? It could maybe be related to “bi-generation,” the idea Davies launched in Gatwa’s first episode, “The Giggle.” Davies tells Mashable that bi-generation will get a shout-out in season 15. Will we study that it has occurred earlier than – maybe creating the evil model of the Physician, the Valeyard? 

How will the Physician meet his new companion?

Varada Sethu confirmed up unexpectedly within the season 14 episode “Increase!” Does that imply the Physician will probably be assembly her character, an Anglican Marine named Mundy Flynn, or simply another person who occurs to appear like her? There’s precedent for the latter: Clara Oswald (Jenna Coleman) appeared in a number of “splinter” variations of her character, as did Susan Twist. 

However do not count on Physician Who to repeat this components an excessive amount of. In any case, because the Physician instructed us in season 14, there’s at all times a twist on the finish.

Tips on how to watch: All Gatwa’s first season of Physician Who is on Disney+, the place accessible, and on BBC iPlayer within the UK.