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I’m surprised that more people aren’t going with the theory that Brendan is one of the Doctors rather than the Lone Cyberman.  Unless they and the Timeless Child are all one and the same?  That would certainly shake up the franchise.

Basically, Brendan is the first of many many Doctors (the name and box come later) and at this point the other T…[Read more]

@lisa I’m thinking that the Time Lords are the ones making time wacky, which is why we’re seeing the Cybermen first, and as you note, we saw the Master running around before any of them.  Or maybe this Timeless Child is the real culprit behind it all.

@lisa The problem with one or more of the companions being Cyber-converted is that we just had that with Bill Potts, and with two of the companions being minorities like she and Danny Pink were, there are some ugly optics by constantly turning those characters into Cybermen at this point.  (There are also “stuffed in the fridge” issues raised if…[Read more]

SPOILER, SPOILER, SPOILER...

@ollie14 (sorry for the late reply) The Cyberium is basically a record of the Cybermen’s history.  Apparently because the future Cyberman empire was close to the losing end of the war, it wanted to use the Cyberium to figure out a situation/place in the past to time travel to and change the outcome so that humanity would end up on the losing end…[Read more]

@psymon My theory — given what the titles of the next two episodes are, and especially with word getting out (i.e. filming dates) that we probably won’t see Series 13 until well over a year from now — has it that most of this season’s plot points will be wrapped up in the next two episodes, with anything left being held over for the holiday…[Read more]

Just saw this article — apparently, the Doctor’s behavior at the end of this episode got enough criticism that the Beeb had to put out a statement explaining it.  Twelve never had it this bad!

https://io9.gizmodo.com/the-bbc-responds-to-backlash-over-doctor-whos-approach-1841634018

This one came off to me as half filler episode with regards to the Immortals’ plot, half oh-no-we-forgot-the-companions-have-lives catching up episode (with, as @davros notes, a bit of PSA thrown in).  The bit with the Timeless Child seemed thrown in as a bone for anybody actually concerned about this season’s story arc, given that the Doctor and…[Read more]

In the meantime, with all the talk going on about how dark this season’s been going for Thirteen…Blogtor Who was commenting that perhaps whatever she learns in this year’s finale will “break her” and she’ll go all Time Lord Victorious and stuff.  Personally, I think it would be a lot more interesting to see her hold up and Be Kind whatever she…[Read more]

Also (as someone asked over at io9, I think) if Thirteen can “contact” with Gaz, why didn’t she try that with Ruth!Doctor to figure out where each one falls in the timeline?  Seems like that would be worth a try…

Other theories I’ve seen as to what’s going on with the timelines that I don’t think have been mentioned above are that the…[Read more]

This was definitely an improvement over “Orphan 55” and it was nice to finally have an episode this season not end on a bummer note even with the bittersweet aspects.  But I agree with @jimthefish that Thirteen’s characterization is getting increasingly muddled in what I’ve come to assume are attempts to present her as more than an eternal…[Read more]

@phaseshift There’s absolutely a dysfunctional families thing going on this season.  The Master destroying Gallifrey is another manifestation of it, the fabled “sins of the fathers” thing.  And I think the Doctor’s fam will end up strained too over the course of the season, but come back together by the end.

@bluesqueakpip I’m in sort of that p…[Read more]

(eeeek)  I can’t edit my previous post, but I meant to say that I didn’t vote for the current POTUS!  My whole dilemma sounds ridiculous without that correction 😀

@jimthefish I think one reason 13’s been running into seemingly more ethical issues than the later seasons of 12’s run is likely due in part to a different writer, but also, the world’s been changing quite a bit since 12’s debut run.  “Kerblam!” had a disappointing ending, but when the systems of big tech and capitalism are so vital in much of…[Read more]

@miapatrick I had a similar feeling as you about exactly how much the poor kids can take away from this episode — especially depending upon who their parents are.  For those who don’t know, I’m in my early 40s but also an autistic.  I live at home with my family, and rely upon them to get around (working a job to pay rent, etc. in exchange).  I…[Read more]

@bluesqueakpip Glad I’m not the only one wondering if there aren’t any live Gallifreyans still out there, possibly because the Doctor got them out/will get them out before it was/is too late.

@blenkinsopthebrave  Actually my boyfriend and I were discussing this earlier.  Gallifrey left the pocket universe at some point and ended up at the end of the universe temporally, as established in “Hell Bent”.   But going by this episode, IIRC, the Master visited and razed the planet while it was in the pocket universe.  So perhaps there is some…[Read more]

@miapatrick Well…Thirteen’s previous incarnation ended up on pretty unhappy terms with the Time Lords, and they likely weren’t going to welcome outsiders on her world anyway.  Why bring up people they were never going to meet?  The Master’s really the only person she has from that world out there so work with.

Especially given that this set o…[Read more]

@miapatrick Yeah, I think the idea was that the Kasaavin were just trying to find warm bodies to colonize, and our unused data (for all our intelligence) made us particularly desirable.  Actually, I was reminded of “The Unquiet Dead” way back in Series 1.