“The pre-titles scene was recorded on Monday 12th June… the cold open… is the Capaldi Doctor, mortally wounded, staggering out of the TARDIS into the snow and starting to regenerate… but it’s delayed by Christmas, which is all about the Doctor’s final, rather reluctant capitulation to having to change.”
The above quote is from the latest DWM, issue 514, where Benjamin Cook previews the final episode of Series Ten The Doctor Falls. The Moff has been teasing us mercilessly about Twelvy’s demise ever since the teaser trailer with that clip of the fake regeneration in The Lie Of The Land. And he hasn’t stopped yet. There’s another dose of regeneration energy in the Next Time clip for TDF, so what’s going on here? Pointless Speculation follows…
At first I thought that the Moff might kill off Missy and not Bill, given the way the Radio Times previews were worded for eps 11 and 12, but I was wrong and he did indeed Kill Bill, though I doubt if anyone seriously expects her to stay a Cyberman. Doubtless Twelvy will save her at the cost of his own life.
The regeneration energy during the battle between the farmers and the Cybs? Probably Twelvy powering up to zap them all like he did at the end of The Time of the Doctor. Maybe that’s what initiates the change? Or maybe it’s as a result of getting zapped himself by, variously, either CyberBill, the Master or the treacherous Missy. [Does anyone really think she’ll side with the Doctor? Nah, the temptation to go back to her bad old ways will be too strong to resist. Probably. ] Either way, whatever the real reason is for Twelvy getting his glow on yet again, it’s probably connected to his bandaged left hand as seen elsewhere in the other version of the trailer…
The regeneration in the snow? Hmm… I can’t be the only one whose Fan Brain immediately made a connection with The Tenth Planet. Why Twelvy staggers out of the TARDIS to regenerate instead of staying inside I’ve no idea. But he must have a reason for doing so, which would indicate that, wherever he is, he went there on purpose. And I think I know what happens next, and how The Doctor Falls ends…
David Bradley’s Hartnell Doctor turns up and absorbs enough of Twelvy’s regeneration energy to stave off death for both of them for a while longer.
Given that he’s just had a Genesis Of The Cybermen adventure that’s not an adaptation of Spare Parts, the Mondas Cybermen were the last enemy the First Doctor faced, and knowing what a fanboy The Moff is, Twelvy landing his TARDIS at the exact point in space and time where he knows his first self is on his way back to his TARDIS, minus Ben & Polly who are still back at the Cybership, makes sense of the cold open. It also fits neatly into the gap between Dr 1 leaving the Cybership and B&P finding him already in the TARDIS, banging on the door for him to let them in.
That’s what Whopix thinks happens, and that concludes our pointless speculation for The Doctor Falls.
If you don’t want to be spoiled for Christmas, stop reading now!
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CHRISTMAS SPOILERS FOLLOW…
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The minute he saw the cold open, Whopix’s Fan Brain immediately made the connection to The Tenth Planet, which triggered the idea that the Bradley version of the Hartnell Doctor might actually turn up at Christmas. This has been rumoured for a while now… and it’s true!
David Bradley WILL be playing the Hartnell Doctor in the 2017 Christmas Special. And here’s the photographic proof…
So, it looks like Twelvy and One will be teaming up after all, as per the rumours. The setting looks like a WWI battelfield, which might have something to do with the famous Christmas Day Truce.
Having a story where Twelvy regenerates, set just before “Hartnell” regenerates is probably the most fanwanky thing The Moff has done yet. But it’s his last one, so we can forgive him.
And let’s not get into the whole Hartnell – Hurndall – Hartnell – Bradley thing just yet. And as for seeing the “attack eyebrows” cameo moment from The Day of The Doctor as a full scene, well that would open up a whole new can of continuity worms…
But one thing’s for sure, us fans are getting one helluva Christmas present!
Provided, of course, that Thirteen isn’t a bloody woman…
