GALLERY
CAST
Regular Cast
Jodie Whittaker (
Guest Cast
Kevin McNally (Professor Jericho), Barbara Flynn (Tecteun), Craig Parkinson (Prentis/Grand Serpent), Robert Bathurst (Farquhar), Craige Els (Karvanista), Thaddea Graham (Bel), Jacob Anderson (Vinder), Sam Spruell (Swarm), Rochenda Sandall (Azure), Nadia Albina (Diane), Nicholas Blane (Millington), Steve Oram (Williamson), Jemma Redgrave (Kate Stewart), Jonathan Watson (Sontaran Commander Stenck), Barbara Fadden, Isla Moody, Lowri Brown (Weeping Angels), Simon Carew (Ood), Silas Carson (Voice of Ood), Guy List (Waiter), Jonny Mathers (Passenger), Nicholas Courtney (Alastair Lethbridge-Stewart), Kammy Darweish (Kumar), George Caple (Alfie)
CREW
| Written by | Chris Chibnall |
| Directed by | Azhur Saleem |
| Produced by | Nikki Wilson, Matt Strevens & Chris Chibnall |
SYPNOSIS
As the forces of evil mass, The Doctor, Yaz and Dan face perilous journeys and seemingly insurmountable obstacles in their quest for survival.
PLOT
The Weeping Angels transport The Doctor to a spacecraft carrying Division’s head, Awsok from “Once, Upon Time”, who is ordering an Ood to create a final Flux event. Awsok explains Division’s involvement in the development of the universe. The spacecraft is travelling to another universe, as a “seed vault” containing remnants of earth’s universe. Awsok blames The Doctor for destroying that universe because The Doctor defected and interfered with Division’s work. Thus, Division engineered the Flux to kill The Doctor. Awsok reveals herself to be Tecteun, the Gallifreyan who found the young Doctor by a wormhole and raised her as a Time Lord. The Doctor blames Tecteun for robbing herof a life that could have been, but Tecteun counters that The Doctor does the same when she takes companions. Tecteun reveals the possession of a fob watch with The Doctor’s lost memories.
Dan, Yaz, and Jericho travel around the world in 1904 to try to discover the end of the world’s date, evading countless assassins. A Nepalese hermit suggests they should reunite with Karvanista; although they leave a message for him at the Great Wall of China, he cannot use time travel so cannot respond. The trio find Joseph Williamson and the mysterious tunnels he dug under Liverpool. Williamson had discovered several doorways that lead to various time periods and locations.
In 1958, a general asks the Grand Serpent, going by “Prentis”, to help form UNIT. He embeds himself into UNIT leadership over the decades, eliminating potential threats to him. In 2017, when Prentis closes the taskforce down Kate Stewart realises his deception and threatens to expose him. After a failed assassination attempt, she goes into hiding. With UNIT eliminated, in 2021 Prentis orders Earth’s defences be lowered, inviting a second Sontaran invasion.
When a Lupari ship breaks Earth’s shield, Karvanista recalls the missing Lupari ship stolen by Bel, disrupting her plan to travel to the source of the Passenger signal. With Karvanista on board, Sontaran forces attack Bel’s ship. Vinder pursues the signal, arriving too late for Bel but finding kidnapped survivors being disintegrated by Swarm and Azure for use as a power source. Swarm captures Vinder in a Passenger, where he meets Diane.
Swarm and Azure arrive on the Division spacecraft and plan on exacting revenge upon Division who had imprisoned them. Swarm disintegrates Tecteun and approaches The Doctor to do the same.
REFERENCES
UNIT is established at some point between 1958, when Farquhar and Prentis discuss it, and 1966, when WOTAN attacked London with the War Machines.
Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart is a newly-recruited corporal in 1967.
Kate attempts to contact Osgood.
STORY NOTES
This is the first story in series 13 not to have a cold opening; all that came before the title sequence is the “Previously” sequence.
Nicholas Courtney’s audio clip was taken from the Third Doctor serial Terror of the Autons.
This is his first credit on televised Doctor Who since the 1989 story Battlefield. He had since appeared in the The Sarah Jane Adventures story Enemy of the Bane in 2008.
In this story Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart is referenced to in dialogue to be a corporal in 1967 in his earliest days in UNIT.
This seem to be in contradiction to all previous established Doctor Who lore, which would put him as a colonel already by a time before he joins the organisation, as seen in his first appearance in 1968 Second Doctor story The Web of Fear with him already promoted to brigadier in same-era story The Invasion.
CONTINUITY
Yaz, Dan and Jericho have been in the 1900s for three years. (Village of the Angels)
In an earlier episode in series 13 – The Halloween Apocolypse – it also gave reference to the release date, the story being both set and released on Halloween. However, this – unlike the earlier episode – gives reference to the next episode’s release date.
UNIT has been in the works since 1958 and are embarrassed to have missed the invasion of the War Machines. (The War Machines)
Whilst various spin- off media has delved into UNIT’s history, this is the first televised story to give an origin for the group, who first appear in The Invasion as an already existing “independent intelligence group”.
UNIT found The Doctor’s TARDIS in Medderton after the residents all disappeared. (Village of the Angels)
In her pre-recorded message to
The Doctor asks Tecteun if what the Spy Master told her was true, which Tecteun confirms. (The Timeless Children)
Tecteun reveals she and members within Division caused the Flux to occur and notes that The Doctor launching her TARDIS and its heart into the event is what prevented it destroying the entire universe. (The Halloween Apocalypse)
Tectuen shows The Doctor that she has captured the Weeping Angel whom possessed Clare, (Village of the Angels) and has also retrieved The Doctor’s memories from her Division incarnation contained within it. (The Timeless Children, Once, Upon Time)
Tectuen recounts how she found The Doctor as a child underneath a wormhole and how she experimented on her to discover regeneration. (The Timeless Children)
Division use a ship to exist within the Void. The Cult of Skaro previously did similar. (Army of Ghosts/Doomsday)
UNIT’s funding is cut in the 2010s. (Resolution)
Yaz and Dan recall their previous brief encounters with Williamson. (War of the Sontarans, Once, Upon Time)
Kate Stewart mentions being the head of UNIT. (The Power of Three, The Day of the Doctor)
Karvanista and the Lupari are still protecting Earth from the Flux event. (The Halloween Apocalypse)
Bel is still using a stolen Lupari ship. (Once, Upon Time)
Diane is still trapped within a Passenger. (Once, Upon Time)
The Sontarans return to once again invade Earth, seeking revenge for their loss in an alternate timeline. (War of the Sontarans)