'Doctor Who': Will The Fifteenth Doctor Be Battling A Series Of Myths And Legends?

Doctor Who's 60th Anniversary celebrations have come to an end with the airing of the final anniversary special, 'The Giggle', but the events of the specials may continue to impact the series' plot lines for quite some time into the future.. and we are not just talking about The Doctor's unprecedented bigeneration, allowing The Fifteenth Doctor to fly away on new adventures while The Fourteenth settles down into semi-retirement with the Noble family.

At the conclusion of the second special, 'Wild Blue Yonder', The Fourteenth Doctor expresses concern over the fact that he invoked a superstition at the edge of the universe, believing it could lead to further trouble. He was proven right in 'The Giggle', and some fans believe the decision could continue to impact his successor.

Let's look at what The Fourteenth Doctor's choice to invoke a superstition at the edge of the universe has caused so far, and how it could continue to impact Doctor Who into the future.

It allowed The Toymaker to enter our world.

In his original appearance in the classic Who story 'The Celestial Toymaker', The Toymaker exists in his own realm, beyond the walls of reality, known as the Celestial Toyroom. The First Doctor's Tardis is pulled into the Toyroom, but he and his companions are able to escape when The Doctor wins a game against The Toymaker. Unfortunately, as revealed in 'The Giggle', The Fourteenth Doctor's invoking of a superstition at the end of the universe allowed The Toymaker to slip into the real world.

The Toymaker can warp reality around him at the whim of his game. In his presence, the usual laws of reality cease to exist. While this makes him a tough adversary, it ultimately works to our heroes' advantage, allowing the bigeneration of The Fourteenth and Fifteenth Doctors.. a myth made real, eventually leading to The Toymaker's defeat.

Despite being banished as The Fourteenth Doctor's prize, The Toymaker warns The Doctors that his legions would be coming. Said legions will likely be enemies faced by The Fifteenth Doctor.. but who could they be?

Other God-like Beings

When questioned on which monsters The Doctor would battle during his second tenure as Doctor Who showrunner, Russell T. Davies suggested that classic villains such as the Daleks and The Master would most likely be rested for a while. Instead, Davies expressed an interest in pitting The Doctor against powerful, God-like beings. The Toymaker is the first of these, and it seems he may be one of many.

It is possible that The Toymaker is not the only one of his kind, and that other similar beings made their way into our world when Fourteen invoked his superstition at the end of the universe. There may even be villains more powerful than The Toymaker, including the mysterious One-Who-Waits, who even The Toymaker didn't dare to challenge.

Some fans also think Davies' words could point to the return of The Trickster, a recurring villain from Doctor Who spin-off The Sarah Jane Adventures. An immortal alien from another dimension, The Trickster makes bargains to alter history, and feeds on the resulting chaos. He was allowed to enter our universe through weak points in space-time, so could potentially have entered our world in the same manner as The Toymaker. It is also worth noting that The Tenth Doctor faced The Trickster once before, during his guest appearance in The Sarah Jane Adventures episode 'The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith'.

More Myths made real

Other Whovians believe that Bigeneration may not be the only myth brought to life. The Toymaker's 'legions' could refer to other 'toys' or creatures he may have left behind in the real world due to his ability to warp reality, with the possibility that some of what has been left behind would usually be considered myths. Though The Toymaker is locked away, the influence he had over Earth during his reign of terror could continue to follow The Fifteeenth Doctor in coming episodes.

This could begin as early as the 2023 Christmas special, 'The Church on Ruby Road', which will see The Fifteeenth Doctor and new companion Ruby Sunday pitted against a tribe of pirate-like Goblins living aboard a ship. Far from the aliens The Doctor usually battles, the Goblins seem more like creatures from a fairytale.

Doctor Who's new season could see The Doctor, for a time, move away from science fiction into the realm of fantasy creatures brought to life as he cleans up the lingering results of The Toymaker's games, and potentially continued fallout from his previous incarnation's decision to invoke superstition at the edge of the universe. Whatever the case, Whovians have some interesting times ahead.