Doctor Who Series 9: Five Unanswered Burning Questions

A shrug from the Doctor. (Credit: BBC)

We’re now nine weeks away from the Doctor Who Series 9 premiere and after last week’s Comic-Con festivities, we know much more about the upcoming season than we did previously.

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Or do we? Honestly, that amazing Series 9 trailer raised more questions than it answered, and despite four days of press interviews and an hour-long Hall H panel, the cast and crew remained incredibly tight-lipped. Most of what we learned was vague, with statements about how the stories will be more “political” and the stories will be “surprising.”

Of all the many mysteries surrounding Series 9, I had hoped we’d see answers or clues to at least some of them during Comic-Con. Of course, spoilers are a double-edged sword: we want to know, but it does take away some of the magic away when the episodes finally air.

So now, in the wake of the trailer and all the new information, here are five questions regarding Series 9 for which we have yet to receive an answer:

Next: 5. How Does Missy Return?

Clara and Missy, as seen in the Doctor Who Series 9 trailer. (Credit: BBC)

5. How Does Missy Return?

At least we know this is the question we’ll have the shortest wait in getting an answer for; Missy’s return takes place in the very first two-parter of Series 9: ‘The Magician’s Apprentice’/’The Witch’s Apprentice.’

The fact that Missy is returning is not surprising in and of itself — the Master always returns without explanation. I mean, we actually still don’t know how he escaped from Gallifrey and changed from John Simm to Michelle Gomez in the first place. What is surprising is that’s she’s back so soon. She was seemingly vaporized in the Series 8 finale, ‘Death in Heaven,’ and now she’s back in the very next episode.

The cast and crew played coy at Comic-Con, with Steven Moffat saying at the Doctor Who panel, “The way Missy comes back into the Doctor’s life is something you probably wouldn’t expect.” And Gomez added, “There’s something slightly different to her this time. What she’s been doing between last series and now is yet to be seen. She has to come at it from a different angle, which is surprising and exciting.”

Next: 4. Will The Doctor's Familiar Face Be Explained?

The Doctor looks…concerned. (Credit: BBC)

4. Will The Doctor’s Familiar Face Be Explained?

As you likely know, Peter Capaldi has appeared onscreen in the Doctor Who universe twice before: as Roman merchant Caecilius Iucundus in 2008’s ‘The Fires of Pompeii’ and as Home Office secretary John Frobisher in 2009’s Torchwood: Children of Earth.

Honestly, I don’t think an explanation for this is required; it’s happened before with Colin Baker and with other actors like Freema Agyeman and Karen Gillan (also in ‘The Fires of Pompeii,’ coincidentally). However, Steven Moffat has repeatedly hinted that it will be addressed, and that it will take place during Series 9.

A few months ago, Moffat responded to a reader in Doctor Who Magazine who asked if an explanation was forthcoming, saying, “Yes, we’re coming back to that idea. In fact, we’ll be shooting the scene in question really quite shortly…”

All the way back in 2013, when Capaldi’s casting was first announced, Moffat hinted that his predecessor Russell T. Davies was the one who actually had an explanation:

"“We are aware that Peter Capaldi’s played a part in Doctor Who before and we’re not going to ignore the fact. I’ll let you in on this. I remember Russell told me he had a big old plan as to why there were two Peter Capaldis in the Who universe, one in Pompeii and one in Torchwood. When I cast Peter, [Russell] got in touch to say how pleased he was, I said ‘Okay, what was your theory and does it still work?’ and he said ‘Yes it does, here it is’. So I don’t know if we’ll get to it… we’ll play that one out over time. It’s actually quite neat.“The big fun question is, we know that the Doctor when he regenerates, the faces, it’s not set from birth, it’s not that he was always going to be one day Peter Capaldi. We know that’s the case because in [Second Doctor story] The War Games he has a choice of face and all that. We know it’s not set so where does he get those faces from? They can’t just be randomly generated because they’ve got lines and they’ve aged… so where did that face come from?”"

Next: 3. Is Osgood Really Alive Or Is She a Zygon?

A helpless human child under attack by a Zygon, as seen in the Doctor Who Series 9 trailer. (Credit: BBC)

3. Is Osgood Really Alive or Is She a Zygon?

Like Missy herself, fan favorite character Osgood was seemingly evaporated in the Series 8 finale, ‘Death in Heaven.’ But now we know that Ingrid Oliver is returning to play Osgood in episodes 7 & 8 of Series 9. We also know that episode involves the Zygons.

So how did Osgood escape her death at the hands of Missy? Or did she escape at all? It’s entirely possible the Osgood we meet in Series 9 is just a Zygon using her body-print. That doesn’t make much sense for a couple of reasons, though. First, why would the Zygons impersonate someone that everyone knows is dead? It’s hard to use a disguise for subterfuge if the person you’re disguised as is long dead. Also, Zygons have traditionally only been able to maintain a body-print if the subject is still alive and in their possession.

There’s still another possible explanation involving the Zygons. Perhaps Osgood had been replaced by a Zygon during ‘The Day of the Doctor’ and was therefore not actually evaporated by Missy in the first place?

Next: 2. Is Clara Staying or Going?

Clara looking very concerned in the Doctor Who Series 9 trailer. (Credit: BBC)

2. Is Clara Staying or Going?

Last year, actress Jenna Coleman played a game of “will she or won’t she” all season long, resulting in not one, but two awkward and quickly recanted farewell scenes for Clara. So after finally deciding to stay for another year, the question is raised anew: will she stay or will she go?

At Comic-Con, an interviewer asked Coleman how she’d like Clara to go when the time comes:

"“I have no idea. I really don’t. I mean, I think the problem is that she loves the Doctor so, so much. I have no idea what it would take to make her leave! [Laughs] I mean, I supposed when you’ve seen all of time and space and you’ve been given those opportunities, how do you just go back to your own life? How do you go back to teaching? Because suddenly you’ve opened your eyes to the universe? So really, I have no idea.”"

More telling, though, was her answer to the interviewer’s follow-up question: “So she’s sticking around the whole season?” to which Coleman replied, “You’ll have to watch to see.”

Next: 1. Who is Maisie Williams Playing?

Who is Maisie Williams playing on Doctor Who Series 9? (Credit: BBC)

1. Who is Maisie Williams Playing?

Yep, it’s still the number one question Doctor Who fans are asking. Is she someone from the Doctor’s past? If so, then who? River Song? Susan? Jenny? Clara? Missy? Romana? (All guess I’ve actually seen online).

I still maintain that she’s a new character, introduced in the Viking episode ‘The Girl Who Died’ before showing up in the scene from the Series 9 trailer, taken from the 18th-century episode ‘The Woman Who Lived.’ The Doctor recognizes her because he just left her hundreds of years in the past — not because she’s someone from his past.

I’d love to be wrong, depending on what it means. If River Song is coming back, I’d prefer to see Alex Kingston. The rest I’d be okay with. And if she’s not one of those characters, then how did she survive all those years? Is she immortal? A time traveler? A Time Lady even?

I have a feeling we’re not going to get an answer to this one up until the episode(s) in question actually air.

What do you think? Do you have any theories on these five burning questions? Sound off in the comments below!

Next: What if the TARDIS Had Landed in a Different Time?

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Doctor Who Series 9: Five Burning Questions That Remain Unanswered

By Barry Rice | Jul 17, 2015