Warning: Spoilers ahead for Series 9 episode 3, ‘Under the Lake.’
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After last Saturday’s cliffhanger ending, ‘Before the Flood’ cannot come soon enough. In the meantime, I thought it would be worth wondering what sort of circumstances led to the cliffhanger ending. It seems to me that there are four possibilities.
1) The Doctor is dead
Okay I know it’s far-fetched. This would have to be the greatest secret-keeping in Doctor Who history if in fact the Doctor really did die and we are about to witness a regeneration. At the same time, I suppose it is possible, if unlikely. This was my primary complaint in this week’s roundtable review. In many ways this was too big of a cliffhanger — none of us really believe that the Doctor is dead by the end of ‘Before the Flood.’ The question is how Moffat and the gang get around it.
Related: New Image Gallery for ‘Before the Flood’
2) The Doctor has hacked the alien technology to allow himself to communicate with Clara, et al.
Somehow the Doctor has accessed the technology of the “ghosts” from ‘Under the Lake’ and uses it in ‘Before the Flood’ to contact Clara. The episode preview shows the Doctor and Clara communicating seemingly across time. Perhaps the Doctor figures out how the “ghosts” are being created and uses the same technology for his own ends.
3) The Doctor is temporarily dead
It is possible that the Doctor manages to be made into a “ghost” without actually fully dying. Perhaps it’s his two-heartedness. Perhaps he manages to be knocked out in such a way that his consciousness is connected to the alien tech that creates the “ghosts” without actually destroying his body or actually killing the Doctor.
4) The Doctor is trapped and needs Clara to help.
The Doctor explores the spaceship in ‘Under the Lake.’
Photo Credit: BBC America
In some ways the episode that connects most closely with this to me is ‘The Pandorica Opens.’ The idea of the Doctor being drawn to a specific time and place by an alien force only to find out that, in fact, it is meant for him. The twist would be that, while ‘The Pandorica Opens’ ended with Amy Pond kept alive inside the Pandorica, I suspect that if this is what happens in ‘Before the Flood’ we may actually see the Doctor trapped.
Related: Slipknot’s Corey Taylor Growls into ‘Before the Flood’
My prediction? The Doctor is in the stasis chamber that was found on the floor of the lake. In ‘Before the Flood’ we’ll see the Doctor either intentionally or unintentionally be linked to the alien tech, making him a “ghost.” All will be righted when Clara is able to open the stasis chamber and free the Doctor to save the day.
Or I could be completely wrong. I’ll have to watch ‘Before the Flood’ on Saturday to find out.
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