As it turns out, you really can go home again on Doctor Who. It just may take a few million years to find your way back there.
Series Nine of Doctor Who has truly been thrilling. Virtually every episode has been stellar, a far cry from the disappointment of Series Eight. Yet, among these excellent adventures that the Doctor has been a part of, Heaven Sent may be the episode that goes down in the annuls as the best episode in the arc of the Twelfth Doctor.
In an episode that had numerous surprising moments, perhaps the biggest shock of all was saved until the very end. After literally hundreds of thousands of years of punching through a twenty foot thick wall of diamond, the Doctor found that which he had been looking for. Only, instead of coming back to his TARDIS, the Doctor found Gallifrey.
Ah, Gallifrey! How the Doctor has longed to see you once again! Somehow, through that teleportation device, where the Doctor was sent to the physical manifestation of his nightmares, he managed to find a passage back home. And yet, this return is bittersweet, as he is there due to that deal made by Ashildr, and to seek vengeance for Clara’s death.
More from Doctor Who
- Ncuti Gatwa’s Doctor Who Christmas special is a “complete reinvention”
- Ncuti Gatwa is “so nervous” to take on Doctor Who role
- The Doctor and Donna are better than ever in “Wild Blue Yonder”
- Take the Black: House of the Dragon season 2 trailer hints, the Fallout show, and more
- Jodie Whittaker didn’t pick up on any of the hate for her version of the Doctor
It is also a matter of question as to whether or not the Doctor is truly on Gallifrey. Since the castle that he found himself in was a part of the manifestation of his nightmares, it may be that this Gallifrey is not what it appears to be. If anything, the Doctor may find himself on a twisted, nightmarish version of his home planet, a version locked away in the back of his mind.
Yes, the trailers for Hell Bent show other Time Lords and Gallifrey looks normal. It is, however, difficult to forget the words of Steven Moffat, who essentially stated that the ending would be something that we would not expect. With the Doctor set to have a homecoming, even if it is not necessarily the joyous occasion that he may have hoped for, that statement rings true.
Right now, it looks as though, contrary to the old saying, the Doctor is going home once again. However, if there is anything that holds true on Doctor Who, it is that nothing is truly as it may seem. This return to Gallifrey, after his years of searching, certainly appears as though it may fall into that category.