2016 Doctor Who Christmas Special: The Possibilities With Nardole

There is plenty of rampant speculation that the upcoming Doctor Who Christmas special will be directly connected to ‘The Husbands of River Song’ because Nardole is involved in both. But is it necessarily part of this particular story? Maybe so, maybe not…

With the news that Nardole will be in the upcoming Doctor Who Christmas special, it is easy to imagine that this will be a prequel, or a sequel, to last year’s offering. Chances are, a prequel would be more likely, as he is wandering about in his original body. It’s easy to draw that concussion, based on the evidence.

But why does that have to be the case? Why do those two stories have to be directly connected, just because Nardole is involved in both? Given that the Doctor travels through time and space, this meeting with Nardole could happen at, literally, any point in time in the soon to be recurring character’s adult life outside of the suit. (You know as well as I that the writers could easily find a way to give him back a fleshly form.)

Naturally, there are a few issues with the idea that Nardole and the Doctor have met before. For instance, how does he not recognize the Doctor when they met last year? But, if we pay attention to the clip, who is to say they haven’t? All that Nardole does is ask if the Doctor is the surgeon for whom they are waiting. He does not even introduce himself.

More from Winter is Coming

Going with this train of thought, in Nardole’s quest to seek out the surgeon for the “medical emergency,” it would be logical to assume that someone whom he knows as “Doctor” would be there to assist with such an important situation. Theoretically, being a Doctor would involve some surgical knowledge.

As for his confusion upon seeing the Doctor, that could be due to the fake antlers upon the Time Lord’s head, rather than an unfamiliarity with the man. Upon spotting the TARDIS, he walked right up to the door and knocked, signifying a likely familiarity with the craft. How many people would walk up to a police box and knock on the door, expecting someone to appear?

It is easy to write off these moments as Nardole being a bumbling buffoon, one who is there simply for comic relief. These moments of confusion may not be because he doesn’t know whom he ran into, but rather that he knows the Doctor and is just surprised to find him in that alleyway and acting somewhat strangely.

Why did Nardole not mention any of this to River Song? Well, he either was not able to get a word in, or it simply never occurred to him to bring it up.

(Article continues below the related and next post links.)

Next: Tenth Doctor nominated for greatest character of 21st century

The 2016 Doctor Who Christmas special may be a direct prequel or sequel to ‘The Husbands of River Song,’ or it may not. Either way, it should be quite interesting to see how they bring back the character of Nardole.

Home/Doctor Who