Doctor Who: The Master - When gaps should and shouldn't be explored

The Master has always had distinctive gaps in their history. But which gaps are worth exploring and which are best ignored?

Photo Credit: James Pardon/BBC Studios/BBC America

The Master has a habit of escaping death in Doctor Who – quite often, without any explanation. But when is an explanation needed and when isn’t it?

Recently, both Sacha Dhawan and Steven Moffat said that we don’t actually need to know how Michelle Gomez’s Missy regenerated into Dhawan’s Master. Moffat in particular said that it’s more exciting for these things to be left to children’s imagination.

While I can see their point of view, I can’t help but feel that while there are some things we shouldn’t know about the Master, there are other things we definitely should. Some moments are better left to the imagination, but others should be worth exploring. If not on-screen, then at least in expanded media.

When not to explore

So before we cover what should be explored, what definitely isn’t worth exploring further? What gaps in the Master’s story are best left to the imagination? What immediately leaps to mind are the large number of times when a story has ended with the Master being either trapped or imprisoned.

We got a classic example of that back in Series 12’s opening story Spyfall: after working with the Kasaavins, the Doctor reveals the Master’s intentions to betray them via a recording she made with her Sonic Screwdriver. While the Kasaavins are sent back to their own dimension, they make sure to take the Master with them. Leaving the Master stuck in a different reality, with no possible means of escape.

Yeah, right!

If there’s one thing that we know about the Doctor’s archenemy, it’s that they’re, well, a master of escaping. Whether it’s certain doom or just your regular prison, they’ll always find a way out. So long as they are shown to be alive in such a seemingly inescapable situation, that’s usually enough explanation for how they eventually gain their freedom.

In fact, this was even acknowledged by the show itself just a few episodes later in Fugitive of the Judoon. Towards the beginning of the episode, the Doctor revealed that she had been looking for the Master. She wasn’t even worried about how he could have possibly escaped from the Kasaavins’ dimension, she was just extremely confident that he’d find a way out. And honestly, that sounds about right.

When we should know more

Still, while it’s OK not to know more most of the time, that shouldn’t always be the case. There are situations that seem inescapable, but there are also moments where the Master seems to be killed off for good. With these moments, even a brief explanation is worth giving when the character shows up next.

A prime example of this is Planet of Fire. At the end of the story, the Master is seemingly burned alive. Before he “dies”, however, he begs for the Doctor to save him, but the Doctor just stands by and does nothing. It’s a particularly dark and dramatic moment, and not a bad way for the character to go.

Of course, the character did return, in the very next season, in fact. However, while The Mark of the Rani acknowledged that the Doctor believed he was dead, no further explanation was given. Which, considering how dramatic his “death” seemed to be, honestly feels like a cop out.

How to set up an explanation

The Master had certainly come close to death, several times by this point. But actually getting killed off on-screen is relatively rare for the character. If they come back – looking exactly the same as they previously did – that deserves some kind of explanation.

By contrast, Russell T Davies gave us a death scene that was at least equally dramatic for John Simm’s Master in Last of the Time Lords. The Doctor even made sure to burn his body. (He does seem to have a habit of doing that, looking back. At least the Master was physically dead this time.)

But, at the same time, Davies made sure to set up the character’s return even during that episode. While he avoided going into too much detail at the time, he left a hint of the Master’s survival thanks to something as simple as a close-up of the Master’s ring. A hint that gets expanded on when the character was brought back for the Tenth Doctor’s final story. So even just little hints like that are appreciated, especially when the character is brought back looking exactly the same. (With perhaps a change in hair color.)

When we last saw Missy in The Doctor Falls, she had seemingly been killed off in a permanent way. But we need to know a lot more than just how she regenerated into a new Master.

A huge change in character

Of course, an explanation is needed even if they come back regenerated. This is definitely the case with Sacha Dhawan’s Master. When we last saw Missy in The Doctor Falls, she had been killed by her previous self, apparently unable to regenerate. Now, while I wasn’t expecting an explanation the moment O revealed himself to be the Master at the end of Spyfall: Part 1, I was hoping that Missy’s fate would have been somewhat addressed in the next episode.

After all, it’s not even just surviving death that’s an issue, not this time. Missy went through a lot of character development, and I mean a lot. The Master seeking redemption was one of the core themes of the Twelfth Doctor’s final series. The Doctor didn’t know that, in the end, Missy did decide to stand with the Doctor, but he did know that his old enemy tried to change, at least.

More from Winter is Coming

Now, while Sacha Dhawan is brilliant as the Master, and possibly my favorite after Derek Jacobi of the New Series incarnations, the character’s sudden return to evil is a huge leap. To the extent that some fans have theorized that he must be from before Missy. And so far – at least on-screen – there’s no evidence that disproves that theory, mainly because Missy and her journey haven’t been addressed at all.

I understand that Chris Chibnall doesn’t want to rush too much when telling the Master’s story. After all, even Steven Moffat took his time to reveal what happened to John Simm’s Master. I also understand that some plot points are best left unrevealed.

But it would be a shame if something like the gap between Gomez’s Missy and Dhawan’s Master isn’t addressed at all. An impossible escape is one thing, but such a significant change in character feels too big to ignore completely, regeneration or no regeneration.

Next. Why the Timeless Child was just the beginning. dark

What do you think? Do you think the regeneration and change in character should be explored further with Dhawan’s Master? What other gaps in the Master’s history do you think are worth exploring? Let us know in the comments below.

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Doctor Who: The Master’s history – When gaps shouldn’t be explored (and when they definitely should be)

By James Aggas | Mar 11, 2020