It feels like it’s been a billion lifetimes since the last time Doctor Who was on air, but coming this December, we’ll have the Earth’s favorite timelord back on our TV (and some movie!) screens with “The Return of Doctor Mysterio.” Needless to say our two hearts (erm, wait—one. We have one heart because we’re definitely human and not at all a secret timelord) are exploding with excitement at the prospect of another jaunt through space and time with good ol’ Twelve. But as this new clip from the show seems to posit in our tinfoil-lined brain, something else wildly weird is underfoot in the Doctor’s universe—and not just because there’s a bunch of BRAINS WITH MINDS OF THEIR OWN IN JARS.
Teaming up with an investigative journalist (played by Charity Wakefield), the Doctor lands in New York (with Nardole in tow?!) at the same time a superhero (Justin Chatwin of Shameless and Orphan Black fame) also shows up to—we assume—thwart the same probably-alien attack on humanity.
Now here’s where we REALLY fall down the mysterious rabbit hole of over-speculation: this is now the second time we’ve seen a fictional character come to life in the world of new-era Doctor Who—Not the first in classic Who, but continuity-schmontinuity!—the first time being Robin Hood with Clara in “Robot of Sherwood.” And while that may just be a coincidence, maybe that’s just what Steven Moffat wants us to believe. We all know Moffat like to troll his audience and their expectations—and those of the Doctor himself—so I can’t help but wonder if this new superhero character isn’t connected to the appearance of Robin Hood (since the Doctor pointed out that he was a fictional character and it was weird to see him out in the world). Could fictional characters coming to life be someone messing with the Doctor on a much larger (read: longer) scale? Is this Harmony Shoal person a part of it? Is the fabric of our reality bleeding into some alternative universe/reality where everything fake in our world is real and everything real in their world is fake (leaving plenty of room for Moffat to remind us that the Doctor’s just a fictional character and we should chill out with all our mishegas)?
What do you think? Feeling as batty as we are? Think that it maybe all ties back to the sushi instead? Let us know in the comments below.
Featured Image: BBC America
Alicia Lutes is the Managing Editor of Nerdist and the creator/co-host of Fangirling! Find her on Twitter campaigning for Hayley Atwell to play the Doctor.
