Doctor Who: Flux episode 5 confirms a game-changing fan theory

Doctor Who: Flux episode 5 spoilers follow.

Doctor Who fans are more than used to theorising about their favourite show. For years, even decades, viewers have trained themselves to figure out even the most wibbly-wobby and timey-wimey of plot points long before any secrets have actually been shared.

That tradition has of course continued into the modern era, and the new Flux experiment (AKA season 13) is even more susceptible to this line of thinking than most. Episode one threw us in at the deep end with enough mysteries to fill a TARDIS, but now that we're nearing the end, it turns out that one of the biggest reveals of all was actually foreshadowed before Flux even started.

Back in early October, the BBC released a promo image of Jodie Whittaker stood in front of coloured lines which start off parallel, but then suddenly become more erratic towards the end. It was a small detail, one which most assumed would be insignificant, but a few diehard Doctor Who fans picked up on this and wondered if it might mean that Flux would introduce a new multiverse to the show – much like the one picking up steam right now over at Marvel.

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The idea is that these lines represent parallel timelines that are just casually living their best lives until they start colliding, which can only be a bad thing in the world of Doctor Who. Could this be causing the Flux? Or could this be caused by the Flux? These were the kind of questions that fans asked back then, and now that episode five has shed new light on all this, it looks like they were bang on the money with this concept, at least.

Following last week's stony cliffhanger, the Doctor is taken to a new location where she encounters Barbara Flynn's mysterious character once again. "This is Division," she reveals. "Welcome back!"

We've known for some time now that the Division, a black ops Time Lord sect, was up to no good, and we also knew that the Doctor was once a member of this organisation before they removed her memories, but this is the first time that real answers have come our way.

yasmin khan, mandip gill, doctor who, season 13

BBC

In between all of the other parallel storylines, our good Doctor learns that the Division began on Gallifrey to ensure the timeline's safety. The idea was that operatives from across space and time could "guide and shape events" as they saw fit, which was in direct contravention to Gallifreyan law, as the Doctor rightly points out.

And the reason why this Division could evade the Doctor so easily, even with all of the tech at her disposal, is because the Division doesn't even exist in our universe. At this point, the Division's leader explains that they exist "outside one universe and on the cusp of many more" which endlessly branch out into the multiverse. As the old universe, our universe, comes to an end thanks to the Flux, the Division will soon cross over into the new one.

So it turns out that the Division created this Flux to protect themselves from the Doctor finding out the truth behind their organisation. Even when she worked alongside them, the Doctor's morality led to conflict with their overall aims, which is why they ended up erasing her memory. And this eventually led to them destroying this universe in the hopes that the Doctor would be destroyed along with it.

At this point, Barbara Flynn's character reveals herself to be none other than Tecteun, a new character we met last season during the Timeless Child arc. "I'm the one who found you. I brought you to Gallifrey and raised you. The woman you used to call mother..."

Tecteun discovered the Doctor as a child beneath a monument on a deserted planet. It seemed as though she had been deposited there by a wormhole with no way back. However, hearing about this so-called rescue angers the Doctor, who goes on to argue that she might have just been waiting there to be collected by her true parents. "You denied me my life," the Doctor claims.

Tecteun sassily bites back by pointing out that the Doctor does a very similar thing with her companions, picking them up and adopting them only to discard them all when no longer needed. "They are your experiments just like you were mine."

jodie whittaker, doctor who season 13, episode 3

Ben Blackall//BBC

As if that wasn't enough to shake the Doctor – "Is it me? Am I the drama?" – she then discovers that the final stages of the Flux are already in progress, and according to the Division's Ood, it can't be stopped.

This alien cutie also points out that "Earth will be the ultimate apex of destruction", the final planet to succumb to the Flux. And apparently "it was designed that way", presumably by Tecteun, which, we have to say, is a particular sadistic move on her part.

At this point, the Doctor hears a strange whispering in her mind, and honestly, we wouldn't blame her for cracking up a bit by now. But actually, it turns out that these sounds are emanating from a Gallifreyan device nearby where all of her stolen memories have been stored.

"Why didn't the Doctor notice that before?" we hear you ask. She might be timeless, but we're not, so let's not delve any further into that plot hole right now.

Instead, let's focus on the Doctor suddenly realising that the key to dozens, hundreds, maybe even thousands of her lives are stored in this dainty fob watch. Tecteun tries to make a deal with the Doctor, explaining that she can return to her dying universe and try to defend it, or she can rejoin the Division and find out the truth about her past. "Come with us into the next universe. Be complete again..."

And if that wasn't enticing enough, Tecteun also claims that the other end of the wormhole where she came from can be found in the next universe too. So not only could the Doctor restore her own memories, she could also venture into the wormhole and finally find out where she really came from.

It's a tempting offer, but the Doctor refuses, of course. None of that really matters though because two seconds later, Swarm pops up and disintegrates Tecteun like an old, frail version of Spidey in Avengers: Infinity War. Except there's a lot less crying this time round.

doctor who cast mandip gill as yaz, jodie whittaker as the doctor, john bishop as dan

James Pardon//BBC

Episode five then ends with a cliffhanger as Swarm approaches the Doctor with his death hands. But it's a cheap trick, really, because we all know Jodie Whittaker isn't bowing out just yet. Still, even without that surprise end, there's still a lot to chew on here.

Doctor Who has dabbled with parallel worlds before. Remember Rise of the Cybermen from 2006? But as fans predicted back when that colourful Flux poster was first revealed, season thirteen is now throwing us headfirst into a multiverse of madness, the likes of which this franchise has never seen.

So what does that mean for Doctor Who moving forward? Could we end up meeting parallel versions of characters we already know and love (or hate)? This would be the ideal way to bring back Billie Piper, just saying...

But we're getting ahead of ourselves. First and foremost, it looks like the final episode of Flux will reveal the backstory this show has been hinting at ever since the phrase "Timeless Child" was first heard in the second episode of season eleven.

So as we delve further into the multiverse, expect answers on the Doctor's origin, and in true wibbly-wobbly fashion, probably a whole set of brand-new mysteries to contend with in Jodie's final run. Luckily, we're pretty sure the Whovians will be out in full force to help answer these new questions too.

Doctor Who: Flux (aka series 13) airs weekly every Sunday night on BBC One in the UK. In the US, the show airs on BBC America, with series 1-12 available on HBO Max.

For more information on Doctor Who: Time Fracture, head this way – tickets are also available via retailers including LOVEtheatre, London Theatre Direct, Fever and Ticketmaster.

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David Opie

After teaching in England and South Korea, David turned to writing in Germany, where he covered everything from superhero movies to the Berlin Film Festival.

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