Warning! The following contains SPOILERS for Doctor Who's latest season! Catch up with a Disney+ subscription and read at your own risk!
The new era of Doctor Who is a blast, and part of that is due to just how much different it is. For all the differences that came along with this new batch of episodes though, it seems as though there is a strange number of coincidences that continue to crop up the longer this season goes on. If this were any other series, I'd write it off as just that, but I feel like when it comes to Russell T. Davies, nothing he writes is ever a coincidence.
I'm sure by this point that viewers have picked up on some of the coincidences happening as this season goes on. We've compiled some of the more noteworthy ones below, though I wouldn't be surprised to hear if there's one or more that we missed given how many layers there seems to be about this storytelling. Let's dive in and talk about the potential meaning behind these wild occurrences in the series.
Stepping On Things Causes Trouble
Why is it that a number of problems in Doctor Who's latest season thus far have been started by someone stepping on something? It began with Ruby stepping on a butterfly, which in turn turned her into an entirely different species. The Doctor was able to undo that transformation, but then it was his turn to start causing trouble by not minding where he went.
First, we saw The Doctor almost explode in "Boom" after stepping on a mine. The moment really showed some real fear for the character, which writer Steven Moffat appreciated, but that wasn't the case the second time around. The second time he stepped on something in "73 Yards," he disappeared completely. It's very strange for The Doctor to make the mistake of stepping on something hazardous twice in a row, especially since he tends to be a character who learns from his mistakes more than others. How could he be so careless yet again?
A Strange Sound From The TARDIS
It's not unusual for the TARDIS to have issues, but there's something very strange happening with The Doctor's ship that he has had to address twice now. It first occurred in "Wild Blue Yonder" when The Doctor and Donna Noble were outside of it. The ship let out a weird groan, which the Time Lord called "strange."
One time would've been enough to raise suspicion, but the exact same thing happened when The Doctor and Ruby Sunday went to go see The Beatles. Once again, the ship let out a low groan, and the Time Lord acknowledged it as "strange" but went about his business. One does have to wonder what's happening with the ship, and I can't help but think maybe creating a copy of the TARDIS had some unpleasant side effects. It would be nice to check in with the Fourteenth Doctor for confirmation, but given David Tennant's blunt stance on appearing again, I don't think that's happening.
Actress Susan Twist Keeps Playing Roles
Doctor Who fans were much quicker to notice than Ruby Sunday, but it appears now she and The Doctor are onto the fact that they keep seeing the same woman appear in their adventures. This recurring character, played by actress Susan Twist, has been popping up as early as the 60th anniversary episode "Wild Blue Yonder" and continues to be a minor presence in adventures. Of course, we have no idea so far what she has to do with anything, though there is no shortage of speculation.
I had her pegged as the teased "One Who Waits," but given The Doctor and Ruby seem to be catching onto the fact that she keeps popping up, maybe her character isn't quite as big as that. It also doesn't seem like any role she has necessarily made her an adversary of the duo, so maybe she'll end up being an ally.
Villains Are Connected To Music
Music has a recurring theme in Doctor Who's new era, with two big villains tied to specific musical cues. For Toymaker, he was able to drive the world into unbridled aggression by playing an arpeggiated giggle from the first television image. Then we have The Maestro, contained within "The Devil's Chord" and sealed away again when the notes were played.
Maestro and Toymaker were the two most powerful villains of the new era thus far, and it's possible their link to The Pantheon could be tied to music in some way. Russell T. Davies told CinemaBlend that more Pantheon villains are on the way, so I'm curious to see if this trend continues. Could there even be a villain that's more in tune with music than even Maestro? I'd love to see it.
It Keeps Snowing
This last one is likely more than a coincidence because it feels like Ruby Sunday is definitely responsible for the random snowfall that continues to happen in Doctor Who. Russell T. Davies did confirm there is a definite answer to this mystery, but for now, we're left waiting and wondering why it continues to happen at seemingly random times.
I believe that whatever is causing the snow ultimately ties back to the time Ruby was left at the church steps as an infant. It was a cold winter night, and we know that Ruby desperately wanted to use The Doctor's power to go back in time and catch a glimpse of her birth mother. While he told his companion that there was no way they could do that, perhaps the snow is a sign that it's exactly where they must go if they wish to solve whatever strange things are happening.
Sooner or later, these coincidences are going to start to make more sense. Readers will want to continue to watch Doctor Who on Disney+ in the meantime, and continue to keep their eyes peeled for more clues as to what the larger mystery is behind all these strange happenings in the Fifteenth Doctor's first season.
