DOCTOR WHO - Who is Missy? - Warped Factor - Words in the Key of Geek.

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DOCTOR WHO - Who is Missy?

I think we all have our ideas on who Missy could be and how she factors into the new series of Doctor Who, but Christopher Morley has a theory for you that you might not have considered.


The question of just who Missy (the Gatekeeper of the Nethersphere) could really be has got people talking about Series Eight of Doctor Who just as much as the fact that Peter Capaldi is now the Doctor. So it's only fitting that we should turn our attention to her! Various theories suggest that she's either a new incarnation of the Rani ( could work) or the Master ( would be seen as radicalism by some, but could also work). Lets consider something that might come from a little further left-field, though.

Remember Silver Nemesis? Like much of the Seventh Doctor's era, it splits opinion. But not inconsequentially there's a lady who seems to know much of the Doctor's implied murkier past present as he & Ace join the battle for the Nemesis statue. Step forward Lady Peinforte! A sorceress not averse to the black arts, she took herself forward in time from 1638 to the present day in order to reclaim the statue ( which she'd originally sculpted herself, from validium- a living metal). She'd turned it into an image of herself holding a bow & arrow, & somehow it had told her of the history of the Time Lords & Gallifrey as well as the Doctor's own shady part in proceedings.


Having found out about the existence of the statue, the Doctor had it fired into space after removing its bow & arrow. Perhaps unsurprisingly he's more than a little concerned by what its said to have told her! Of more pressing concern to his Twelfth incarnation, though, could be how she got to Heaven, & why everyone who's died since coming into contact with him goes there as well. Maybe she created the place, a pocket universe of sorts, as part of an elaborate trap to gain some form of revenge on him? ' Missy' could after all be an attempt to hide her more formal title of ' Lady', as much as some have suggested it could be a shortened form of ' Mistress', which might in turn lead to ' Master'.

But why would she need all those poor souls? Perhaps its part of a ritual similar to that which allowed her to cross time & do battle with the master of the rrolled rr, Cybermen & Neo-Nazis all that time ago...



All of which is but a sliver of the remaining power of the Pythia- which ruled a Gallifrey in thrall to magic & mysticism well before the time of Rassilon & the rise of the Time Lords. We might also give at least some degree of credence that Missy is the Pythia, reborn, or a facet of its power independent from Peinforte.

The dead could also make a suitably terrifying new band of followers should she attempt to return to power! Which leaves us to ponder how she gains her ' boyfriend'- most likely by force or some form of bewitchment. Maybe he's the reason she's able to descend from Heaven to Earth for the big finale?



It's not unreasonable to suggest she might have some form of power over time...which would make appearances in the TARDIS a piece of cake should she choose to really toy with the Doctor. Why she hasn't yet done so is anybody's guess! Most likely waiting for just the right moment to strike........

Perhaps she's been trapped in the Nethersphere as its Gatekeeper as punishment by Rassilon for her curse of sterility upon the Time Lord race, banished as a long-forgotten chapter of the Dark Times before science & reason took over from superstition. And now that we know Gallifrey isn't dead what better time for the Doctor to finally return home & find himself drawn into a war with an enemy arguably more dangerous, not to mention powerful, than the Daleks- an enemy that knows all & could quite possibly see all thanks to her powers of precognition ( some of which were siphoned into Peinforte & the Sisterhood of Karn).


She might even have been able to influence her own appearance & personality using one of the Sisterhood's own potions in a similar manner to that which caused the 'birth' of the War Doctor, a sort of ready-made answer to the question of how she might make herself appeal to his latest post- Time War self. It would at least offer a neat way in which to reintroduce that particular corner of the constellation of Kasterborous, as well as offering the chance to delve deeper into the true past of the Doctor. We've seen him at the moment he left with Susan in that faulty, obsolete Type 40, so wouldn't it be great to see prior moments from that corner of his time-line? Its easy to imagine them occurring as flashbacks once he's summoned to Heaven by some means, a life flashing before his eyes ( which would also allow a look at his preceding ten incarnations).

If she really wanted to blow his mind, perhaps Missy might be able to conjure visions of them as mental challenges/tricks of the mind, as a real demonstration of power. Perhaps even mental projections of the many companions & acquaintances who've died in his name- which could open up a few juicy surprise cameos from among the surviving cast members of both classic & new Who who might be game for such an undertaking.

"Brave heart, Tegan"

But would the Doctor know his day of reckoning was coming? You'd think it might have been in the back of his mind for a while, a nagging thought that just wouldn't go away until the appointed hour was at hand.

It could even be the reason why he's seemed so on edge post-regeneration! The Nethersphere is indeed a suitably foreboding title for Gallifrey's answer to Hades, & the thought of having to carry the burden of all those he's lost even into what might be presented as his potential final battle- an extremely dark night of the soul played out in real time with nowhere to hide, all his greatest secrets either out in the open or used as weapons by Missy- sticks with which to beat him. A great big epic of a first finale for the newest of the Doctors, why not? Let us know your own theories, too, of course................

So, what do you think the mystery behind Missy is? Let us know in the comments below.

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