A couple of days before Death In Heaven was broadcast I wrote an article about questions I had hoped would be answered in the series 8 finale (you can read it here). Some of them were, but some of the more tantalising ones were left dangling in the air, and as we all expected, we were also given a whole new batch of head scratchers.
So let's work through some of them, and I'll offer up a few possible solutions and theories myself.
1. Where's Gallifrey?
It would've been way too easy if Missy was telling the truth, wouldn't it? Plus it would've made all those chalkboard calculations the Doctor has been making throughout series 8 pointless...
...I am quite sure that the location of his home planet is hidden amongst the very complex calculation he has been working on all season. Hopefully he will solve the problem in series 9.
2. How did Missy escape Gallifrey?
Even if she was lying about the location of the Time Lord's home planet, she must have come from there, right? But how did she manage to escape?
It's possible that we might have actually seen it take place, but in an ever so slight way. There's a brief shot in The Day of the Doctor when Clara climbs out of the Gallifreyan painting, and unless you were paying super attention you'd likely not notice that the hand gripping the frame could in no way have been Ms Oswald's...
Is that Missy's hand?
The rings don't quite match up but there could be an explanation for that...
3. Was Missy really the woman in the shop?
Because if she was, then why didn't Clara recognise her when they met during Dark Water? That's a huge plot error if so. Unless, of course, she was wearing one of her legendary disguises...
..where's she gone?
4. Have Clara and the Doctor really parted company?
I started writing this article just after Death in Heaven was broadcast, and have had to adjust it thanks to this Children In Need clip...
...up until Friday night we'd had no official confirmation that Jenna Coleman would be in the Christmas special, we all knew she would but nothing official until then.
The papers have been claiming for months that she will depart for good after this story, but could they be wrong? I've really quite enjoyed Ms Oswald throughout all of series 8 and wouldn't mind her sticking around for series 9 as well. Coleman and Capaldi make a great team, and even though she's been part of the show since September 2012, I think we're only just now getting the real character coming through.
I suspect the Doctor will have a new companion next year, but I'm hoping otherwise. Unless it just happens to be...
5. Is Osgood really dead?
Probably just wishful thinking on my part but Osgood did spend a long time examining Missy's laser device. Was that put in there intentionally? Is there a possible get out clause? I mean, we know that Missy will be back in series 9 (Michelle Gomez has confirmed it) and she was zapped to bits too, so could Osgood make a miraculous recovery and be the one joining the Doctor in the TARDIS?
"All of time and space..."
I'd be happy with that.
6. Where did Orson Pink come from?
Well, when a Mummy Pink and a Daddy Pink love each other very much.....
No, I don't mean literally! But if Danny is dead, if he is really really dead then has time been rewritten? Will Orson Pink never exist? Or have Clara and Danny already sealed the deal...
...she was "quite the mess of chemicals", as the Doctor noted during Dark Water.
I know I'm not the only one who has suspicions that Danny may well be reunited with Clara in this year's Christmas Special. I'm kind of hoping it's not the case, because it feels like a bit of a cop-out storyline. But it also is most definitely the kind of sentimental stuff I can picture happening during a festive offering, in a 'they all lived happily ever after' type way. And if that is the case, then it's probably the reason behind her rumoured departure.
7. What's up with the Doctor's appearance?
Russell T Davies has given Steven Moffat an idea. The Moff said:
"I remember Russell told me he had a big old plan as to why there were two Peter Capaldis in the Who universe, one in Pompeii and one in Torchwood. When I cast Peter, [Russell] got in touch to say how pleased he was, I said 'Okay, what was your theory and does it still work?' and he said 'Yes it does, here it is'"Where is it then?
I honestly thought we would by now. I guess in the grand scheme of things it's not that important, but it's one of those little plot points that just bugs me - I HAVE to know. And when they do finally reveal the reason behind Peter Capaldi's time as Caecilus will it also include reference to John Frobisher...
...and is there any possible way he's connected to this Frobisher...
Honestly, I know that would just be ridiculous. But a guy can dream, can't he?
8. Who is the Doctor's 4th Wife?
Moffat would never just slip something like this in unless he had something planned.
When Clara was claiming to be the Doctor at the beginning of Death In Heaven, she claimed 'she' had been "married four times, all deceased." - OK then.
So we've had Queen Elizabeth I (above) from The Day of the Doctor. We've heard Eleven talk about marrying Marilyn Monroe in A Christmas Carol, and then there is this woman who you may know...
...which leaves one other.
It would seem logical that the 'other' wife is the original one, and Susan's Grandmother. Presumably she is also a Time Lord, so might there be some family reconnection coming up when the Doctor does eventually find Gallifrey? What if she's not as deceased as he believes her to be? What if she is his new travelling companion? Now that could be an interesting dynamic. After all Moffat has recently said that he's not against a non-Earth born companion.
Although he did state: "I’m going to go on record and say I didn’t like the shape-shifting penguin." DAMN!
Will any of these questions be answered in the upcoming Christmas Special or series 9? Yes, likely some of them will. But it's just as likely that by this time next year we will have a whole new batch of conundrums to keep us guessing - and don't you just love it?
What are your thoughts and theories? And what other plot threads do you want to see resolved? Let us know in the comments below...
Geek. Lover. Fighter. Dwarf. Follow Wil on Twitter.
