This is one of the other major topics this season, so let’s engage in some wild speculation so we can be proven to be idiots by episode 8.

Here’s what we know, as I see it:

  • Mrs. Flood is a neighbour of Ruby’s in 2023.
  • She saw the TARDIS in its police box form, and didn’t seem to recognize it as a TARDIS.
  • She didn’t recognize the Doctor.
  • When she saw the TARDIS dematerialize, she recognized it for what it was.

This suggests to me that she is familiar with the Time Lords, but not the Doctor or his TARDIS in its usual form.

So what gives?

  • f00f/erisEnglish
    4·
    6 months ago

    Not recognizing 15 doesn’t necessarily mean she has never seen The Doctor, as many other stories demonstrate, but not recognizing the TARDIS does seem to imply that.

    Maybe she’s one of the Pantheon that are being built up as this season’s villains. I can’t see her as the big bad for the whole season (who would presumably be The One Who Waits), but I could see her playing a part in a major late-season twist.

    Or, maybe she’s a Time Lord who somehow escaped genocide. Maybe one who left Gallifrey even before the Doctor did.

    • Value SubtractedOPMAEnglish
      3·
      6 months ago

      Not recognizing 15 doesn’t necessarily mean she has never seen The Doctor, as many other stories demonstrate

      You’re definitely right about this, despite the Doctor’s occasional claims that they can sense each other.

      Maybe she’s one of the Pantheon that are being built up as this season’s villains.

      That’s an interesting idea, considering her demeanour so far - she seemed downright enthusiastic about Ruby joining the Doctor.

      • f00f/erisEnglish
        3·
        6 months ago

        I think there’s some weird predestination stuff around Ruby’s birth and adoption, that the Pantheon was involved with, and Maestro hints at that. Perhaps they wanted, or at least knew ahead of time, that she would eventually be the Doctor’s companion.