The current 12th season of ‘Doctor Who’ is about to wrap up and showrunner Chris Chibnall says fans will feel “wrung-out” and “a little bit open-mouthed” by the twin finale episodes, “Ascension of the Cybermen,” and “The Timeless Children.” He even recommends having a “very strong drink” to process it! Not only do these episodes bring back the classic ‘Who’ villains, the Cybermen, but the last episode may resolve the “Timeless Child” storyline that has been hovering over the series almost since the introduction of Jodie Whittaker’s 13th Doctor.
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“Ascension of the Cybermen” airs this Sunday, with “The Timeless Children” arriving on the following Sunday, March 1. In anticipation, Chibnall divulged to EW:
“We’re not just going big on the finale in episode 10. Episode 9, ‘Ascension of the Cybermen,’ obviously sees the return of iconic monsters. It’s the first time Jodie’s Doctor, the Thirteenth Doctor, has squared off against them. We have both old and new designs of the Cybermen, there’s more than one Cyber-variant in the story. And it’s a big, space-spanning, spaceship-lasery, Cybermanny sci-fi story. Properly epic. It’s set in the aftermath of a Cyber war, and a large band of human refugees are on the run from a very determined, zealous Cyberman who’s determined to hunt down and eliminate the very last of humanity and finally win the war. Enter the Doctor and her friends.”
But from the sound of things, “Ascension…” is just the set up for a massive finale in “Timeless Children.”
“We’ve been playing out this mystery for a while now. Obviously the Timeless Child was first mentioned in Jodie’s second episode and then came back in force when the Master returned at the beginning of this season and told her that everything she knows is a lie. ‘The Timeless Children’ — plural! — will pay off a lot of the strands that we’ve set running both last year and this year. I’m going to do classic British understatement here: It’s a relatively seismic episode for the Doctor, and for the show. You will get some answers, but you will also be left with a whole load of new questions in true Doctor Who style.
“It is an emotional and narrative roller coaster — for the characters, for the audience. I think you’re going to need a very strong drink. It’s a 65-minute finale, so on BBC America that will go longer, obviously. It’s big, it’s action-packed, it’s very, very epic and very, very emotional, and there is a blistering performance from Jodie Whittaker in that final episode. People, I think, are going to feel wrung-out and possibly a little bit open-mouthed.”
From the sound of things, you might also want to strap on your adult diapers. Once you’ve taken the necessary precautions, “Ascension of the Cybermen” airs this Sunday on BBC America, and “The Timeless Children” follows on March 1. This will be the last installment of ‘Doctor Who’ for quite some time, but unlike last year, there will be a Christmas Special in December, and word has it the Daleks will appear.
How do you feel about ‘Doctor Who’ Season 12 so far?
