WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for the latest episode of Doctor Who: Flux, “Chapter Three: Once, Upon Time,” which aired Sunday on BBC.
Doctor Who: Flux kicked things off by introducing multiple new threats to the world of the television series. On top of the titular Flux, a cataclysmic weapon that has already destroyed part of the universe, the Thirteenth Doctor also met the Ravagers of Time, the brother and sister duo of Swarm and Azure. The two aliens are frightening new additions to Doctor Who mythology, and, in the past three episodes, they have proven to be some of the most dangerous adversaries the Doctor has ever faced.
Upon their introduction, it was revealed that Swarm and the Doctor shared history — history the Time Lord didn’t remember. It was clear Swarm had gone up against another version of the Doctor in the past, but we didn’t know who. But now, the series has finally confirmed which Doctor Swarm previously fought: Jo Martin’s Fugitive Doctor.
When the Thirteenth Doctor first came face to face with Swarm, she was shocked to learn that while she knew nothing about the villain, he was more than familiar with her. In fact, he said that the two had a long history as enemies. However, the Doctor knew nothing about Swarm and Azure because her memories of the duo had been erased by the mysterious organization known as the Division. It was clear that one of the Time Lord’s past versions, long before she was the First Doctor, had been Swarm’s nemesis.
Now, in the latest episode of Doctor Who: Flux, “Chapter Three: Once, Upon Time,” the series answers this question by featuring the return of the fan-favorite Fugitive Doctor, played by Jo Martin.
The Fugitive Doctor was introduced in Doctor Who‘s Season 12. The character was revealed to be one of the Doctor’s past regenerations, a life that was erased by the Division. This Fugitive Doctor was on the run from the Judoon, and her introduction only brought forth a multitude of questions. For a time, it wasn’t certain if the Fugitive Doctor would return in Doctor Who: Flux, current showrunner Chris Chibnall’s last season on the series. Thankfully, BBC kept the character’s return a big secret in “Once, Upon Time,” which is why it comes as such a big surprise in the episode.
In the third episode of Season 13, following the cliffhanger ending of last week’s “War of the Sontarans,” the Doctor saves Yaz and Vinder’s lives by jumping into one of the empty pillars of the Temple of Atropos, joining them in the Time Storm. There, the Doctor travels into her own timestream, a rare opportunity that allows her to relive one of the memories taken from her by the Division. The Thirteenth Doctor appears as herself, as thousands of years ago she takes part in a battle at the Temple of Atropos where her and her military team attempt to take the temple back from the control of the Ravagers of Time. Only, when the Doctor catches her reflection in a mirror, she realizes that she is actually Jo Martin’s Fugitive Doctor.
Throughout the episode, the Fugitive Doctor faces Swarm and Azure, a confrontation that reveals the shared history between Time Lord and Ravagers. The Fugitive Doctor outsmarts the villains, and the battle ends with the two monsters captured and imprisoned by the Division. The revelation sheds some important light on the Doctor’s past, and solves an important mystery by confirming the Fugitive Doctor as Swarm’s nemesis. Unfortunately, the memory ends before the Thirteenth Doctor can get all the answers she needs, but hopefully Jo Martin’s version of the Time Lord will return in the back half of the season to help solve the mystery of the Timeless Child.
To see the return of the Fugitive Doctor, new episodes of Doctor Who: Flux air Sundays on BBC.
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