WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for the season premiere of Doctor Who: Flux, “Chapter One: The Halloween Apocalypse,” which aired Sunday on BBC.
After a very long wait, Doctor Who has finally returned for Season 13. In the premiere episode of Doctor Who: Flux, “Chapter One: The Halloween Apocalypse,” the series kicks off a new season that changes things up by featuring one long, overarching story. Because of this, you may find the premiere different than your usual Doctor Who episode. Indeed, “The Halloween Apocalypse” introduces the titular Flux, a cosmic swarm that threatens to destroy all of reality — but that’s just the start. And, on top of that, the Season 13 premiere introduces plenty of new mysteries that will be explored throughout the remaining five episodes of Doctor Who: Flux.
Here is a rundown of the biggest questions “The Halloween Apocalypse” left us with.
What Is Wrong With the TARDIS?
The TARDIS is the Doctor’s trusty ship that allows her to travel across space and time. It’s always been reliable (for the most part) and it’s always been there when the Doctor needed it (again, for the most part). But now, there is something impossibly wrong with the TARDIS. At the start of the episode, Yaz notices that the Gallifreyan spaceship is leaking. Indeed, one of the large golden crystals that surround the console room is cracked, and it’s leaking black ooze.
She asks the Doctor what is wrong with the TARDIS, and, after a quick scan, the Doctor assures her companion that there’s nothing to worry about. But by the look of dread on her face, it’s clear the Doctor knows more than she is letting on, and something is truly wrong with the ship. That much becomes all the more clear later in the premiere when Yaz, the Doctor and Dan enter the TARDIS only to find that, upon each entry, the ship’s door has moved. On one occasion, it even appears half-crooked, on the floor.
There is clearly something wrong with the ship, but what exactly? We’ve never seen the TARDIS affected like this, which means it’s something that is, most likely, incredibly bad.
Who Is Claire in Doctor Who: Flux?
In “The Halloween Apocalypse,” the Doctor and Yaz travel from one corner of the universe to Earth, where they hop on the trail of the series’ new companion, Dan. But before they can head back into space to find him, they meet a woman in the streets of Liverpool who knows who they both are. This woman, named Claire, knows all about the Doctor and the TARDIS and time travel, but the Doctor and Yaz have no idea who she is. She explains that she is taking “the long way around,” a phrase that isn’t lost on Doctor Who fans since it has been used on the series before.
Claire explains that the Doctor and Yaz haven’t met her yet, but that it will happen eventually. They then go their separate ways, but as Claire returns home, she finds herself hunted by a Weeping Angel. She knows exactly what threat the frightening monster represents, and she attempts to keep it back. However, it catches up to her and zaps her back in time. At the end of the episode, we don’t know what’s happened to Claire, but it’s clear this is just the beginning of her story across time. Or is it the end? Whatever the case is, the Doctor and Yaz will meet her again.
The question then becomes, where did Claire go — or rather, when?
Who Is the Doctor’s New Nemesis in Flux?
In the Season 13 premiere, the Doctor is plagued by a new villain who is somehow able to enter inside her mind. This new character has seemingly been locked up for a very, very long time by agents who appear to be connected to the secret Time Lord organization known as the Division. The villain, who is known as Swarm, is able to escape his cell and, after absorbing the energy of one of his jailers, he is rejuvenated, adopting a frightening look that is equal parts skull and blue crystal.
Swarm later reunites with his sister, who was posing as a human on Earth, before he once again makes contact with the Doctor. When he and the Doctor face one another, Swarm reveals that they are old enemies, and that they have fought many times before. However, the Doctor has no memory of him, or their previous battles. This is likely due to the fact that she fought Swarm during her time as the Timeless Child, in one of her previous lives, before she was the Doctor. These lives were erased from the Doctor’s memory by the Division, which means Swarm is also seemingly part of a larger mystery.
Whoever he is, Swarm is apparently a nemesis the Doctor never knew she had, someone who could even rival the Master — and he may be connected to the big mystery of the Timeless Child.
To get answers to all of these questions, catch the next episode of Doctor Who: Flux next Sunday, on BBC and BBC America.
About The Author
