Doctor Who
Doctor Who ’s Centenary Special , The Power of the Doctor , featured retiring incarnations of the Doctor as the " Guardians of the Edge , " pay off an melodic theme from the 50th anniversary special . DepartingDoctor Whoshowrunner intended the show ’s Centenary Special to be a tribute to the franchise ’s history - particularly to the classic series he ’d grown up love . One key scene take in Jodie Whittaker come across her past embodiment ; they were described as vestiges of her awareness , fragments of her preceding self - Guardians of the Edge , whose line of work was to assure the Thirteenth Doctor was not destroyed by the Master .
The Power of the Doctorbecame thebiggest multi - Doctor storyof all clip . This mysterious clash is potentially augur , however , byDoctor Who ’s 50th anniversary -The twenty-four hours of the MD . This ended in a striking scene in which Matt Smith ’s Eleventh Doctor admitted to a pipe dream , one in which his current ego entered a psychical realm in which he stood alongside his past self . Although he believed this to only be a aspiration , it was fall that David Tennant ’s Tenth Doctor - who he had just encountered - welcomed him . This raise the possibility all Time Lords interact with their past selves in their dreams , in the same environs Whittaker found herself stranded in .
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Why Did The Guardians Of The Edge Manifest In This Environment?
The environments are perceptibly different in theend ofThe Power of the Doctorand the last fit ofThe Day of the Doctor- but that really makes sense given they are psychical representations of the Doctor ’s own mind . In the one , the various incarnations of the Doctor stand on a swarm look up at the sky , where the planet Gallifrey can be seen . This lay out the Eleventh Doctor ’s realization he has save Gallifrey from destruction in the Time War , and his declaration to regain his way back home . In contrast , Jodie Whittaker endure in a barren realm , represent the elbow room the MD ’s psyche has been desolate by the Master ; she looks out over a precipice that will lead to her concluding death , and her retiring incarnations discourage her from press on . They are the Guardians of this cliff edge .
This concept is also potentially correct up earlier in Chibnall ’s run . The last ofDoctor Whoseason 11 is considerably remembered for reveal theDoctor is the Timeless Child , but there is one another scene that is perhaps more significant than anyone realize at the time . Trapped within the positronic web known as the Matrix , the Doctor summoned the full effect of her remembering - indeed , of her very identity - to wear out free . This was go with by flashes of memories , including the typeface of retiring Doctors . It is entirely possible the preceding Doctors within Whittaker ’s Thirteenth Doctor were also focusing at that degree , encounter their part in avail her escape the Matrix . The scene takes on greater potential meaning in light ofThe Power of the Doctor .
The Power Of The Doctor Sets Up Even Better Multi-Doctor Arcs
It ’s one thing to see the dissimilar Doctors standing side by side , of course ; it ’s another to see them interact . Thebest multi - Doctor storiessee the medico confront each other , swap barbs and vilification as often as they do compliments . Viewed through this lens , The Power of the Doctorwas a much good use of this psychical construct thanThe Day of the Doctor , in that the Thirteenth Doctor actually got to talk to her preceding selves . In doing so , it coif up an thought that could yet be developed further - perhaps in stories where future Dr. become trapped in their own mind , encountering past self . ThisDoctor Whoconcept really does launch the room access to some thrilling possibility .
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