Warning: Spoilers for Doctor Who's 60th Anniversary specials

Summary

  • Doctor Who's 60th-anniversary specials set up the return of the Master in season 14, hinting at a future storyline.
  • There are theories that Jinkx Monsoon, a Drag Race winner ing the cast, could play the new incarnation of the Master.
  • Clues throughout the specials suggest the Master's return, including cryptic references to a villain known as the "One Who Waits" and the Meep's boss being interested in two-hearted creatures.

As Doctor Who season 14, which will be rebooted and from then on referred to as the new season 1, is due to air on BBC One and Disney+ in Spring 2024. The hit British sci-fi show will see Sex Education star Ncuti Gatwa play the fifteenth incarnation of the Time Lord and will be ed aboard the TARDIS by new companion Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson), with their first episode together, "The Church on Ruby Road" airing on Christmas Day 2023.

In the third episode, "The Giggle," it was revealed by Doctor Who's Toymaker (Neil Patrick Harris) that he had encountered the Master. The Doctor's best frenemy had lost a game to the Toymaker and, as a result, had been trapped inside a golden tooth. As the Toymaker was defeated, the tooth was seemingly abandoned on a ledge of the UNIT building before being picked up by a hand with painted red nails. Although it's currently unknown who that hand belonged to, there are several theories as to who that person may be. Either way, the Master seems poised for a return to Doctor Who in the near future.

Doctor Who's Gold Tooth Tease Sets Up Jinkx Monsoon As The New Master

Is The Drag Race Winner The Next Incarnation Of The Master?

In April 2023, it was announced that RuPaul's Drag Race double winner Jinkx Monsoon would be ing the actor to play the Master. Whether Jinkx is the new Master or not, the character's addition to the cast is sure to shake things up for the Doctor in a big way.

After the Toymaker's demise, a pale hand with long, red nails picked up the gold tooth containing the Master. If the hand belonged to Jinkx, it could suggest a similar setup to the season 10 finale episodes "World Enough and Time" and "The Doctor Falls," which saw two different Masters cross paths, Michelle Gomez's Missy, and the return of John Simm's Master. Sacha Dhawan portrayed the last version of the unhinged Time Lord, and assuming that this same version is inside the tooth, audiences could see his future incarnation go back in their timeline to rescue him.

What Happened To The Master After Whittaker's Final Doctor Who Episode

Sacha Dhawan's Master Was Left For Dead

Sacha Dhawan as the Master, disguised as Rasputin in Doctor Who

The last time the Master was seen on-screen was during the Thirteenth Doctor's (Jodie Whittaker) final episode, "The Power of the Doctor." After the Master was stopped from stealing the Doctor's remaining regenerations for the third time in the show's history, he was left motionless in the wreckage of a collapsing cyber-planet, seemingly dead. However, Doctor Who audiences will know that this doesn't mean that the Master is actually dead, having been revived on multiple occasions in the past. Assuming that this is the version of the Master that's in the tooth, it would imply that the Toymaker was there for the Master's "final moments" and managed to save him.

Did Doctor Who's 60th Anniversary Tease The Master BEFORE The Gold Tooth Was Picked Up?

The 60th-Anniversary Specials Were Littered With Cryptic Clues

Doctor Who 60th-Anniversary Neil Patrick Harris Miram Margolyes David Tennant and Catherine Tate as The Toymaker Beep The Meep The Fourteenth Doctor and Donna Noble

Throughout the Doctor Who 60th-anniversary specials, several cryptic references to a future villain were made. In "The Giggle," the Toymaker spoke about the "One Who Waits," as well as his "legions," and in "The Star Beast," the Meep told the Fourteenth Doctor (David Tennant) that his boss would be interested to hear about another two-hearted creature. While no confirmation was given during these episodes as to who the identity of these may be, it could have been a hint to the Master's return.

If the Master is the Meep's boss, it would make sense that they'd be interested in seeing another with two hearts, especially as the Master would be likely to realize that it was the Doctor. The Master could also be the "One Who Waits," and given that Whittaker's Doctor essentially abandoned the Master in "The Power of the Doctor" and left him to die, it would be in character for him to be waiting for the Doctor. In of the Toymaker's "legions," it's unlikely but not impossible that he was referring to the Master. As seen in "The End of Time," the Master can host multiple forms at once in Doctor Who.