Warning: Spoilers ahead for Doctor Who season 15, episode 7, "Wish World."The Rani's return to Doctor Who's classic era.

"Wish World" is filled with surreal twists and turns, with most characters only vaguely aware of who they are and their former lives. While there are several moments on which to focus and draw meaning from, the return of Omega at the end of the episode is by far the biggest twist and quite obviously the reason for the Rani's complex plan. "Wish World" does a good job of mixing in expositional monologues with context-driven reveals, and it all comes together to create a relatively complete picture of what the Rani has been up to.

Who The Baby Is In Doctor Who Season 15's "Wish World"

The God of Wishes was born on Earth in 1865

Doctor Who season 15, episode 7, "Wish World," begins in 19th-century Bavaria, with the Rani arriving in 1865 at the home of the Zufall family. The reason for her visit quickly becomes apparent, as the Zufalls have just welcomed their seventh child. The family patriarch is also a seventh son, as is true of his father before him, but it's unclear how far back this pattern goes. The newest Zufall, intended to be called Jonas, is eventually named by the Rani as Desiderium and holds great power.

"Zufall" is German for "coincidence," and "desiderium" is an English word that refers to existing in an intense state of longing.

It's later revealed that Desiderium is the God of Wishes and belongs to Doctor Who's Pantheon. Being so young, he cannot really access his own powers, nor are they all that effective without someone directing them. Anyone in possession of Desiderium can essentially bend reality to their wishes, as proven by the Rani transforming the other Zufalls into various flowers and birds before she leaves. Desiderium's father doesn't appear to have any powers, so being the seventh son of a seventh son clearly isn't enough to become a deity.

Instead, Herr Zufall's youngest child appears to have hit the saturation point of this particular phenomenon. Of course, the number seven is often associated with superstition and is believed in several cultures to be lucky. So, that explains why the figure is so relevant to Desiderium's backstory and the power he possesses. Being so young means he's not much of a character yet, but has confirmed himself to be part of the Pantheon by vocalizing the same musical laugh as debuted in 2023's "The Giggle."

The Purpose Of The Rani Creating A New World Explained

The Rani needed the doubt of a Time Lord to access another reality

The new version of Earth, put in place via the t efforts of the Rani, Conrad, and the God of Wishes, initially seems as though its purpose is to trick everyone into forgetting their old lives and to keep them under control. However, the Rani eventually reveals her real goal. In short, the only person the Rani really needed or wanted to be caught up in the illusion was the Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa). Rather than trying to create a foolproof illusion, the Rani actually wants everyone to doubt their new lives, especially the Doctor.

The Rani reveals that although the doubt of so many humans isn't without power, the doubt of a Time Lord can crack open the fabric of reality, which is what she is really trying to accomplish. Trapped in another universe, Omega is lying in wait, and that is who the Rani is trying to free. That said, Omega's most commonly associated reality is the Anti-Matter Universe, whereas the Rani reveals Omega is currently in the Underverse. Regardless, she achieves her told of harvesting the Doctor's doubt and beginning to free Omega - at Earth's expense.

Why The Rani Needed The Doctor's Vindicator

The infant God's powers weren't enough for the Rani's needs

Desiderium's powers were a huge part of the Rani's plan, as no other known Pantheon God can alter reality in such a manner. On the other hand, he is still only a baby, so his lack of self-awareness and underdeveloped abilities needed a boost. While Conrad's influence gave the baby's powers direction, the Rani needed to find a way to increase Desiderium's innate skills to suit her need to change the Earth. The way she did that was by having the Doctor do some of the work for her.

The Rani took the Vindicator and used it as an antenna to receive all the power headed in Earth's direction, and combined this power with Desiderium's baseline abilities to fool the Earth's population and harvest their doubts.

The web of power that the Doctor unknowingly created by taking the TARDIS and the Vindicator to so many points throughout time and space redirected the energy required back to Earth, where the Rani was ready to put her plan into motion. When the Doctor arrived back on the human homeworld, the Rani took the Vindicator and used it as an antenna to receive all the power headed in Earth's direction, and combined this power with Desiderium's baseline abilities to fool the Earth's population and harvest their doubts.

How Doctor Who's "Wish World" Works

The Rani's new version of Earth is Conrad's idea of how everything should be

Mrs. Flood calls Conrad "The boy who wants the world to be better." So, the Earth's changed form is clearly what Conrad believes the planet should be like, and it's pretty problematic. Things like same-sex attraction are seen as something to be masked, and the disabled population is hidden out of sight and left to fend for itself, essentially ousted from society altogether. However, Conrad's new world is based on an element of truth.

Conrad serves as Wish World's sole TV host, reading Harry Potter-inspired books about the Doctor's adventures.

Everyone trapped within the Wish retains some semblance of who they are, with characters like Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) boasting a greater level of awareness of their previous lives than others. Real relationships are maintained, although changed to suit Conrad's views. For instance, the Doctor goes by John Smith and is married to Belinda (Varada Sethu), rather than the pair being platonic traveling companions. They also have a daughter together.

Perhaps most saliently, Doctor Who's UNIT team has been forced into a new line of work. Rather than defending the Earth against aliens, which Conrad somehow doubts even exist, UNIT is an insurance company in the reworked version of reality. Despite the thorough and retrofuturistic reimagining of Earth, doubts are still present (but buried) among the planet's population. The police arrest those who express doubts, and the forbidden thoughts often manifest as a mug slipping through a solid surface and smashing on the ground - these instances are known as Slips, and are accepted as part of the new world.

Why The Rani Wants To Bring Back Omega

Omega's return is clearly at the heart of the Rani's desires

Omega holds a very interesting place within Time Lord lore. He actually predates the Time Lords and lived on Gallifrey before his people could travel through time. In fact, he was instrumental in the Gallifreyans' development of time travel technology, but was presumed dead after an experiment to prove his theories correct went wrong. Omega survived in the Anti-Matter Universe and became trapped there. In the show's main reality, he was hailed as a hero for his role in the formation of the Time Lord order. Sadly, he had slipped into villainy when he returned to the story.

Omega's isolation in a pocket dimension ultimately led to him turning bitter, twisted, and in need of a way to vent his anger.

"Wish World" ends without revealing exactly why the Rani wants Omega to come back. It could be out of sheer reverence for what the legendary Time Lord accomplished, or she may have a request to make of a character who has now been retconned into being part of the Pantheon. Omega has tried to return from the Anti-Matter Universe before, but it ended poorly as his borrowed physical form wasn't compatible with its native plane of existence. So, the highly intelligent Rani may have found a way to bring Omega back to Doctor Who for good.