Jo Martin’s new Doctor brought a thrilling new set of questions to Doctor Who. Is she the next John Hurt? Or something else altogether?

I don’t think any of us expected the twist in season 12, episode 5 “Fugitive of the Judoon.” Captain Jack Harkness is back, and so is a brand new Doctor, played by Jo Martin!

As someone who recently rewatched seasons 1 to 6 of New Who, the moment Rachel started to act strangely, hear voices, and argue that she’s very sure of who she is, I knew she was the next John Smith (reminiscent of the Family of Blood episodes in season 4).

I was a little skeptical of her character at first, but the moment she remembered who she really was, she effortlessly stepped into the role. In some ways, I might actually prefer her to Thirteen… which seems blasphemous, but is really a credit to Jo Martin’s performance, since she had only half an episode to get the audience to like her!

But who is this new Doctor? Thirteen doesn’t know, either.

Not a parallel universe!

What we do know for certain, is that Jo Martin’s Doctor is not from a parallel universe. Chris Chibnall was very clear about that in an interview with The Mirror:

“The important thing to say is – she is definitively the Doctor. There’s not a sort of parallel universe going on, there’s no tricks.”

So this is a real Doctor from the same timeline… just one that Thirteen inexplicably forgot. So who could she possibly be?

The second War Doctor?

The most obvious option, of course, is that Jo Martin’s Doctor is another suppressed memory, like John Hurt’s War Doctor was. It certainly would be consistent with her character. This new Doctor is a lot fiercer, scarier, and even more ruthless than Thirteen is. She’s angry at Gallifrey and not very happy to see Thirteen at all. One could easily imagine that she’s a Doctor who was pushed too far and had to do things she would rather forget in future regenerations. Maybe one of those things could be destroying Gallifrey a second time, along with the Master? That would answer a lot of Thirteen’s questions.

Faced with fan confusion, Chibnall tried to reassure everyone that he respects Doctor Who’s history, while pointing out that things do indeed change all the time on this show:

“We’re telling an ongoing story and there are plenty of things in Doctor Who that change all the time but I’m very aware of the history and very aware of the continuity. It’s a delightful thing… But stories are ongoing pieces of fiction. They develop and evolve. My job is to be bold with the storytelling and have fun.”

I’m not really afraid of new Doctors being put into the timeline, as long as it doesn’t get out of hand. It’s a little bit annoying to think that Thirteen isn’t really the Thirteenth (is she the Fifteenth now?). As long as it’s done well and doesn’t feel like retconning, I’m all for it.

However, the idea of another War Doctor and another destruction of Gallifrey seems a little bit ridiculous. There are already too many parallels between this new Doctor and both the John Smith storyline and the War Doctor storyline. It doesn’t seem right to assume that Chibnall would decide to recycle two different major elements from extremely memorable Doctor Who episodes in season 12 — one that has been advertised as being bigger and more ambitious than ever.

This is the most simplistic option, which makes me think that it’s not that likely. But what could possibly be the alternative?

A future Doctor?

I dream of the day that we will see a Doctor from the future on the show. It’s one thing to have a Doctor crossover with their past self — we’ve seen that happen quite a few times! — but quite another to have a glimpse of the future. It’s a show about time travel, for God’s sake!

Doing something like that would be something of a risk, though. Doctor Who likes to reveal its casting outside of canon, gradually showcasing the new outfit, new sonic screwdriver and possibly new logo. You don’t just get a surprise new Doctor. And with Jodie Whittaker recently confirmed for season 13, it would be very out of character for the BBC to suddenly reveal a new casting choice two or more seasons ahead of time.

Casting Jo Martin as Fourteen would mean so many hidden contracts and secrecy for years… but then again, isn’t that exactly what Moffat did with River Song? The Silence in the Library set of episodes were extremely memorable because of the promise of someday learning who River is.

If this is Fourteen (or Fifteen — but that could be a little extreme), then maybe it isn’t Fourteen who got erased from the Doctor’s memories at all. Maybe it’s Thirteen’s story that will go forgotten because of something she’s about to do either in this season or the next (and maybe the concept of a sonic screwdriver was forgotten, too?). And that’s delightfully ominous.

A new main character for the season?

Regardless of her fate, Jo Martin’s Doctor is absolutely incredible. She’s quirky, powerful, and just a little scary… and from the moment she remembered who she was, she was impossible not to recognize as our Doctor.

Doctor Who could move on now and leave this Doctor in the past, referencing her only verbally. But I really hope that they don’t; I hope we get to see her and Thirteen figure things out together, fight battles together, and eventually learn the truth about everything together. I hope we see them take down the Master as a team.

Their relationship is hilarious and has the potential to be truly heartwarming, if Doctor Who only dares to  bring this new Doctor into the fold.