Did Doctor Who Really Set Up Season 14’s Major Villain 15 Years Ago In A Spinoff Episode?!
SUMMARY
- A Doctor Who spinoff show hints at the new villains in season 14 appearing before, offering deep connections to the main series storyline.
- The Trickster and Maestro are just the beginning – a new Pantheon villain may present the biggest challenge for the Doctor yet.
- The mysterious One Who Waits, linked to the Pantheon, poses a major threat in Doctor Who ‘s latest season arc.
Doctor Who has spawned a handful of spinoff shows during its decades-long run, and season 14’s villains could share a connection with an introduction to one of these secondary projects. Out of every actor to play the Doctor, several have also reprised the role in the Doctor Who spinoff shows such as Class and Tales of the TARDIS. While it’s often not necessary to follow the Doctor’s adventures outside the flagship show for the story to continue making sense, a new antagonist could have been foreshadowed in an ancillary TV story that first aired in 2009.
The Toymaker and Maestro have set a high bar for villains early in Disney’s Doctor Who era, but the slew of bad guys isn’t going to slow down. Although Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor managed to defeat the Toymaker and Maestro with the help of others, they were just harbingers of the chaos that’s still to come. However, one specific narrative from a 15-year-old Doctor Who spinoff episode suggests that the Doctor has met at least one villain with strong ties to the Toymaker and his child – even if the name of their organization wasn’t exactly the same.
The Trickster belongs to “The Pantheon of Discord”
The Sarah Jane Adventures ran for five seasons between 2006 and 2011, with leading lady Elisabeth Sladen returning as the titular former companion who debuted during Doctor Who‘s classic era. The season 3 two-parter, “The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith,” served as a crossover with the spinoff’s parent show, as David Tennant’s Tenth Doctor is installed as part of the cast for the two episodes. As a result, the Doctor comes face-to-face with a villain called the Trickster, who is a member of the “Pantheon of Discord.”
With the Fifteenth Doctor theorizing that Maestro belongs to “The Pantheon” in Doctor Who season 14, episode 2, “The Devil’s Chord,” it’s impossible to ignore the reuse of the recognizable word. In fact, in “The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith,” the Tenth Doctor even confirms the Trickster originates from outside the universe, which is also true of Maestro and the Toymaker. In addition, Ten even shortens the name of Trickster’s affiliated group to just “The Pantheon.”
If Davies is revisiting his idea from the Doctor Who spinoff, it would be a brilliant piece of foreshadowing that goes back over a decade.
While there has been no official confirmation from Russell T Davies, who wrote the Sarah Jane story as well as “The Devil’s Chord,” it’s very possible there is a connection between the Trickster and the same Pantheon as Jinkx Monsoon’s character. If Davies is revisiting his idea from the Doctor Who spinoff, it would be a brilliant piece of foreshadowing that goes back over a decade. While still canon to Doctor Who, The Sarah Jane Adventures was largely aimed at a younger audience. As such, many fans of the parent show may be unaware of the Pantheon of Discord’s existence.
The Pantheon Is Important To Doctor Who’s “The One Who Waits” Mystery In Season 14
Doctor Who’s new villain has a clear connection to the Pantheon
The One Who Waits is the enigmatic figure who is first mentioned by the Toymaker in “The Giggle.” The early episodes of Doctor Who season 14 don’t mention the new villain much, but it’s clear that whoever they are, they are connected to the Pantheon. Maestro even refers to someone they call “The Oldest One,” who seems to have ties to Ruby and her mysterious origins, with the unknown presence possibly even being present on the night of Ruby’s birth.
The One Who Waits will likely pose the biggest challenge the Doctor has ever faced.
If the Trickster is part of the same group as the Toymaker and Maestro, and all three belong to the Pantheon of Discord, then the three villains have been progressively more difficult to defeat. If this trend continues, The One Who Waits will likely pose the biggest challenge the Doctor has ever faced. This is especially true if there are still other Pantheon members to make their debuts before The One Who Waits – which there probably are.
Why Doctor Who’s New “Pantheon” May Be A Separate Thing
The Pantheon of Discord may be limited to The Sarah Jane Adventures
Of course, the Pantheon of Discord could be completely unrelated to the Pantheon referenced by the Fifteenth Doctor in “The Devil’s Chord.” If the Trickster was a member of the same Pantheon as the Toymaker, it would have made sense for Neil Patrick Harris’ character to tell David Tennant’s Fourteenth Doctor that he had already encountered one of the Toymaker’s kind. To support this, Jinkx Monsoon’s character makes sure that the Fifteenth Doctor is aware of Maestro’s connection to the Toymaker.
That being said, it’s possible that the Toymaker mentioning the Trickster in “The Giggle” would have confused and alienated viewers who had never explored other corners of the Doctor Who franchise, such as The Sarah Jane Adventures. Russell T Davies may never reveal whether the two Pantheons are the same, and it could remain yet another unsolved Doctor Who mystery.
