This year’s Doctor Who Christmas special took a fantastical turn with the appearance of coincidence goblins, who (terrifyingly) eat babies. Though the Doctor and his new companion won the day, there was a little time-traveling tomfoolery that needs explaining, and who is Mrs. Flood?
Doctor Who is back in business, with the charismatic Time Lord once again running rampant at Christmas, this time in the body of Ncuti Gatwa. Gatwa, who found fame playing the fabulous Eric Effiong in Netflix’s Sex Education, is a wonderful breath of fresh air for the franchise, bringing his youthful and joy-filled energy to the role. The Christmas special also introduces the Doctor’s new companion Ruby Sunday, played by Millie Gibson, who has been having quite a bit of bad luck recently.
The Doctor and Ruby meet when Ruby finds herself unknowingly plagued by coincidence goblins, creatures that feed on coincidence and bumble their way through time. After losing their tasty snack, Lulubelle—Ruby’s foster sister who, coincidentally, has the same birthday as Ruby—the goblins decide to take another Christmas Eve baby and head back in time to the night when Ruby herself was dropped off as a foundling at a church doorstep.
In the present day, the Doctor finds himself in a world without Ruby, and it’s a much colder one, at that. The Christmas cheer is removed from the apartment, and Ruby’s foster mum Carla (Michelle Greenidge) and grandmother Cherry (Angela Wynter) are left much more bitter and cold (though it’s odd to think that Ruby was the only foster child that could have brought them joy). The Doctor realizes what must have happened and rushes back in time to stop the goblins from eating baby Ruby.
By utilizing his mass-transferring gloves, the Doctor manages to pull the goblin ship down from the sky where they have taken Ruby, shish-kebabbing the Goblin King in the process. This conveniently makes the goblin ship go poof and safely deposits baby Ruby in the Doctor’s outstretched arms. He then places Ruby back on the doorstep and heads back to the TARDIS, only to catch a glimpse of the woman who dropped Ruby off in the first place. Wondering whether he should intervene or not, he decides to let her go (though I can bet you anything we will return to this moment).
Back in the present, Ruby is returned and everything is the way it was. As she starts to put the pieces together, she realizes just what the Doctor is capable of and rushes out to meet him. The Doctor, initially reluctant to have yet another companion whose life he may ruin, is waiting for her, and she enters the TARDIS to begin her time-traveling adventures.
The mid-credits scene has many people intrigued, as it brings us back to a previously featured Mrs. Flood (Anita Dobson) and local Abdul (Hemi Yeroham). With the latter shocked at the disappearance of the police box, a bemused Mrs. Flood simply states, “Stop making such a fuss!” before turning to the camera and adding “Never seen a TARDIS before?” with a wry smile. This has led many to wonder who this Mrs. Flood is and how she knows about Time Lords and the TARDIS. Is it a throwaway joke, or will this be something that we pick up on again in the future?
For many, the special was a great jump into the new character of the Doctor, with critics praising the show and especially Gatwa’s energy. I also have to add that the mustache is a great look on him. The trailer for the next season was released on the same day and has us all salivating for more, so we look forward to the return of Doctor Who in May 2024 on BBC and Disney+.
(featured image: BBC)
