{"id":41457,"date":"2023-12-09T20:09:57","date_gmt":"2023-12-09T19:09:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1941439"},"modified":"2023-12-10T02:49:56","modified_gmt":"2023-12-10T01:49:56","slug":"doctor-who-who-is-the-one-who-waits","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/doctor-who-who-is-the-one-who-waits\/","title":{"rendered":"Doctor Who: Who is The One Who Waits?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Giggle teed up a foe so fearsome, even the Toymaker wouldn’t challenge them. <\/p>

By Morgan Jeffery\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Saturday, 09 December 2023 at 19:04 PM<\/p>

\n\n

Warning: Spoilers ahead for Doctor Who\u2019s final 60th anniversary special, The Giggle.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Bad Wolf, Torchwood, Saxon\u2026 now \u201cThe One Who Waits\u201d appears to be joining the ranks of Doctor Who<\/a> story arcs teased by writer\/showrunner Russell T Davies.<\/p>\n

The Giggle<\/a> \u2013 the third and last of the show\u2019s 60th anniversary specials \u2013 saw the Doctor (David Tennant) once again face off with old foe The Toymaker<\/a> (now played by Neil Patrick Harris).<\/p>\n

The events of previous episode Wild Blue Yonder<\/a> saw the Doctor unwittingly allow the Toymaker \u2013 an elemental force who exists beyond the rules of the universe \u2013 entry into our universe.<\/p>\n

In The Giggle, the cruel Toymaker was able to provoke the Doctor into challenging him to a game \u2013 as the two prepared to match wits, the villain taunted the Time Lord with tales of his accomplishments.<\/p>\n

\u201cI came to this universe with such delight,\u201d he said. \u201cI played them all, Doctor \u2013 I toyed with supernovas, turned galaxies into spinning tops, I gambled with God and made him a jack-in-the-box.\u201d<\/p>\n

We even discover that The Master<\/a> \u2013 last played by Sacha Dhawan in last year\u2019s The Power of the Doctor \u2013 fell foul of the Toymaker, losing a game to the villain and ending up trapped, apparently for all eternity.<\/p>\n

\"Neil\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
Neil Patrick Harris as the Toymaker in Doctor Who.<\/span><\/figcaption> BBC<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

But then, the Toymaker makes a confession: \u201cThere\u2019s only one player I didn\u2019t dare face \u2013 The One Who Waits.<\/p>\n

\u201cI saw it, hiding, and I ran.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Doctor attempts to question the Toymaker further, but he shrugs off his earlier comments, telling his nemesis: \u201cThat\u2019s someone else\u2019s game.\u201d<\/p>\n

So who is The One Who Waits?<\/p>\n

The Toymaker is established as having power almost without limit, able to manipulate the atoms of the universe and conjure up his own magical domain \u2013 in The Giggle, we saw a shaken Doctor uncertain if he\u2019ll be able to best his enemy once again.<\/p>\n

The fact then that, whoever or whatever they are, The One Who Waits is capable of striking fear into the heart of the Toymaker is pretty terrifying. Could an even more powerful being exist in the Whoniverse?<\/p>\n

Interestingly, in a social media post made in October, the official Doctor Who account<\/a> appeared to refer to the Toymaker himself as \u201cthe one who waits\u201d \u2013 but it\u2019s made clear in The Giggle that he\u2019s referring not to himself but to some other figure.<\/p>\n

Of course, the Toymaker isn\u2019t the only all-powerful, ever-living being to exist in the worlds of Doctor Who\u2026<\/p>\n

\"Doctor\n<\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture>\n<\/div>
Doctor Who \u2013 Enlightenment<\/span><\/figcaption> BBC<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

Making their debut in the 1983 story\u00a0Enlightenment<\/a>, the Eternals<\/strong> are a race of elemental beings of immense power, capable of manipulating matter and creating objects out of thin air.<\/p>\n

These amoral creatures act purely for their own amusement, manipulating \u201cEphemerals\u201d (read: mortal beings) for fun.<\/p>\n

Then there are the Guardians<\/strong>, who first appeared in Doctor Who\u2019s 16th season in 1978, a series of interlinked stories which saw the Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker) on a quest to find the legendary Key to Time.<\/p>\n

Transcendental beings who embodied aspects of the universe, immortal and indestructible, we met the White Guardian<\/strong> (Cyril Luckham) \u2013 who represented light, order and structure \u2013 and his eternal opponent the Black Guardian<\/strong> (Valentine Dyall) \u2013 the personification of darkness, entropy and chaos.<\/p>\n