BBC Studios\/James Pardon<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div>\n
It\u2019s \u201cthe end of the universe\u201d \u2013 but what exactly is<\/em> the Flux? What\u2019s causing it? Is this \u201cspacial anomaly\u201d a natural phenomenon \u2013 something like The Big Crunch (a hypothetical scenario for the ultimate fate of existence, in which the universe \u2013 which has been expanding since the Big Bang \u2013 eventually starts to contract and collapses in on itself)?<\/p>\n
Or is it man-made? Certainly the climax of The Halloween Apocalypse, in which the Flux is seen to change course (\u201cThe end of the universe is chasing us!\u201d) seems to suggest it might be being controlled by some outside force\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n
But if it is the work of a specific group or individual, who? Is Swarm responsible? It\u2019s possible \u2013 though from what we glean from Karvanista, it would seem the Flux has been underway for quite some time, certainly before Swarm was freed from his containment chamber. Then again, we actually witness Swarm\u2019s escape inside the Doctor\u2019s mind\u2026 so who\u2019s to say how long ago it actually occurred?<\/p>\n
Erm\u2026 maybe it\u2019s the Master? Never rule that guy out when there\u2019s trouble afoot.<\/p>\n
Who is Swarm?<\/strong><\/h2>\n $\""Doctor\"$ <\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n
New (or should that be old?) baddie Swarm (Sam Spruell) claims to be an ancient enemy of the Doctor, who battled her across space and time many years before. The only problem? The Doctor\u2019s missing her memories of that period in her life, giving him the upper hand in their new conflict.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s currently unclear what species Swarm is or what his plans are, but we do know he has a sister\/sidekick called Azure (Rochenda Sandall), a handy trick for disintegrating his enemies and an ability to \u201crenew\u201d himself in some way. Oh, and he\u2019s also been in space jail since the Dawn of the Universe, watched over by the Time Lord black ops organisation The Division.<\/p>\n
Still, largely he\u2019s still a bit of a mystery \u2013 though we may have one theory for what his connection is to the Doctor\u2026<\/a><\/p>\n
What is the Division?<\/strong><\/h2>\n $\""Ritu\"$ <\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n
Right yes, some background. In series 12 (specifically the episodes Fugitive of the Judoon<\/a> and The Timeless Children<\/a>) we learned that the Doctor\u2019s race the Time Lords used to have a kind of secret police force, who didn\u2019t officially exist but travelled round the universe getting involved in opposition to Gallifrey\u2019s strict non-interventionist policy.<\/p>\n
We don\u2019t know too much about The Division other than that they have snazzy crystal guns, strange uniforms and \u2013 crucially \u2013 that the Doctor used to work for them, before having her memories wiped and regeneration cycle reset. Now, she appears to be looking for them starting with Karvanista (Craige Els), one of their former operatives, in order to find out what happened to her memories.<\/p>\n
And she might be getting closer \u2013 in this episode we see two more Division operatives guarding Swarm before he escapes, suggesting there are still quite a few of them knocking about the universe for the Doctor to find.<\/p>\n
What is going on with the tunnels in Liverpool?<\/strong><\/h2>\n $\""Steve\"$ <\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n
In what quickly becomes The Halloween Apocalypse\u2019s stock-in-trade, the episode zips from the Doctor and Yaz\u2019s high-octane escape from an acid ocean back to Liverpool, 1820, where one Joseph Williamson (Steve Oram) is digging a series of tunnels beneath the city.<\/p>\n
Though he won\u2019t be drawn on the purpose of his tunnels, Williamson\u00a0warns that something \u201clies ahead\u201d and that \u201cthe cataclysmic, the impossible\u201d is coming for us all. Then we time-travel 201 years into the future and nothing more is seen of this sub-plot for the remainder of episode, bar a brief glimpse of a moody-looking Williamson in the closing montage.<\/span><\/p>\n
So what\u2019s going on here? Well, presumably all will be explained in one of the remaining five episodes of Flux \u2013 but what makes this thread especially interesting is that Williamson is a real historical figure, who is indeed best known for having a series of tunnels constructed in the in the Edge Hill area of Liverpool. The tunnels were built over a 30-year-period, between 1810 and 1840.<\/span><\/p>\n
The purpose of these\u00a0extensive subterranean excavations remains a real-life mystery \u2013 Williamson was said to have kept his motives behind building them a secret, leading to much contemporary speculation as to their purpose, with popular suggestions being they were being used for commercial quarrying, that they were built purely as an excuse for philanthropist Williamson to employ the poor, or that they were simply the purposeless folly of an eccentric man.<\/p>\n
We expect Doctor Who\u2019s own explanation will prove to be rather more interesting\u2026<\/p>\n
Read more about Doctor Who:<\/strong><\/p>\n
Doctor Who \u2013 The Halloween Apocalypse review<\/a>: Chris Chibnall turns up the heat for a fast, fun-packed opener<\/li>\n
Doctor Who\u2019s The Halloween Apocalypse is like a series finale, but backwards<\/a><\/li>\n
Doctor Who\u2019s series 13 premiere featured nods to an old Doctor and two classic companions<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>
What\u2019s wrong with the TARDIS?<\/strong><\/h2>\n $\""Doctor\"$ <\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n
A strange little subplot in The Halloween Apocalypse is the malfunctioning TARDIS, first presented when one of the crystal columns starts leaking an oily, black substance that clearly unsettles the Doctor (though she tries to cover it up).<\/p>\n
Later, the TARDIS keeps stalling when they try to travel, and moving the door to different parts of the control room for no apparent reason (which also weakens the defences when the Flux rolls in later on).<\/p>\n
So what\u2019s going on? It could be that the presence of the Flux was in some way interfering with the TARDIS, or that the release of Swarm led to it malfunctioning (it started going wrong around the time he contacted the Doctor mentally, and she does have a connection to the TARDIS).<\/p>\n
Or it could be that some other threat is messing with the Doctor\u2019s ride. Watch this space\u2026<\/p>\n
Did the heart of the TARDIS do\u2026 anything?<\/strong><\/h2>\n $\""Doctor\"$ <\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
BBC<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div>\n
Speaking of the TARDIS \u2013 in the episode\u2019s final moments the Doctor pulls of a kind of Hail Mary, opening the TARDIS console to pour the energy of the time vortex into the Flux. Unfortunately, what it does is \u201cnot much apparently\u201d and the Flux hits the Doctor, Yaz and Dan anyway, leading to the episode\u2019s ending.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s an odd, slightly anti-climactic moment if the Doctor\u2019s little trick truly didn\u2019t have any effect, so we\u2019re wondering whether this will pay off in next week\u2019s episode. Maybe, this is how the Doctor and co. end up zapped back in time to the Crimean War with the Sontarans \u2013 or maybe it\u2019s even what makes the Flux even more dangerous.<\/p>\n
Who is Vinder?<\/strong><\/h2>\n $\""Doctor\"$ <\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n
The Halloween Apocalypse provides us with a relatively brief glimpse of the much-vaunted Vinder \u2013 Jacob Anderson\u2019s character appears to be Doctor Who\u2019s equivalent of Thunderbirds\u2019 John Tracy, stuck with the thankless role of being stranded in outer space on an observation post where there\u2019s precious little to observe.<\/p>\n
Vinder\u2019s been described by Anderson as a \u201cman of honour\u201d but thus far we know precious little else about him \u2013 how did this \u201cvery good fighter pilot\u201d (again, Anderson\u2019s words) end up stationed on Observation Outpost Rose? It\u2019s clear that there\u2019s no love lost between Vinder and his employers, so perhaps he refused an order that went against his moral code and was given this ignominious posting as a punishment?<\/span><\/p>\n
And what exactly was Vinder supposed to be monitoring? Was it the Flux, or something else (he seems startled by the sudden arrival of said destructive phenomenon, which suggests the latter)? Is it even important? How will he survive getting gobbled up by the Flux? And given that the next episode of Flux, War of the Sontarans<\/a>, seems to be taking us on a trip back to 1850s Earth and the Crimean War, how long will it be before Vinder crosses paths with the Doctor and the rest of Team TARDIS?<\/p>\n
Is \u201cObservation Outpost Rose\u201d more than a coincidence?<\/strong><\/h2>\n $\""Rose\"$ <\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
BBC<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div>\n
Speaking of \u201cObservation Outpost Rose\u201d, is it purely a coincidence that Vinder\u2019s base of operations shares its name with one of Doctor Who\u2019s most beloved companions? It might very well be, but you\u2019d think Chris Chibnall would be aware that you can\u2019t throw the name \u201cRose\u201d into the mix, even in this off-hand manner, and not expect fans\u2019 tongues to start wagging.<\/p>\n
Now we\u2019re not seriously suggesting that Billie Piper is going to appear in Flux \u2013 though she did suggest fairly recently that she\u2019d return to Doctor Who<\/a> \u201cif the circumstances and the story were right\u201d \u2013 but could there be some link here to her character? Perhaps there\u2019s some time trickery involved and we\u2019ll see the Doctor visit a point in history prior to where we first meet Vinder, with the Time Lord christening the newly-built Observation Output and naming it after an old friend?<\/p>\n
Or maybe it\u2019s totally unrelated. What\u2019s in a name, after all? That which we call\u00a0Observation Outpost Rose by any other name would smell as sweet\u2026<\/p>\n
Why are the Weeping Angels hunting Claire?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
$\""Doctor\"$ <\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n
In a little tease for a future episode, we meet Annabel Scholey\u2019s character Claire, who says she knows the Doctor and Yaz from their future and promises to see them again at a later time. However, shortly after leaving the duo behind she\u2019s stalked by a Weeping Angel, who after a tense scene manages to perform its party trick and zap her into the past.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s an intriguing sequence, because it seems like Claire has met the angels before \u2013 she knows to keep her eyes on them at all times, and her comments to the Doctor and Yaz that she\u2019s taking \u201cthe long way\u201d back suggesst that she might already have been sent into history, forced to live through it to catch up with her own time period.<\/p>\n
So why do the Weeping Angels have such a grudge against her? We know Scholey will turn up in future episodes, so we\u2019re guessing that we\u2019ll see exactly how she met the Doctor and incurred the Angels\u2019 wrath soon (our prediction is episode four).<\/p>\n
Presumably, though, we\u2019ll also need to catch up with this<\/em> version of Claire to resolve her story, which is confusing. Worth remembering that the original Weeping Angels episode was the one to introduce us to the concept of wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey stuff\u2026<\/p>\n
Is Dan hiding some kind of secret?<\/strong><\/h2>\n $\""John\"$ <\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>
BBC<\/i> <\/span>\n<\/div>\n
We might be overthinking this, but there\u2019s a moment in The Halloween Apocalypse just before Dan (John Bishop) is kidnapped by Karvanista when the Lupari warrior tries to use telepathic suggestion on his captive.<\/p>\n
But it doesn\u2019t work on Dan, which seems to surprise Karvanista. Is this some sort of suggestion that Dan has hidden depths or abilities, or just a case of bad tech? We might have to wait and see\u2026<\/p>\n
What does Azure want with Diane?<\/strong><\/h2>\n $\""Nadia\"$ <\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n
On a similar note, we have to wonder whether Dan\u2019s sort-of squeeze Diane (Nadia Albina) has some hidden purpose, given that she\u2019s abducted by Azure (Swarm\u2019s sister) towards the end of the episode to splash around in the Upside-Down (or whatever its BBC equivalent is).<\/p>\n
Is this just an attempt to manipulate Dan, and thus the Doctor? But how would Swarm and Azure even know about Dan, let alone his connection to Diane? Sometimes, it feels like we\u2019re adding more questions than answers here.<\/p>\n
Why is there a mattress on the floor of the TARDIS?<\/strong><\/h2>\n $\""Doctor\"$ <\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n
Erm\u2026 look. Maybe the Doctor is such a genius-level intellect that she had planned her and Yaz\u2019s escape from Karvanista in utterly meticulous detail, right down to the perfectly-positioned mattress lying on the floor of the TARDIS \u2013 ready to broke their fall as they were propelled through the doors and onto the console room floor.<\/p>\n
Or maybe the Doctor and Yaz got lucky \u2013 steady on<\/em> \u2013 and the mattress just happened to be lying around after some previous misadventure?<\/p>\n
Still, you can\u2019t help but think the \u201cThasmin\u201d shippers are going to have a field day with this one\u2026<\/p>\n
Doctor Who\u2019s Mandip Gill addresses Yaz\/Doctor romance rumours: \u201cThat\u2019s what happens to people naturally\u201d<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>
Doctor Who: Flux continues on BBC One on Sundays. For more, check out our dedicated Sci-Fi<\/a> page or our full TV Guide<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p><\/body><\/html>\n
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