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6 Major Questions About Bi-Generation We Still Need Doctor Who To Answer

6 Major Questions About Bi-Generation We Still Need Doctor Who To Answer
Image credit: BBC

We had a hard time wrapping our heads around the concept.

Doctor Who's 60th anniversary specials, ending with The Giggle, have become a real trip down memory lane, with some exciting new quirks that Disney+'s bigger budget brings.

Of course, Russell T. Davies couldn't let the specials fail to add something new to the vast Whoniverse canon. And the bi-generation happened.

When the Doctor split into two incarnations, it would be an understatement to say that viewers were in shock. The wave of emotion that this sudden twist caused was overwhelming.

On the one hand, Whovians are happy to see everyone's favorite David Tennant get a happy ending for his new version of the Time Lord. On the other hand, this is all very confusing. Too confusing.

The Doctors in the episode and Davies in the BBC's commentary to the episode tried to give some kind of explanation to bi-generation. But there are still many questions that we need future episodes to answer in order to make the term a proper part of the canon.

1. Why did bi-generation happen?

There are many theories floating around in fan discussions. Some say that Ncuti Gatwa's Doctor simply returned from the future at the moment of bi-generation to help the Fourteenth defeat the Toymaker. Others are certain that this is a completely new thing.

The Doctors mentioned that bi-generation was an old Time Lord myth, which for some reason became reality. Fans speculate that the reason might be the Doctor's trick with salt at the edge of the universe in Wild Blue Yonder. If that's true, it would be nice to get some sort of confirmation in future episodes.

2. Is the Fifteenth a future of the Fourteenth?

Gatwa's Doctor says he is fine because Tennant's Doctor fixed him. Does this mean that the Fifteenth is the future of the Fourteenth, and has all his experiences and memories, even if the Fourteenth hasn't lived them yet?

Or are these two independent Time Lords with a shared past and memories, but different present and future experiences?

3. What happens when the Fourteenth regenerates?

Now that the Fourteenth has taken the time to live slowly and recover, he can be around for hundreds of years. But his regeneration still has to happen one day. Just dying of old age is not an option.

So when the time comes for the Fourteenth to regenerate, who will he turn to? A new incarnation, or Gatwa's Time Lord?

4. Will bi-generation happen to every Doctor from now on?

Another burning question is what happens when it's time for the Fifteenth to regenerate. Will he bi-generate too? Davies made things even more confusing when he said in The Giggle's commentary that every previous incarnation of the Doctor had also bi-generated and now existed in a kind of multiverse he called the 'Doctorverse'. Hmmm, that's a real head-scratcher that we need more details on.

5. How did the TARDIS duplicate?

In the episode, the appearance of the TARDIS clone is explained by the Toymaker's powers, which defy the laws of physics and logic. But in the commentary, Davies said it was the same TARDIS, just from a different time period. That's certainly something that needs to be explored and explained in the future installments.

6. Will we see David Tennant again?

A big question is if bi-generation was created just to give Tennant's Doctor a nice ending or if there are some plans for a spinoff or an occasional appearance of the fan favorite in the main series. We sure hope that Davies will spill the beans on this soon.

Source: BBC iPlayer.