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Doctor Who is back and ready to delight sci-fi fans once again. Season 12 Episode 1 of Doctor Who left fans with many questions to ponder. Thinking about these questions might give us a clue about where the show is going.

Time for a spoiler warning. If you have not seen season 12 episode 1 of Doctor Who, “Spyfall: Part One,” stop reading now. If you have seen the episode or don’t mind spoilers, keep reading and explore these questions with us.

Jodie Whittaker of 'Doctor Who' season 12 episode 1
Jodie Whittaker at the Doctor Who panel during New York Comic Con 2018 | Andrew Toth/Getty Images for New York Comic Con

What do the aliens want in ‘Doctor Who’ season 12 episode 1?

Season 12 Episode 1 of Doctor Who introduced fans to a new villain. These aliens seem to be made of light and revealed that they chose their form to mock human beings. They are able to go through objects like walls and doors, even the door to the Doctor’s TARDIS.

They are also able to rewrite human DNA and access some kind of location that looks like a forest made of wires. The aliens are able to trap people in this location, which happens to both Yasmin Khan and the Doctor in this episode. That’s all we know so far about these mysterious aliens, besides the fact that they’re working with Daniel Barton, portrayed by Lenny Henry, and an old foe of The Doctor’s. More on the old foe later.

So what are they up to? What could they want? It could be a typical Doctor Who alien invasion. Yet these aliens seem to be up to something perhaps even more sinister.

According to Radio Times, they told Daniel Barton that they want to “defend,” but defend what or who? They could be defending the aforementioned old foe of The Doctor’s, in which case they’re definitely up to something beyond just typical evil. Since they are in league with someone else, it’s possible that we don’t really know anything about these aliens. Everything might just be designed to fool the Doctor into thinking she knows what’s going on.

How is The Master back in ‘Doctor Who’ and what does he want with the Doctor and her friends?

That’s right, the Master, portrayed by Sacha Dhawan, is back. He was revealed in Doctor Who season 12 episode 1 to have taken the form of O, the MI6 agent. He shrunk the real O down and put him in a matchbox. The Master’s return, however, doesn’t seem possible exactly.

The last regeneration of the Doctor’s old foe that we saw was Missy, portrayed by Michelle Gomez. Missy started out just as evil as the Master usually is but went through a kind of redemption arc. She decided to help the Twelfth Doctor before being shot at with a laser screwdriver by a previous incarnation of herself, portrayed by John Simm. Simm’s Master told Missy that she wouldn’t be able to regenerate.

So how is The Master back? Either Simm’s Master was wrong and Missy was able to regenerate, or she somehow survived and then took O’s form. There’s also the possibility that Dhawan’s Master somehow takes place before Missy. According to Radio Times, “The Master has a history of avoiding apparent certain death with little-to-no explanation.”

So perhaps we won’t find out how the Master is back. We might, however, find out what he wants with the Doctor and her companions. He seems to have a personal vendetta against the Doctor, which is very like the Master. He also might be up to something that is even bigger than just messing with the Doctor and her friends, especially since he is working with the other aliens, who are working with Daniel Barton.

What is Daniel Barton (Lenny Henry)’s role in the events of ‘Doctor Who’ season 12 episode 1?

Daniel Barton raises another question: what is his role in all of this? What does he have against the Doctor and against Earth itself? Does it have anything to do with the fact that he’s not entirely human? There are many possibilities.

His role could simply be a somewhat innocent mostly human tricked by The Master and the aliens into harming humanity and The Doctor, perhaps with some personal gain at the end of it. Yet he also might not be so innocent. He might be a truly bad person. He also might, for some reason, have a personal problem with The Doctor.

There’s also the possibility that, as someone who is not entirely human, that he doesn’t fully fit in with humanity. He might, therefore, have something against the human race as a result of that and that might be his motivation to join The Master and the other aliens.

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