It’s no secret that former Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat has always been the show’s No. 1 fan, so it isn’t that surprising to hear he figured out season 12’s huge twist from a single line of dialogue.
Moffat has always protected the legacy of Who‘s continuity, sometimes even obsessively, going so far as to almost killing the Doctor to respect the rules of 12-regenerations as established in the classic story, “The Deadly Assassin.” But who would’ve guessed that his level of geekiness would allow him to figure out the huge twist of the current season’s premiere two-parter?
Fans were pretty shocked to learn in “Spyfall” that the MI6 agent who went by the codename of O was actually an incarnation of the Master in disguise. This time, the arch-nemesis of the titular character was portrayed by Sacha Dwahan, who managed to bring back the Master’s sadistic side after Missy gave it up to stand with his old friend. Of course, one person was a little less surprised than most, since he figured out the big twist before everyone else.
As the ex-showrunner himself explains, though, Dwahan is to blame for the slip-up, since he inadvertently revealed it while having dinner with Moffat one night. In his own words:
“I was having dinner with him. I said, ‘Look, don’t tell me anything about what you’re doing on the show. Because I don’t want to know. But are you enjoying it?’
He said, ‘Oh it’s great, apart from all the really complicated dialogue like, oh, Tissue Compression Eliminator’. I thought… I know exactly what part you’re playing, just from that! Just from that I know.”
As any devoted Doctor Who fans would tell you, Tissue Compression has always been a fascination of the Master’s, but no modern incarnation of the character has utilized this signature weapon. Moffat knew, though, because Moffat always knows.
The EP further continued to say that he ‘slightly regretted’ learning about this reveal, as he wishes to enjoy the show as an audience member now. Still, that didn’t ruin his enjoyment of Sacha’s performance, which he described as “absolutely terrific.”
In any case, we don’t know when the Master returns to haunt Jodie Whittaker’s incarnation of the Time Lord again on Doctor Who, but we’re rooting for another surprise comeback during the last episode of the current run.