The first trailer for Doctor Who season 12 arrived over this past weekend, on the show’s 56th birthday (November 23rd), and it was received incredibly well by fans. The minute-long teaser promised an even better season than the last one, with more returning monsters, lots of excitement and fun and, most notably, an increased quota of drama and darkness, too.
Because of this, fans are wondering if the run might implement a fixture of previous outings that season 11 left behind: the story arc. Traditionally, a Who season is tied together by a repeated phrase that reoccurs throughout time and space before being explained in the finale. We thought we’d cracked what season 11’s was going to be when the monster-of-the-week read the Doctor’s mind and mentioned “the Timeless Child” in episode 2. However, this was never mentioned again.
But could season 12 revive this mysterious concept? There’s one scene, in particular, from the trailer that’s got us thinking. Over a shot of her sitting alone in a darkened TARDIS, Jodie Whittaker’s Thirteenth Doctor is heard to warn that “something’s coming for me… I can feel it.” The tone of the scene suggests something personal like a ghost from the past, rather than just some bug-eyed creature out for revenge. Could it be the Timeless Child? Whatever it is, the Doctor was very emotional when they were brought up in 2018’s “The Ghost Monument.”
Other clips also contribute to a gloomier tone, including Yaz seen to be crying and Graham heard to seriously ask the Time Lord what she’s gotten them into. Is a mistake from the Doctor’s distant past about to come back to haunt her? Or are we just reading too much into this? The answers will be revealed when Doctor Who season 12 arrives on BBC One/America in the New Year.