8 Best Theories About Doctor Who Season 14's Mystery Woman

May 11, 2024, 11:10 p.m.

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8 Best Theories About Doctor Who Season 14's Mystery Woman

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Summary Could Ruby Sunday be a Time Lord changeling left on Earth by the Toymaker and his wife? The mystery deepens.

Is Ruby Sunday actually the Doctor's great-granddaughter, hidden away to protect her from the Time War?

The mysterious woman who abandoned Ruby might be an Eternal, tying into the deeper lore of Doctor Who. Speculation abounds.

This article contains spoilers for Doctor Who season 14, episodes 1 and 2.Doctor Who has returned with another mystery arc running through its latest season; who is Ruby Sunday, and who is her mysterious mother? Russell T. Davies' second relaunch of Doctor Who has kicked off on a note of fantasy rather than science-fiction; in the previous specials, the Doctor unwittingly broke the boundaries of the universe, and now anything is possible. Already the Celestial Toymaker has been unleashed, and now his legions are sweeping across the galaxy. The Maestro, encountered in Doctor Who season 14, episode 2, is just the first.

Naturally, Ncuti Gatwa's Fifteenth Doctor is not alone. He's joined by Millie Gibson's Ruby Sunday, a character who's as energetic as Rose and as enigmatic as Clara. Like the Doctor himself, Ruby is a foundling; she was abandoned on a church step back in 2004, when she was just a baby. But who is the mysterious woman who left Ruby there? Ruby's story is clearly the overarching mystery of Doctor Who season 14, and here are some of the best theories about who her mother could be.

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8 The Cloaked Woman Is The Toymaker's Wife - & Ruby Is Their Daughter

The first possibility is that Ruby Sunday is one of the Toymaker's children. Jinkx Monsoon played the Maestro in Doctor Who season 14, episode 2, a cosmic being revealed to be the Toymaker's daughter. According to the Maestro, the fabric of the universe has been damaged by the Doctor's recent adventures, allowing cosmic beings - avatars best understood as gods - to make their way into this plane of existence. But if the Toymaker is the Maestro's father, then who is her mother?

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The Maestro is shaken when she discovers something buried deep inside Ruby's heart, something she declares to be wrong - by which the Maestro surely means she has sensed something not in sync with the universe itself. It's possible the mysterious woman who abandoned Ruby is in fact the Toymaker's wife, which would mean Ruby is a changeling, a child of the gods left behind on Earth. This would fit well with the nativity theme that's weaving through this story, complete with the nod to Bethlehem.

Related Doctor Who Season 14 Episode Guide Doctor Who season 14's eight episodes are brimming with important details, fun cameos, and major lore callbacks. Find everything you need here.

7 The Cloaked Woman Is The Doctor's Granddaughter, Susan

The next possibility is that the mysterious woman is Susan - the Doctor's granddaughter. The Fifteenth Doctor is unusually open about his history and background, and he tells Ruby about Susan in Doctor Who season 14, episode 2. Given there's a clear narrative throughline running through this season, it's possible this is deliberate setup, and that Susan Foreman will soon appear again.

Could Ruby be the Doctor's great-granddaughter? It's possible, especially given the fact the Time Lords have long since mastered the technology of so-called Chameleon Arches. Introduced in the David Tennant era, and used significantly during Jodie Whittaker's tenure, Chameleon Arches allow Time Lords to hide themselves away in other civilizations. They rewrite a person's body and mind, making them the perfect tool for hiding. It's possible Susan has deliberately hidden her daughter on Earth, perhaps to protect her from the effects of the Time War.

6 The Cloaked Woman Is A Member Of The Doctor's Real Species

Jodie Whittaker's Thirteenth Doctor learned she did not originate from Gallifrey at all. No, she is in fact the Timeless Child, a being from another universe who became the base genetic code for every Gallifreyan who lived within the citadel. Davies' Doctor Who season 14 is embracing the Timeless Child, exploring it on an emotional level, making it core to the Doctor's own personal identity and arc. It would be fitting for Ruby Sunday's story to be tied to the Doctor's own.

It's possible the woman who abandoned Ruby Sunday is a member of the Doctor's own species. If this is the case, then the Doctor and Ruby have a lot more in common than they realize; not only are they both foundlings, but they are foundlings from the same species. Again, it's likely Ruby's true nature has been concealed, given two DNA tests have confirmed she is human.

5 Mrs. Flood Is The Woman Who Left Ruby At The Church

The Doctor Who Christmas Special introduced viewers to Mrs. Flood, played by Anita Dobson. One of Ruby's neighbors, Mrs. Flood knows a surprising amount about the TARDIS, and it's surely no coincidence she's stayed so close to a girl destined to be a companion. One popular theory is that Mrs. Flood is in fact Ruby's mother, and that she's been watching over her daughter in secret all these years.

The problem with this theory, though, is that the Christmas Special briefly saw Ruby erased from existence. When the timeline changed, Mrs. Flood was still in the area. Curiously, that version of Mrs. Flood didn't seem to know what the TARDIS was, either. It feels as though Mrs. Flood's identity will be revealed as a result of time travel - that she'll encounter the Doctor earlier in her personal timeline. Still, the theory remains possible, if unlikely.

4 Ruby Herself Is Under The Cloak In Doctor Who Season 14

Doctor Who has always been more than a little "timey-wimey" - a phrase that's already made its return in season 14. That means there are other exciting possibilities, ones that take full advantage of the potential of paradoxes. So, for example, one theory suggests that Ruby Sunday left herself there. Perhaps Ruby is in fact a "Space Baby," meaning those children from episode 1 are a lot more important than seemed to be the case.

Such an explanation would be fun, but it wouldn't really be sufficient to explain the Maestro's reaction to Ruby. It certainly wouldn't explain why the woman who left Ruby seems to have been able to reach out across time and space, issuing a warning to the Doctor not to meddle with the timelines too much. Again, this theory seems unlikely.

Related Doctor Who's Ruby Sunday Flashbacks & Falling Snow Explained Millie Gibson's Ruby Sunday became even more mysterious in Doctor Who season 14, episode 1, "Space Babies," but more questions arose too.

3 The Cloaked Woman Is Actually An Eternal

Stepping back into deeper Doctor Who lore, the mysterious woman could in fact be an Eternal. Modern viewers will remember the Eternals from Doctor Who season 12, when Jodie Whittaker's Thirteenth Doctor crossed paths with the monstrous beings Zellin and Rakaya. They were members of a powerful alien race known as the Eternals, and they're actually a deeper cut in Doctor Who lore. Members of the Eternal race encountered Peter Davison's Fifth Doctor in the story "Enlightenment."

The Eternals match with many of the themes of Doctor Who season 14. Ageless, immortal beings, they tended to treat humans as "lesser beings" who existed purely for their entertainment. Where the Maestro feeds on music, the Eternals feed on fear, and they are dangerous enough to have earned being feared. It would be smart for Doctor Who to bring them back, although so far the evidence for this theory is thematic rather than explicitly part of the story.

2 The Cloaked Woman Is Rose Tyler

Is it just a coincidence that Ruby Sunday was abandoned in 2004? This is tantalizingly close to the beginning of Russell T. Davies' first era as Doctor Who showrunner, with his stories set in 2005. While that initially doesn't seem significant, Doctor Who season 14, episode 2 made a strong character moment out of a similar coincidence of timing - with the Doctor reminiscing about his granddaughter, Susan.

It's possible the mysterious woman is in fact Rose Tyler, the Doctor's first companion in the New Who era. Davies always loved the character of Rose, so it would seem appropriate for him to bring her back. What's more, Rose was briefly exposed to the full power of the time vortex, and this could easily have led to her developing strange abilities years later - explaining the temporal shenanigans. It's a fun possibility, but there's not much evidence for this one as yet.

1 Doctor Who's Cloaked Woman Is The Thirteenth Doctor

The final popular theory is that the mystery woman is in fact Jodie Whittaker's Thirteenth Doctor. Again, this is more than a little timey-wimey, but it would potentially make sense - especially given Doctor Who's new, "relaxed" rules of time travel. According to this theory, Doctor Who is setting up its latest multi-Doctor arc, and the interaction between multiple Doctors will lead to a change in the timeline. Whittaker's Thirteenth Doctor will eventually leave a child there, and point ominously at her future self - presumably just for the drama.

As with many of these theories, the evidence is pretty sparse. There's been no indication Whittaker is involved in this latest Doctor Who relaunch; absent such evidence, it's just an amusing idea. There'd really need to be more buildup towards such a story.