One Actress Has Played 4 Different Doctor Who Characters Since 2023 (What Does It Mean?)

Warning: Minor spoilers ahead for Doctor Who season 14, episode 2, "The Devil's Chord."

Summary Doctor Who's Susan Twist has played four different characters, teasing a major reveal with Russell T Davies at the helm.

The show's closing musical number in episode 2 drops a clue about Twist's importance in shaping the story of Doctor Who season 14.

Susan Twist's mysterious roles suggest she may be playing a significant character connected to the Pantheon in Disney's era.

Doctor Who is no stranger to casting actors in multiple, unrelated roles, but one specific figure from Disney's era of the show seems to be playing separate characters that could share a compelling connection. This member of the Doctor Who season 14 cast debuted during the 60th-anniversary specials but has continued to have mysterious cameos into Ncuti Gatwa's first full run of episodes as the Fifteenth Doctor. Returning Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies has a reputation for teasing the approach of certain storylines and twists, and the actor's presence could be a shining example of him doing just that.

Disney's era of Doctor Who is officially up and running, and the show's pseudo-episodic nature clearly has a buried thread tying everything together that dates back to the second episode of the 60th-anniversary specials, "Wild Blue Yonder." The new season's overarching storyline seems to focus on Doctor Who's Pantheon, making the enigmatic organization one of the prime suspects of being behind this recurring actor in different roles. However, there could be other explanations, even if none of them have yet been confirmed or proven wrong.

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Susan Twist Has Now Played 4 Different Characters In Doctor Who Since 2023

Doctor Who has yet to reveal who Twist is really playing

Actor Susan Twist has so far appeared as four distinct characters in Disney's era of Doctor Who, and her recurring casting hasn't yet been openly acknowledged by any members of the cast. After first appearing in "Wild Blue Yonder," she went on to have another small part in the Doctor Who 2023 Christmas special, "The Church on Ruby Road." She also starred in Doctor Who season 14, episodes 1 and 2 - "Space Babies," and "The Devil's Chord." Twist is perhaps most noticeable in "The Devil's Chord," as she charges Ruby and the Doctor for their drinks at EMI Studios.

Twist's ongoing cameos are being handled with an unusual amount of subtlety, suggesting much more than a simple casting quirk.

Doctor Who underwent a soft reboot in the 2023 Christmas Special, making it surprising that Twist's mysterious character has carried over from David Tennant's return as the Doctor into Gatwa's era of the show. There is a trend of Doctor Who actors playing multiple roles, with former Doctor actor Peter Capaldi playing as many as three distinct characters in the Doctor Who universe. However, Twist's ongoing cameos are being handled with an unusual amount of subtlety, suggesting much more than a simple casting quirk.

Doctor Who Is Clearly Building Toward A Major Reveal With Susan Twist

Russell T Davies is famous for his slow-building plot twists

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At this point, it would be a huge surprise if Susan Twist never appeared in Doctor Who again. It's obvious from her unexplained appearances across space and time in multiple roles that Russell T Davies has something huge in mind for Susan Twist's true character(s). A great parallel for comparison can be taken from Davies' initial spell as Doctor Who showrunner back in 2005. Christopher Eccleston's Ninth Doctor and Billie Piper's Rose Tyler often experienced the phrase "Bad Wolf" during their adventures, with the payoff only arriving at the end of Doctor Who season 1.

"Bad Wolf" continued to appear during David Tennant's time as the Tenth Doctor.

Susan Twist's roles haven't been focused on within Doctor Who, and are instead laying the groundwork for what is surely to come regarding who she is playing. What's arguably the most unnerving part about her cameos is that she is portraying incredibly grounded characters that don't outwardly display much power or influence. However, her ability to either live an incredibly long life or travel through time at will suggests she will either be a welcome ally or a formidable villain. One thing is clear: There is a big plot twist on Doctor Who's horizon - and Susan Twist will be involved.

Who Susan Twist Could Really Be Playing In Doctor Who

Twist could be playing another Time Lord, among other possibilites

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With the Pantheon being at the forefront of Doctor Who season 14's villains, a likely theory about Twist's character is that she is a member of the same group of antagonists as Maestro and the Toymaker. However, her character has meant the Doctor no ill yet, even when they came face-to-face as recently as "The Devil's Chord." However, the Doctor's surprise at having been charged the "Outrageous" sum of "Half a crown" could be an encrypted clue as to Susan Twist's Doctor Who character - as could her comparison of herself to Margeret Lockwood's character in 1945's The Wicked Lady.

"Half a crown" was a British idiom for the "Half crown" - a now-defunct coin that was in circulation in 1963.

Of course, with Doctor Who, there are always other possibilities. For instance, the Doctor mentions his granddaughter Susan to Ruby in "The Devil's Chord," which suggests that Twist is playing an older version of the character - despite the fact the Doctor believes Susan to be dead. Alternatively, Twist could be playing another Time Lord altogether, or perhaps be connected to the mysterious Mrs. Flood from "The Church on Ruby Road."

Ruby herself has proven to be just as mysterious as other Doctor Who season 14 characters - Twist's character and Mrs. Flood included. With very little known about Ruby's origin, it's unknown if she is even human. So her lifespan, species, and possibly future abilities could all be revealed to allow her to travel through time independent of the Doctor. In other words, Susan Twist could be playing an older version of Ruby Sunday. This would certainly be a stretch, but Doctor Who has told many more crazy stories through the decades.

Doctor Who Season 14, Episode 2's Ending Drops A Major Clue

"There's Always a Twist at the End" may not just be a random lyric

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Doctor Who's Disney era has engaged in a trend not often explored by the franchise. In short, Doctor Who season 14 has already broken the fourth wall more than once, and the show even started doing so in the 2023 Christmas special. However, one of the most prominent examples is hidden in plain sight - Doctor Who's closing musical number in "The Devil's Chord." The song contains a massive clue as to the importance of Susan Twist as part of Doctor Who season 14's cast.

Related Did Doctor Who Really Set Up Season 14's Major Villain 15 Years Ago In A Spinoff Episode?! Doctor Who season 14's new villain may not be a new introduction to the franchise, with signs pointing to a debut in a spinoff show in 2009.

The highly-choreographed sequence in question, likely caused by Maestro's lingering domain, features everyone performing a song that heavily mentions the lyrics, "There's always a twist at the end." Without knowing Susan Twist had been a part of the last few Doctor Who episodes, the word "Twist" in the song could go by unnoticed as nothing more than a lyric. However, it could also be argued that it's being used in reference to Susan Twist herself, and how pivotal she will be in the show going forward - possibly even at the end of Doctor Who season 14.

Episode Disney+ Release Date "Space Babies" & "The Devil's Chord" May 10 "Boom" May 17 "73 Yards" May 24 "Dot & Bubble" May 31 "Rogue" June 7 "The Legend of Ruby Sunday" June 14 "Empire of Death" June 21