Doctor Who's Timeless Child Plot Hole Finally Acknowledged by Ncuti Gatwa's Doctor

The Convoluted Doctor Who Mythology

The fallout from the Timeless Child continues to be felt in Doctor Who, and Ncuti Gatwa's first full episode in control of a TARDIS finally acknowledges one glaring plot hole that was previously overlooked. So convoluted and contradictory is the tangled web of Doctor Who mythology, even the most cautious writer must walk on eggshells trying to avoid an egregious plot hole. Chris Chibnall tossed a narrative grenade among those eggshells when he devised Doctor Who's divisive Timeless Child twist. Calling 60 years of lore into question, Chibnall's retcon claimed the Doctor was never truly from Gallifrey, and had lived far longer than assumed.

The founding Time Lords in Doctor Who

One of the many problems the Timeless Child caused concerned the Doctor's parents. Although Mr and Mrs. Who never explicitly appeared onscreen, the Doctor had previously made allusions toward their parents, the latest coming in 'The End of Time' with the inclusion of a mystery woman played by Claire Bloom, later confirmed by Russell T Davies as the Doctor's mother (via Doctor Who: The Writer's Tale - The Final Chapter.) The ramifications of the Timeless Child, of course, meant that the Doctor was never biologically related to their Gallifreyan parents at all.

Millie Gibson as Ruby and Ncuti Gatwa as the Doctor looking at each other back to back in Doctor Who

The adoption of the young First Doctor is finally acknowledged in 2023 Christmas special 'The Church on Ruby Road' when Ncuti Gatwa's regeneration encounters the adopted Ruby Sunday. As Ruby and her mother share a touching moment, the Doctor abruptly chimes in, 'I'm adopted.' Gatwa delivers the line with misty eyes and a thousand-yard stare that suggest this is the very first time since 'The Timeless Children,' that the Doctor has finally allowed themselves to consider the impact the Timeless Child revelation had on their parentage. He is now reevaluating all the memories he has of growing up on Gallifrey.

Doctor Who's Acknowledgment of Adoption

The immediate aftermath of Doctor Who season 12 and the entirety of Doctor Who: Flux failed to truly acknowledge this massive emotional change in the Doctor's personal history. Even for a Time Lord, discovering you're secretly adopted is a huge deal. Instead, Doctor Who focused on Tecteun as the Doctor's adoptive parent, but because the Doctor had no memory of Tecteun, she could not have been the mother Doctor Who referenced in eras gone by. There were parents that the Doctor had just discovered they were never biologically related to, and Doctor Who undersold this unavoidable fact.

Given the backlash the Timeless Child received, questions arose over whether Chris Chibnall's successor, the returning Russell T Davies, would stick by it. Doctor Who's 60th anniversary wholeheartedly proved that he would, as 'The Star Beast' and 'Wild Blue Yonder' both showed the Doctor struggling to process the emotional ramifications of their history being upended, before 'The Giggle' strongly indicated the Toymaker was responsible for it. By showing the Doctor visibly emotional over discovering they were adopted, 'The Church on Ruby Road' confirms Doctor Who season 14 and beyond will continue this pattern of examining the Timeless Child's deeper impact.

Setting Up More Timeless Child Reveals

This sets an intriguing precedent for Doctor Who's future, allowing Ncuti Gatwa to continue tugging at emotional threads that were previously ignored or glossed over. More speculatively, the Doctor's acknowledgment of being adopted could be setting up a future encounter between the Doctor and their Gallifreyan parents - perhaps even the mystery woman from 'The End of Time.' The natural payoff to the Timeless Child would, after all, be an affirming scene between the Doctor and their Time Lord mother and/or father that confirms they were just as loved on Gallifrey as Ruby Sunday is on Earth.