Doctor Who Still Hasn’t Explained The 50th Anniversary Special’s Biggest Mystery

Doctor Who‘s 50th-anniversary special episode embarked on an ambitious journey that celebrated all five decades of the show’s history to that point, but a decade later, there still hasn’t been a canonical explanation for a slowly emerging plot hole. “The Day of the Doctor” is still one of the greatest Doctor Who stories of all time, with the installment’s three main Doctors allowing for a highly mind-bending adventure. Although not all actors to play the Doctor were directly involved, they still received a nod at an exciting point in the episode.

Doctor Who‘s Disney era began with the long-running sci-fi show’s 60th anniversary, and while David Tennant’s trilogy of comeback episodes weren’t immediate sequels to “The Day of the Doctor,” they did add to a narrative mystery that has been blooming since the 50th anniversary special. Although it can easily be addressed using real-world logic, there could also be an in-universe explanation.

Doctor Who Hasn’t Revealed Why The Post-Capaldi Doctors Didn’t Help Save Gallifrey

The Thirteenth Doctor and beyond weren’t present in “The Day of the Doctor”

The dramatic climax of “The Day of the Doctor” resulted in “all thirteen” versions of the show’s main character collaborating to save their homeworld of Gallifrey. It’s a very exciting moment, but it’s arguably a short-sighted writing choice. While incoming actor Peter Capaldi has a short and tasteful cameo as the Twelfth Doctor, the years that have followed the scene beg the question of why the Thirteenth iteration and beyond didn’t rush to help their past selves.

Matt Smith was the serving lead actor at the time of “The Day of the Doctor,” so Capaldi’s brief appearance was a brilliant addition that didn’t overshadow his soon-to-be predecessor. Unfortunately, Jodie Whittaker’s casting as Thirteen essentially doomed the scene in the 50th-anniversary episode to the realm of the outdated. Without her, Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth, and arguably David Tennant’s Fourteen Doctor, are all inexplicably elsewhere instead of joining the fight.

Why The Thirteenth, Fourteenth, & Fifteenth Doctors Didn’t Appear In The Day Of The Doctor

There is a logical explanation for these Doctors’ absensences

The obvious but boring explanation for the absence of the post-Capaldi Doctors is the simple fact that they hadn’t yet been created or even cast. “The Day of the Doctor” aired in 2013, Capaldi’s first full episode in the role was in 2014, and he remained as the leader of the show’s cast until 2017. Whittaker’s casting wasn’t announced as Capaldi’s replacement until years after the 50th-anniversary episode, so it’s understandable that she and Gatwa didn’t appear.

There was a hint 10 years ago in Doctor Who, when the show may have provided some answers as to what will happen to David Tennant’s Fourteenth Doctor.

In the show’s canon, casting quirks don’t really account for Whittaker and beyond failing to report for duty. Doctor Who hasn’t fixed this discrepancy, but there must be an in-universe reason. One of the most straightforward theories is that thirteen Doctors were more than sufficient to save Gallifrey. With Chris Chibnall’s Timeless Child twist revealing the Doctor has infinite regenerations, this suggests countless Doctors could have appeared in the 50th anniversary special. There has to be a cut-off point, but Twelve knows Gallifrey was saved with his other present counterparts, so Doctor Who‘s logic suggests no more were required.