Former Doctor Who showrunner Chris Chibnall has hinted his controversial Timeless Child reveal suggests the Doctor had another nemesis a billion years ago – could it actually be the Master? Chris Chibnall’s tenure as Doctor Who showrunner will forever be remembered for his Timeless Child retcon, which revealed that the Doctor is not a Time Lord at all. Rather, they are a being from another universe – and their power for regeneration was copied by the Time Lords.

The Master stumbled upon this secret during his latest excursions into the Matrix, the virtual reality that serves as the repository of all Time Lord knowledge. He was outraged – so appalled that he committed a horrific act of genocide, wiping out the entire Time Lord race. For the Master, the Timeless Child changed everything; and now, five years later, Chibnall has just hinted at another connection that explains the depths of the Master’s rage.

The Timeless Child Introduced A Master Parallel

A Surprising Twist In The Timeless Child Tale

The Master presented a series of flashbacks to the Doctor, using the Matrix to “show, not tell.” According to the Master, the Gallifreyan explorer Tecteun discovered the Timeless Child at the foot of a mysterious gateway, believing her to have been sent from some other universe. The Timeless Child’s power of regeneration was only revealed when she was out playing with a Gallifreyan child some time later; a boy who savagely pushed her off a cliff, attempting to kill her.

Speaking on the Who Knew? podcast, Chibnall confirmed that the boy was intended as – at the very least – a Master parallel. Frustratingly, the question left a lot of mystery; room for Chibnall to indicate that this was either a Master parallel or the Master himself. Chibnall simply answered “Yes,” and confirmed this was the intention; he didn’t say which of the two interpretations was correct. Given the former Doctor Who showrunner likes to preserve mystery, this is entirely in character.

Wait, Could This Actually Be A Past Version Of The Master?

A Shocking Rewrite Of The Villain’s History

The latter possibility is absolutely shocking, because it would mean that the Master and the Doctor both predate the Time Lords. The Timeless Child retcon means the Doctor is a billion years old, and the Master would be as well; presumably he was among the first handful of people experimented on by Tecteun, and thus had unlimited regenerations. It would probably mean the Master, too, had his memories wiped using a Chameleon Arch at some point in his life.

This idea has even greater implications, though, considering the Master has had numerous plotlines about using up his regenerations. This first came up in “The Deadly Assassin,” where the Master attempted to co-opt the Eye of Harmony to grant himself a new regeneration cycle, and his quest for immortality became a recurring theme during the Tom Baker and Peter Davison eras. We know Tecteun and Rassilon ultimately decided to establish the Time Lord regeneration cap, and they must have imposed it on the Master.

If The Master Knew The Timeless Child, His Reaction To Learning The Secret Makes More Sense

We Can Finally Understand The Master’s Outrage

The Master’s reaction to the Timeless Child retcon always seemed a little “extra,” even for him. This explanation would make sense, though, because he’d have a much more personal reason to feel lied to and betrayed. His reaction wasn’t simply based on fury that the Doctor was more important than he could ever conceive; rather, he was outraged that he personally had been lied to all his life.

The Master’s fury makes even more sense given the aforementioned quest for immortality. By this interpretation, the Master has unknowingly spent so much of his lifespan trying to regain the immortality that had been stolen from him. All that suffering and pain – the time he used up so much regeneration energy he became a husk, the many occasions where he’d endured exposure to cosmic powers in the hopes of regaining immortality – were driven by a longing to get back what the Time Lords had taken.

The Chibnall era doesn’t explicitly confirm that the boy was the Master, of course; Chibnall carefully avoided saying as much. Rather, it leaves this idea as subtext, a fascinating concept that adds more nuance and depth to the character. It’s unlikely to ever be explored again, which is something of a shame; it would be fascinating to understand exactly how this Timeless Child retcon affected the Master in Doctor Who.