Pre-airing theories
The synopsis is misleading.
The released synopsis for the special mentions that all three companions will be appearing. However, the synopsis for "The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos" claims there will be a "deadly reckoning". Therefore, it's possible the synopsis could be either misleading or straight-out lying, if one of the companions bites it. It could be similar to Adric in "Time-Flight", where he appeared in a brief vision so his actor was credited to conceal the character's death in "Earthshock", for one example. Either that, or it's a straight-up case of Trailers Always Spoil and The BBC should be ashamed of themselves for releasing the synopsis so early.- A released still shows all three companions present, so it's looking like they're all really in this episode.
- Jossed. They're all here.
The Minister of War is the villain.
- Jossed. The Minister of War doesn't even appear.
The Daleks are the villains
This special may not technically count as part of the season, so it could have old characters, fulfilling the yearly requirement for Daleks at the last possible second, and bringing them back after three years without them as a villain. Made more likely by the trailer, which teases "the DNA of the most dangerous creature in the universe", and then does not reveal the name of said creature.- Now that series 11 has ended and introduced new people to the franchise, it makes sense to reintroduce some classic villains, and the Daleks would be a good place to start. Also, the fact that the teaser ends with Graham asking about the being’s name implies it’s someone or something we already know.
- The Doctor also makes a point that this thing is so dangerous and powerful that it can take control of the planet on its own. Only the Daleks are known to be that dangerous on their own.
- Confirmed by the Christmas teaser, which has the same scene of the Doctor saying "This is the DNA of the most dangerous creature in the Universe", followed by "EXTERMINATE" over the end title. Even more confirmed by the episode itself.
The title is misleading...
Or not the full title. NOTE: This is not my theory. However, many others online are speculating that the title is really "Resolution of the Daleks". People really want Daleks to be in this one.- Jossed. "Resolution" is the entirety of the title. Although a Dalek did appear.
It’s not the Daleks, it’s a new villain
- If this is true, the creature will be Thirteen's Arch-Enemy.
- Jossed.
Based on the trailer and promo image...
A theory. So, the Doctor has a DNA sample from "the most dangerous creature in the Universe", which she deduces is from the ninth century. I'm guessing that, given the table full of labelled human bones from the promo pic, that this danger is unearthed thanks to an archaeology dig at an ancient site, likely early medieval given the mention of the ninth century. The people who buried this thing may have buried the bodies of people who were killed by it nearby, which is how its DNA likely wound up on a bone sample. The Doctor finds the DNA on the piece of bone she's holding, prompting an Oh, Crap! moment. Now, that begs the question, what is this thing? It is quite likely that this thing may in fact be something we've seen before, because there are hints in the trailer that point at that outcome.So, yeah, it may very well be a Dalek. We shall see.
- Confirmed that it's an archaeological dig, and that the creature is a Dalek, but everything else is jossed.
If the creature is a Dalek, it's damaged.
Given how dangerous individual Daleks have been shown to be, if one is the villain of "Resolution", it will have been damaged in the course of its arrival to Earth, which is how Anglo-Saxons from the 800s managed to eventually get the upper hand on it and bury it underground. It repairs itself somewhat, but, although it's still incredibly dangerous, it's not up to full power.- The damage would also explain how any of its DNA got out of its casing for the Doctor to eventually find in the first place.
- Jossed and confirmed. It’s damaged in the present, but wasn’t when it first arrived.
The buried evil is not the Daleks
Because that would be too obvious. It's actually Fenric. I’m suggesting this based on the 9th Century thing. The "great warrior race" could, by the same logic, be the Mire.- Some other non-Dalek guesses:
- The Timeless Child
- A Sontaran
- A Rutan
- A Weeping Angel
- AFAIK, Angels are not capable of causing explosions like those seen in the trailer.
- Jossed.
It's the Doctor — sort of
Maybe we're finally going to get the Valeyard and his origin?- Jossed.
The references in "The Battle of Ravskoor Av Kolos" were Foreshadowing
"Boom Town" immediately preceded a Dalek two-parter, and "Journey's End" was the second half of one. Both of these two-parters are also the most notable occasions the Daleks were played as a direct threat to Earth since the revival. So it would make sense that it's followed by a single buried Dalek (who are always more dangerous on their own) being discovered on Earth and being a major, possibly world-ending threat. The monster is a new form of Dalek
Bringing the Daleks back makes sense, but Chibnall will probably want to put his own thumbprint. This will be a more radical redesign than the New Paradigm, though better conceived than that.- Confirmed: It's specifically a reconnaissance scout, a Super Prototype as the first kind of Dalek to leave Skaro. As a result, it has abilities beyond that of normal Daleks. However, judging by the one drawing we have of it in its original casing, in its casing it looks the same as a regular Dalek.
UNIT will appear.
The trailer shows modern-day soldiers apparently fighting the creature, and UNIT often works with the military. It would be downright bizarre for them not to be involved in a situation involving a dangerous alien going on a rampage in the present day.- Jossed, but... UNIT is said to have been disbanded by the British government due to lack of funding.
The most dangerous creature in the universe...
...Is a Time Lord. It has been mentioned before that a Time Lord's DNA in the wrong hands could be a dangerous weapon, and we've seen that there are plenty of villainous Time Lords out there, especially now that Gallifrey is back.- It seems very impersonal and out-of-character for the Doctor to refer to another member of her own species as "it".
- Said Time Lord is actually genderless.
- If that was the case, she'd probably use single-person "they" instead of "it".
- Said Time Lord is actually genderless.
- Jossed.
At least one of the companions will stop travelling with the Doctor.
There might not be a character death, but a companion will stop travelling with the Doctor, possibly as a result of the events in this episode. If they don't die, they will still appear in series 12, but not in every episode.- As Graham has had a relatively complete arc this series, he seems the most likely to leave the TARDIS for series 12.
- Jossed. All three companions are still with the Doctor at the end of the episode.
The archaeological dig
Given the evidence that an archaeological dig will be part of the plot (the table of bones in one promo pic), and the news that the special is set on the day it airs, a theory: So, archaeologists dig in the area where the creature is buried, recovering the bones, including one fragment contaminated with the creature's DNA. As a result of this excavation, they unwittingly weaken the thing's prison. So when the archaeologists go on a holiday break, the creature is free to start working its way loose without anyone initially noticing. By the time it does get free, around New Year's, it's too late to stop it from getting out, and either UNIT detects something odd, or the Doctor, discovering the creature's DNA on the bone fragment, sends a warning, leading to the soldiers fighting the creature as seen in the trailer.- Jossed (mostly). This guess is close to the plot of the episode, and it gets some things right (most notably that the archaeologists "unwittingly weaken the thing's prison"), but most of the details are off.
Post-airing theories
The mention of Kate Stewart and UNIT is Foreshadowing.
Maybe this is the show's way of setting up the return of Kate and/or UNIT in Series 12. Stay tuned...- It's quite likely that after the deaths of (at least) dozens of people at the gunstick of the Dalek, and the fact that there was a phone call specifically requesting UNIT earlier that same day due to an incident, and proof in the form of the remains of the casing that a Dalek was involved, the government will have to... reconsider defunding UNIT.
Side effects may include growing an extra head
- Zaphod Beeblebrox misused the same pills the Doctor had. The party mentioned by the Doctor was the one where Arthur failed to get off with Trillian.
The Dalek weapon was recovered from the wreckage of a London warehouse in 1984
The Doctor knows where the weapon came from, even describing the event as being "all those years ago". The most recent(in-universe) Dalek attack where a dalek weapon could have feasibly been left behind was the battle shown in "Resurrection of the Daleks" (Canary Wharf is more recent, though all the Daleks were sucked into the void and there were no Dalek casualties at the hands of Cybermen for obvious reasons) this also fits the Doctor's dialogue as the event itself was 34-35 years prior to the time the episode takes place and nearly a millennium and a half (and nine regenerations) prior for the Doctor herself. The reconnaissance scout Daleks are less well suited to combat than the standard soldiers
- If there were really no drawbacks to all the extra abilities it showed, far more Daleks would have had them, and there have been plenty of times in the past where they would have been applicable. Furthermore, The scout was somehow overpowered by what seemed like medieval armies in the flashback, admittedly at great losses, while Daleks normally issue complete curbstomps to more advanced forces. It seems possible, even likely, that the scout was more susceptible to damage than normal, even before losing its casing.
- Or more likely the Daleks don't have the resources to give all their race these powers, just a few among many. And other Daleks have been beaten by conventional forces, in The Daleks Master Plan Ancient Egyptian forces cause trouble for a few Daleks. And even if the Reconnaissance Scout Daleks had additional powers, they are from early in Dalek history, where the casing would have been less advanced.
UNIT's downfall was brought about by the Master
"Spyfall" reveals that the Master infiltrated MI6 and had apparently been working behind the scenes on Earth for years. It is entirely conceivable that he would take the opportunity to get UNIT out of the way by manipulating people to defund UNIT to make his plans easier.- Jossed. Flux reveals that The Grand Serpent was behind it.
