Doctor Who "The Reality War" - Ending Explained

Ncuti Gatwa as The Doctor © Disney+

Doctor Who finished its second season on Disney+ on Saturday, and the ending has me shook. I laughed, I cried, I screamed in joy. This gave us everything we could want from Doctor Who and more.

I cannot emphasize how many spoilers I’m about to drop on you all, and since you don’t have a TARDIS to take you back in time to where you hadn’t read it, if you haven’t watched it yet, please bookmark and come back. Trust me, you don’t want me spoiling this.

If you’re still here, prepare to be excited with me.

The Fifteenth Doctor decided to take drastic action when he discovered his daughter Poppy had disappeared as a result of the wishes reverting themselves after they saved the world from The Rani and Omega. In sacrificing his life to change reality one degree (with help from Jodi Whittaker’s Thirteenth Doctor in a DELIGHTFUL cameo, once again proving she was a victim of bad writing), he does bring back Poppy - but unfortunately, she is now 100% human instead of the impossible 50% Time Lord. As is a theme throughout the last two seasons, the gods are tricky, and were ready to make sure the Doctor never had the family he craves.

Jodi Whittaker as The (Thirteenth) Doctor and Ncuti Gatwa as The (Fifteenth) Doctor © Disney+

He’s able to hold off regenerating enough to finish his visit with Belinda and Poppy, and he promises to see her again, but he’ll look completely different. And even the most casual of Doctor Who fans know that means it’s regeneration time.

Now, for anyone who is reading this and is not a Doctor Who fan, first of all, why? Second, regeneration is something the Doctor does because he is a Time Lord. Time Lords can cheat death by regenerating into a new person. This started in 1966 when William Hartnell wanted to leave the role of The Doctor after three years, and the showrunners decided that, since the character was an alien, they could give him completely different bodies. The act of regeneration not only has allowed the show to last 62 years, but has also led to The Doctor being an iconic role for many actors.

Now, we typically know ahead of time who the new Doctor is going to be, but I loved the fact that the regeneration itself was going to be announced within the scene itself. I was on the edge of my seat, afraid they were going to leave the announcement as a cliffhanger until they cast someone. But as I saw the new face come into view, my jaw dropped.

BECAUSE YES, THAT IS, BILLIE FREAKING PIPER AS THE SIXTEENTH DOCTOR.

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I was having a watch party with my brother, and we both immediately screamed. I scared my sleeping dog awake. My snake, who had been peeking out of her log to watch the entire episode, had no idea what was happening. Billie Piper’s triumphant return to Doctor Who was not something I expected to see - especially like this.

Any time the Doctor revisits a face, of a person he knows or his own, it’s always significant. The Twelfth Doctor took the face of Lobus Caecilius as a reminder that he will always save people. The Fourteenth Doctor took the face of the Tenth to finish his business with Donna Noble and her family. So the Sixteenth? There’s definitely a reason she looks like the modern Doctor’s first companion: Rose Tyler.

Any time Rose/The Bad Wolf shows up, it’s always an iconic moment. Having been locked away in a parallel dimension with the half-human Meta-Crisis Doctor, there’s no chance of us being able to meet the real Rose Tyler again (or is there?). Instead, the next time she showed up, she was “The Moment,” taking on the looks of Rose Tyler, knowing that the iteration of the Doctor, after the War Doctor, would choose her as his first companion.

My theory is that this comes from the Doctor ripping open and connecting with the TARDIS console, because I am pretty sure the last person to do that was Rose Tyler (but don’t quote me on that if I’m wrong) when she became Bad Wolf. Remnants of Rose and her memories may have impacted the regeneration energy, giving us Billie Piper as the Doctor.

No matter what, I can’t wait to see what happens next. Billie is going to be a FANTASTIC Doctor (Ninth Doctor pun fully intended), and I am eager and ready to see where the series goes with her in the lead.

And as a final note: Rose Noble would be the perfect companion for Sixteen. Just. Saying.