Doctor Who Finally Solves the Susan Twist Mystery
Season 1's recurring cameo has finally been explained.
Doctor Who's first season is nearly finished, and it seems like it will culminate its storylines in a pretty shocking manner. One of the season's biggest mysteries has surrounded the recurring appearances from actress Susan Twist, who has played different minor characters across nearly every episode since last year's sixtieth anniversary specials. After plenty of theories from fans, the season's penultimate episode has provided an answer. Spoilers for Season 1, Episode 7 of Doctor Who below! Only look if you want to know! The episode concerns the dual mysteries of who abandoned Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) upon her birth in 2004, and who exactly is the woman (Susan Twist) that The Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and Ruby keep seeing as they travel time and space. They soon learn that U.N.I.T. have been monitoring the woman on Earth, a rich businesswoman who goes by the name of Susan Triad, for quite some time, and their daily scans show that she is a human. This goes against The Doctor's prevailing theory, which has been that she is a regeneration of his granddaughter, Susan Foreman (Carole Ann Ford). The fact that "S. Triad" is an anagram for TARDIS only boosts The Doctor's theories.
Eventually, especially after the details with Ruby's mystery go haywire, The Doctor and Mel Bush (Bonnie Langford) arrange a very brief meeting with Susan to get answers. The Doctor ultimately discovers that Susan remembers all of the various versions of herself scattered across time and space, and has believed them to be dreams. As Susan gives a global presentation to present her technology to the world, the truth is revealed — she is really a vessel for Sutekh, an ancient god who has bonded himself to the TARDIS and is out for revenge. While possessing Susan, Sutekh even rubs this fact in for The Doctor, poking fun at the fact that he thought they would be family.
Who Is Susan Twist on Doctor Who?
So, unless something else changes in Doctor Who's finale, it seems as if Susan is just a human woman who has been manipulated and possessed by Sutekh. This comes after showrunner Russell T. Davies previously joked that Twist kept appearing on the show due to budget constraints, before providing a more concrete answer.
"There's a number of women who keep reappearing – How can this be? Why are they mysterious? It's a world in which there are mysterious neighbours," Davies told TVLine. "And the fascinating thing about Susan Twist is that she seems to be playing a different person every time. How can that be? I have no idea, you'll have to come back and watch... Don't worry, they (The Doctor and Ruby) will soon start looking the right way. We'll reveal a little bit more every single week. Again, there's a climax to that, which is not what you're expecting. It's great.
New episodes of Doctor Who air Fridays at 7pm ET on Disney+, followed by a debut on BBC iPlayer at 12am GMT on Saturdays, and a broadcast premiere on BBC One later that day. If you haven't signed up for Disney+ yet, you can try it out here.
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