The Ones (Doctor) Who Walk Away From Omelas
Hey! Less than 24 hours to go until the Doctor Who season finale! Time to throw out my final theory on Brendan’s identity, I guess.
I think… he’s the Timeless Child. But, more importantly, the Timeless Child itself is some sort of child sacrifice the rest of Gallifrey gave up, experimented upon, anything of that nature. When the Master speaks about it he sounds furious, like he’s talking about an atrocity. (And this is the guy who, you know, has committed several.)
They lied to us… the founding fathers of Gallifrey. Everything we were told was a lie. We are not who we think, you or I. The whole existence of our species… built on the lie of the timeless child.
So think The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas, the famous short story about a nation which is only prosperous because a small child is kept in a state of misery. (The episode The Beast Below has elements of this too, so…) Maybe Gallifrey’s the same, a whole world built on someone’s else’s pain. My favourite theory I’ve heard so far regarding this is that Brendan is linked in some way to regeneration, or perhaps is even the reason Time Lords regenerate.
Who knows, maybe I’m wrong! Maybe Brendan is the Lone Cyberman in a previous life or is some other version of the Doctor even, he could be anything at this point. But you know, we heard about the Timeless Child, here’s a incredibly mysterious character we first meet as a child…
Bonus round: “Brendan” apparently means “Prince” or “King.” Appropriate for a buncha people who call themselves Time Lords, right?