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Doctor Who Cleverly Gets Around The Time Travel Rule That Killed Multiple Companions (But Creates A Problem For Future Seasons)

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Doctor Who Cleverly Gets Around The Time Travel Rule That Killed Multiple Companions (But Creates A Problem For Future Seasons)

Warning: This article contains MAJOR SPOILERS for the 2024 Doctor Who Christmas special!

The 2024 Doctor Who Christmas special includes timey-wimey fun that gets around the time travel rule, but the introduction of the Time Hotel could create problems for future seasons. Over the past 60 years, Doctor Who has become one of the most popular sci-fi shows of all time, garnering an international audience. Since its revival in 2005 (Doctor Who went on a break from 1989 to 2005), the BBC series has been especially well-known for its holiday-themed specials. The most recent episode plays around with time in a way that would usually be off the table.

Doctor Who has a highly developed world with laws that govern the way science works. The time-traveling main character must ensure they don’t cross their own timeline, lest bad things happen. However, the Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special finds a clever way to get around the time travel rule that’s exciting at first glance but could cause issues for the writers in the long run.

The Doctor Usually Can’t Cross Their Own Personal Timeline

The Doctor Repeatedly Tells Companions That Crossing Their Own Timeline Could Have Massive Consequences

Since the beginning of Doctor Who, the Doctor has made it clear that they cannot cross their personal timeline. This rule exists for a few different reasons within the TV universe. Firstly, the Doctor raised on Gallifrey as a Time Lord, and the society’s number one rule is that Time Lords can’t come into contact with their former selves. Because of their socialization, they would most likely abide by the Gallifreyan rule long after Gallifrey was destroyed in Doctor Who.

Gatwa's Doctor from the 2024 Doctor Who Christmas episode and a Weeping Angel.

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Additionally, characters interacting with their past selves can create temporal paradoxes, which often have deadly consequences. This is particularly dangerous when the Reapers come into play. These temporal predators devour everything in a location where a paradox occurs to sterilize the timeline, as seen in “Father’s Day.” Other temporal paradoxes in Doctor Who result in the Big Bang, the Trojan Horse, and Ace’s birth.

Doctor Who‘s 2024 Christmas special, titled “Joy to the World,” is rumored to be Steven Moffat’s last episode of the franchise.

The Blinovitch Limitation Effect is also a concern. The Third Doctor introduces the time law to explain why Jo Grant and the Doctor can’t return for a second chance at fixing a situation. The Fifth Doctor then furthers the explanation, saying that two versions of a person coming in close proximity or contact with one another would cause them to “go zap.” This is ultimately the reason why they can’t go back and save companions who die. It must be noted that the Doctor breaks this rule on numerous occasions without consequences, but it doesn’t change the general edict.

The Time Hotel Lets The Doctor Break His Own Time Travel Rule

The Time Hotel Isn’t Technically Time Travel Even Though It Lets A Person Move Through Time

Doctor Who 2024 Christmas Special Ncuti Gatwa as the Fifteenth Doctor and the Fifteenth Doctor Arguing

In the 2024 Doctor Who Christmas special, the Doctor is the character who gives themselves the code to prevent the case from destroying Joy. Interactions like this usually have negative consequences. As a time-sensitive creature, the Doctor can sense the fact that he’s at a causal nexus point, which increases the chances of creating an alternate timeline. If the Doctor had used the TARDIS, the time travel could have created a temporal paradox with major consequences, such as the Reapers.

Tennant's Fourteenth Doctor and Gatwa from the 2024 Christmas episode

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However, the Time Hotel creates a physical connection between different locations and times. The Doctor isn’t breaking any time rules by walking through an existing portal, and they remain cryptic about how long to wait and what to do when speaking with their past self. Consequently, it doesn’t cause a problem for the versions of the Doctor to interact. Ultimately, the Doctor figures out the code through a bootstrapping paradox – a situation where the future introduces information to the past, which leads the future to know the information.

Doctor Who’s Time Hotel May Create A Problem For Future Seasons

Future Doctor Who Episodes Will Need To Explain Why The Doctor Doesn’t Use The Time Hotel Again

While the Time Hotel was a clever idea inspired by a 1970s children’s TV show, the Doctor Who plot device could create major issues in the future. The rule about the Doctor and their companions not crossing their timelines offers stakes for the show. Without “do-overs,” there isn’t just an easy fix for deadly choices and mistakes. The Doctor can’t bring back companions from the dead or change fixed events. However, the Time Hotel shows introduces a way for the Doctor to make changes without negatively impacting themselves or the people around them.

[I]t’s better that Doctor Who refrains from bringing back the Time Hotel because it could become a deus ex machina for any problem.

In upcoming seasons, Whovians might question in the future why the Doctor doesn’t just use the Time Hotel when he gets into a difficult situation. It’s a logical solution that could help the Doctor get out of difficult situations. At the same time, it’s better that Doctor Who refrains from bringing back the Time Hotel because it could become a deus ex machina for any problem.

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