Doctor Who: Flux’s Grand Serpent Was The Master – Theory Explained

Doctor Who: Flux introduced an intriguing new villain known only as The Grand Serpent, but could he actually be The Master in disguise?

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Doctor Who: Flux introduced a sinister new villain called The Grand Serpent, but that villain might just be The Master in disguise. Doctor Who: Flux is the 13th season of the long-running science-fiction series. It boasts a new format for the new series, telling one story spread across six episodes, harkening back to the show’s serialized roots. This will be the final full season produced under Doctor Who showrunner Chris Chibnall, who will step down alongside Jodie Whittaker after a run of specials in 2022.

Played by Craig Parkinson, The Grand Serpent is a mysterious politician from Vinder’s past. Many details of his background remain unknown, and while he’s later seen infiltrating UNIT, much of his journey throughout Doctor Who: Flux is still largely the stuff of speculation. While Flux is over, it’s likely the character still has a future in Whittaker’s remaining specials.

The Grand Serpent is more than just some imperious baddie invented for Doctor Who: Flux, he’s The Doctor’s archnemesis, The Master. From his look to his behavior, The Grand Serpent is set up to return just in time for The Doctor’s final moments and unveil himself as The Doctor’s greatest rival. A surprise Master reveal is old hat for Doctor Who, and even for the Thirteenth Doctor herself, but it looks like Chibnall has one final Master reveal up his sleeve.

Every Similarity Between The Grand Serpent And The Master

It might not be obvious at first, but the Grand Serpent has a major physical similarity to The Master. While The Master is best known for his humanoid Time Lord form, the villain actually has appeared as a snake-like creature. Before taking over the body of Bruce the EMT in the Doctor Who television movie, The Master is depicted as a transparent serpent. It’s a form that looks eerily similar to The Grand Serpent’s snake-shaped projection in Flux. While it would be a bit of a departure for modern Doctor Who, it’s possible for The Master to take on The Grand Serpent’s form.

The similarities between the two are more than just superficial. The Grand Serpent is a secretive schemer that has infiltrated human society to take control of the Earth by a partnership with an alien race. That’s a classic Master scheme. It’s a pattern that repeats from The Master’s first appearance in season 8, serial 1, “Terror of the Autons” to John Simm’s scheme in the final David Tennant era Doctor Who special, “The End of Time.” The Grand Serpent’s bungled partnership with The Sontarans would fit in perfectly alongside all The Master’s other capers.

While much of The Grand Serpent’s identity Doctor Who remains a mystery, one scene in season 13, episode 6, “The Vanquishers” sheds some light on his background. The Doctor, while being interrogated, turns the tables on the Grand Serpent and reveals a few precious details. She says he is a former leader and has “dual pulses.” An evil alien leader with two heartbeats is a perfect description of The Master.

Doctor Who Theory: The Grand Serpent Is The Master

The Grand Serpent secretly being The Master folds neatly into the greater story of Doctor Who: Flux. The Master has used his power to become a political leader before, most famously as Harold Saxon during the David Tennant era of Doctor Who. It’s entirely possible that The Grand Serpent, the powerful political figure from Vinder’s homeworld, is another Harold Saxon-like scheme, with The Master inserting himself as a prime mover, working behind the scenes of Flux. The Master could be working to assemble these people together at this moment, all for some greater scheme to be revealed in the wake of the Flux event.

The Grand Serpent as The Master also poses an interesting question as to when in The Master’s timeline these events might take place. With the events of Doctor Who: Flux stretching all the way back to the Dark Times, this could even be some earlier pre-Delgado incarnation of The Master. More likely, however, is that this incarnation would fit after Sacha Dhawan’s Master. Similar to the Doctor Who television movie, where The Master takes on a snakelike form after surviving execution by the Daleks, The Grand Serpent could be the form The Master takes after surviving the destruction of Gallifrey in Doctor Who season 12, episode 10, “The Timeless Children.”

The Grand Serpent’s Story Is Unfinished

One of the strongest hints to The Grand Serpent’s secret identity is just how unfinished and incomplete his story is in Doctor Who: Flux. The Grand Serpent is the leader of an entire space fleet, possibly a whole planet, but we see almost none of it. His entire empire crumbles off-screen. The interrogation scene alludes to elements of The Grand Serpent’s identity but says nothing conclusive. He’s shown having a great influence on Earth with tattooed lackeys doing his bidding over more than 100 years of human history. None of these people are explained or disposed of.

The most glaring example of how unfinished The Grand Serpent’s story feels is its apparent ending. In the ending of Doctor Who: Flux, this powerful and mysterious figure is walked through a door onto a floating rock in the middle of space. Is he being left there to suffocate and die? Does his species even need oxygen? He doesn’t show fear in his final moments alone in space. Rather, he seems irritated, or even faintly bored. It certainly doesn’t feel like the last time the character will be seen. Either The Grand Serpent’s story is littered with loose ends and unresolved plot threads, or there’s more yet to come.

Why The Master Returning Makes Sense

“The Vanquishers” drops one big hint that The Master is returning. The manifestation of Time warns The Doctor, “Beware of the forces that mass against you,” before adding, “And their Master.” The name drop is not subtle and it doesn’t go unnoticed by The Doctor. After such an explicit nod to The Master, just trotting out Sacha Dhawan wouldn’t be much of a twist for Doctor Who. However, setting up a return, only for a new incarnation of The Master to appear, would be a much more satisfying revelation.

The Master’s return will also help wind down all the remaining plots surrounding Chibnall’s Timeless Child retcon. Doctor Who: Flux has made it very clear that while the audience may or may not be interested in exploring that subject further, Chibnall certainly is. The upcoming specials are all but guaranteed to dig up further secrets from The Doctor’s past, and The Master, in the form of The Grand Serpent, would be the perfect foil for further revelations.

What Does It Mean If Grand Serpent Is The Master?

The Grand Serpent having been revealed to have been The Master throughout Doctor Who: Flux would cement The Master as the Thirteenth Doctor’s main foe. Some incarnations of The Doctor have little to no interaction with The Master, while others have their eras defined by that rivalry. A Grand Serpent Master reveal would put Whittaker alongside Pertwee as one of the regenerations most intertwined with The Master, leaving other characters like Tecteun or Tzim-Sha relegated to smaller components of her story.

The Grand Serpent being revealed as The Master would also have further ramifications on the series as a whole. The change would mean that Russell T. Davies, returning as showrunner in 2023, would enter the position with a new regeneration of The Master to play with. The twist would also mean the series might not have another appearance from Sacha Dhawan, but viewers could instead see Craig Parkinson making a return in the second RTD era of Doctor Who.

After the Timeless Child retcon and the events of Flux, it’s clear that Chibnall loves digging into Time Lord lore. The Master is arguably the most fascinating Time Lord next to The Doctor, but so far all Chibnall’s run has done is diminish The Master’s connection to the doctor. Rather than being lifelong rivals, The Doctor now has an extensive history extending far before they met. The Grand Serpent returning after Doctor Who: Flux would be an opportunity to establish pre-Hartnell connections to The Master and restore The Master’s place as The Doctor’s greatest nemesis.

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