Doctor Who’s Ncuti Gatwa Explains How David Tennant-Era Monster Has Evolved

As one of the foes who truly left the Doctor terrified returns in Doctor Who season 15, Ncuti Gatwa has opened up about how the enigmatic entity has grown since their last appearance in 2008. Season 15, episode 3 “The Well” saw Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor and new companion Belinda Chandra (Varada Sethu) arrive on an abandoned mining colony alongside a team of soldiers sent to investigate. However, as the group finds the sole survivor, the Time Lord soon learns that the planet and being that haunts the settlement is a Doctor Who chilling foe from long ago.

As “The Well” took audiences and the TARDIS back to the site of season 4’s “Midnight”, Gatwa opens up to Doctor Who Unleashed about the return of the Midnight Entity. Highlighting the unknowable creature as his most terrifying foe he’s faced yet, the actor states that while much of the creature has been left for interpretation, what is present in the story showed a clear growth in its abilities and its intentions. Check out Gatwa’s full response below:

To me, this is the scariest monster that I’ve faced so far. I just think the way that Russell wrote it was terrifying, but really beautifully descriptive. But… But just an implication. It’s your own complete interpretation as to what this monster actually is. Oh! Gosh, jus reading it was very… Like, it put… It put shivers down your spine. The monster’s grown, the monster’s learned, the monster has, like, you know, been waiting for… like, a chance to get out and cause trouble, so I loved that it was, like, a bit of a continuation from Midnight.

What Gatwa’s Response Reveals About The Midnight Entity

The Creature’s Powers May Surpass Universes

For the most part, the Midnight Entity has retained most of the characteristics established from its original appearance in Doctor Who season 4. While the entity’s primary mode of attack in “Midnight” was a psychological assault where it possessed and manipulated the passengers of the doomed Crusader 50 bus, the story established it having a physical form and being able to tear the cockpit of the vehicle away with ease. As such, the brief glimpses of the creature behind Aliss (Rose Ayling-Ellis) and how it tore through the team of soldiers are carryovers from the original tale.

What is new is the terrifying prospect of there being multiple entities, as despite Shaya (Caolfhionn Dunne) sacrificing herself by becoming the host, one entity managed to board the team’s craft and escape the planet. Furthermore, the Doctor Who creature can retain knowledge from its past victims, such as the Doctor’s true name, an ability that could potentially surpass the boundaries of realities, given the events of “The Well” potentially take place in a universe where humanity never settled on Midnight and the Doctor never visited. As such, there may be more horrific abilities yet to be known.

Our Thoughts On Doctor Who Season 15’s Midnight Entity Return

The Episode Has A Bleak Omen For The Universe In Its Conclusion

Though certain fans may be divided on the execution of the surprise “Midnight” sequel, Doctor Who season 15 has at the very least managed to retain the mystique of the unknowable villain. Even at the end of its second appearance, the Midnight Entity is still enigmatic, and the Doctor is still left wondering just what it is, amplifying how terrifying it truly is. And with one entity having successfully made its way off-world, the rest of the Doctor Who universe may be about to suffer at the deadly creature’s hands.

Source: Doctor Who Unleashed

Doctor Who

5/10

Release Date

December 25, 2023

Directors

Douglas Camfield, David Maloney, Christopher Barry, Michael E. Briant, Barry Letts, Michael Ferguson, Richard Martin, Peter Moffatt, Pennant Roberts, Lennie Mayne, Chris Clough, Ron Jones, Paddy Russell, Paul Bernard, Michael Hayes, Timothy Combe, Morris Barry, Gerald Blake, Graeme Harper, Waris Hussein, Rodney Bennett, Mervyn Pinfield, Hugh David, John Gorrie

Writers

Russell T. Davies, Dave Gibbons, Kate Herron, Steven Moffat

Franchise(s)

Doctor Who