2.8. The Reality War

Season 2 - 2025

Written by: Russell T. Davies
Executive Producers: Russell T. Davies, Julie Gardner, Jane Tranter, Joel Collins, Phil Collinson
Producer: Chris May
Director: Alex Sanjiv Pillai
Music performed by: BBC National Orchestra of Wales
Music conducted by: Alastair King
Music by: Murray Gold

Mrs Flood

from

The Reality War

Mrs Flood: So much for the two Ranis. It's a goodnight from me.

Synopsis

Continuing from the events of Wish World as the balcony, onto which the Doctor is holding, plummets towards London a new door open and Anita, from the Time Hotel, appears and pulls the Doctor to safety with seconds to spare as the world resets to 23rd May 2025 07:00. Ruby awakes back in her own bed as does Belinda, who was outside the Rani's bone palace at the point of reset, this time without Mr Smith.

The Time Hotel is in spasm as it's in 4202 but the world keeps ending in 2025. The Rani's palace is protected so Anita takes the Doctor back to Poppy's room. As the Doctor goes downstairs to Belinda and Poppy he realises as the reality is just a wish he can alter it - and instantly changes hit outfit. The Doctor takes a confused Belinda, along with Poppy, to the Time Hotel.

Once outside of the Wish World Belinda remembers who she, and the Doctor, are, and is surprised that Poppy is real.

Next stop for the Doctor is UNIT. With the Time Hotel disrupting things the Doctor announces who really is and proper reality begins to re-assert itself. People begin to realise who they really are, the Vlinx re-appears, as does Rose Noble, someone Conrad could not even imagine existing. Kate activates a bio-chip in all UNIT personnel, and all around the Wish World hidden UNIT personnel begin to realise who they really are.

As UNIT starts to get back to normal Ruby, Shirley, and Mel, return. The Doctor briefly explains what is going on, and Mel is alarmed when the Doctor mentions the Rani, and when the Rani - along with Mrs Flood - teleports into UNIT. The Rani tells the Doctor that by using the first Time Lord Omega - a name Kate remembers her father talking about - she can use him as a gene bank and resurrect the Time Lords and construct a new Gallifrey.

The Rani says once she constructs a new Gallifrey she would leave Earth alone, and the Wish would end. But this would also mean the end of Poppy, something Belinda cannot accept.

The Rani teleports back to her bone palace just as Mrs Flood finds Omega and begins to pull him out of the Underverse. UNIT, with all its weapons, is a threat to the bone palace. Giant Bone Beasts have been roaming the Wish World, and the Rani sets them on UNIT. As UNIT goes into battle mode the Doctor takes Belinda and Poppy to floor -10 where Susan Triad has built a Zero Room. Belinda and Poppy enter the Zero Room which should protect Poppy when the Wish World comes to an end.

The Doctor steals the Rani's travel device and crashes into the bone palace, deactivating the Threshold. Ruby, fitted with the Indigo device, is able to teleport to Conrad with the aim of ending the Wish. Ruby's initial thought was to punch Conrad but instead, even with Conrad prepared and pointing a gun at her, she talks to him. Finally she briefly teleports and grabs hold of the baby Jonas and wishes for Conrad to have a happy life, and Conrad disappears. With Conrad gone Ruby is able to end the wish.

In the bone palace the Rani opens Omega's tomb, or prison, and a giant skeletal being starts to crawl out. The Rani, shocked by what Omega has become, begins to try to stop him when Omega picks her up and swallows her, leaving only her time ring which drops to the floor. Mrs Flood takes the time ring and disappears leaving the Doctor alone with Omega. As Omega tells the Doctor he is now free to feast upon the world the Doctor spots the Vindicator and, with the power of a billing supernovas (or supernovae) the Doctor pushed Omega back into his crypt.

As the wish ends, and the bone beasts and the bone palace fade away, the Doctor finds the TARDIS with Ruby and the baby onboard. The Doctor takes the TARDIS to floor -10 of UNIT. Scared Poppy may have gone he opens the zero room to find both Belinda and Poppy safe.

The Doctor leaves baby Jonas with Carla Sunday - renamed as Joseph by Cherry Sunday. Back in the TARDIS the Belinda talks to the Doctor and Ruby and baby-proofing the TARDIS now that Poppy is on-board. As the Doctor and Belinda talk Ruby notices Poppy's jacket they were holding slowly getting smaller until it disappears, along with Poppy. Ruby mentions this but both the Doctor and Belinda have forgotten her.

The Doctor returns the TARDIS to UNIT moments before 24th May 2025 finally arrives. With reality restored there are small changes, but no-one apart from Ruby can remember Poppy. The Doctor realises time of slightly out of alignment - and only one force can re-align it and rushes off, alone, in the TARDIS. Alone the Doctor is met by the Thirteenth Doctor, popped from her own timeline by a time schism caused by the Doctor.

The Doctor tells his former self he plans to push a ton of regeneration energy into the Vortex to jolt it one degree. As the Thirteenth Doctor fades away the Fifteenth Doctor's regeneration starts and the Doctor finds himself in a garden - the garden of Belinda's house. Inside is Poppy, Belinda's daughter. The reason why, during her travels with the Doctor, Belinda had urgently wanted to get back to 24th May 2025 was for her daughter.

The Doctor leaves Belinda and Poppy and materialises the TARDIS in space. He opens the door and leans out as he regenerates... into the body of someone who looks very like Rose Tyler or the Moment.

Regular Cast

  • Belinda Chandra: Varada Sethu

Guest Cast

  • The Doctor: Jodie Whittaker
  • Introducing: Billie Piper
  • Ruby Sunday: Millie Gibson
  • The Rani: Archie Panjabi
  • Mrs Flood: Anita Dobson
  • Anita Benn: Steph De Whalley
  • Winnie Peteridge: Sam Lawton
  • Shirley Bingham: Ruth Madeley
  • Carla Sunday: Michelle Greenidge
  • Conrad Clark: Jonah Hauer-King
  • Poppy: Sienna-Robyn Mavanga-Phipps
  • Kate Lethbridge-Stewart: Jemma Redgrave
  • Susan Triad: Susan Twist
  • Colonel Christofer Ibrahim: Alexander Devrient
  • The Vlinx: Aidan Cook
  • Rose Noble: Yasmin Finney
  • Melanie Bush: Bonnie Langford
  • Cherry Sunday: Angela Wynter
  • Voice of Omega: Nicholas Briggs
  • Lakshmi Chandra: Nila Aaiia
  • Seekers: Isla Moody, Megan Davies, Rosie Gibson, Alke Schwarz
  • Drone Guards: Callum Owen, Harrison Pittard, Adam Bentley, Matthew Doman

Original broadcast on the BBC

Channel Title Date Viewers Rating
BBC 1 8. The Reality War Saturday, 31 May 2025 18:50 - 20:00

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