So Glad Doctor Who Saw The "death Of The Filler" Thing Most Series Have Going On And Said "actually,

I think that whether or not "Rogue is the Master" turns out to be correct, Davies/Herron/Redman assumed that it would be the popular, "obvious" fan theory after the episode came out.

They figured that everyone would be abuzz about the sheer number of Master references they worked in. "Rogue is the Master" would be the fan assumption they'd be working with and against in all subsequent, extra-textual Rogue content.

Now. Let's step away from "is Rogue the Master" for a moment, and focus on another question: "is Rogue coming back"

On the pro side: they keep working Rogue's ring into the Doctor's costume designs (potentially setting up some sort of "the ring is actually a tracking device or something" plot beat). Rogue and The Meep appear to have the same boss. Season 1 and 2 were shot back to back, which takes care of "will they ever be able to work Groff into the shooting schedule again"

On the con side: the novelization. If there's supposed to be any sort of mystery or suspense around Rogue that would sustain another appearance (and frankly, I don't think "Rogue is trapped on Scary World, but the Doctor saves him" would provide enough narrative thrust on its own. or the necessary relationship conflict, within the structural constraint where a straightforward "happily ever after/domestic bliss" would kind of end the show) - then I don't think we would have gotten this much detailed, unambiguous info about Rogue's thoughts and background and motivations.

Unless: either everything we just learned will be completely irrelevant to future plot twists (which would imply that any coming wrinkles in the story will be more external conflicts than character-driven ones. Less interesting, imo)

Or, everything we just learned is some kind of misdirect

But why would they feel the need to misdirect? If Rogue's story isn't finished yet, then why do the novelization at all? Or why not restrain it to info we already know, or the Doctor's pov only?

Which brings us back to: if the creators assumed that "Rogue is the Master" would be a major fan theory, then how would we expect them to act?

If Rogue isn't the Master, then I would expect them to play up the theory in order to distract from whatever reveal is actually coming.

You could argue that RTD liking the above insta comment would count. But if the goal was to tease the fandom, then one insta like wouldn't exactly be a very public forum for it (compared to, say, those "hee hee, what's with all the 4th wall breaks? What's with Mrs. Flood? Maybe we'll never know 🤭" comments in mainstream outlets)

If Rogue is the Master, and they thought that a significant portion of the fandom already knew that...then I'd probably expect them to throw out some misdirection.

Hey uh, for no particular reason. Remember when Moffat knew perfectly well that "Missy is the Master" would be glaringly obvious, but still wanted the reveal to land with at least some surprise. So he shot a fake scene where Missy goes "I'm the Rani btw 😘" and tried to leak it on purpose

NVM this is the funniest naruto ff

I swear, the nonsense i'm keep reading about Rhaegar (or the Targaryens) are hilarious.

-Asoiaf fandom does its best to absolve Aerys and Tywin of their crimes. Rhaegar gets ALL the blame for starting a war and being responsible for his wife/children death while the Lannisters, Aerys and co who actually DID THE DEED, get away with literally everything.

-The age gap is an issue only with Rhaegar and Lyanna. I'm seeing Lyanna fans (who hate Rhaegar) shipping her with...Arthur Dayne. Same age as Rhaegar 😭

-"Rhaegar was prophecy obsessed. The prophecy probably is not even legit"

Y'all....the PROPHECY IS THE TITLE OF THE BOOKS :D

"A song of Ice and Fire". It's the reason Aegon invaded Westeros.

The funniest part of calling Rhaegar “prophecy obsessed” is that the prophecy literally comes true. It’s the whole point of the series. The Others are real. We are reading the same books, right?

-Half of the POV characters frequently talk about how good Rhaegar was. TWO viewpoint characters are in love with him.

The fandom: this guy is clearly evil, the books are clear!

lol

-And the best one:

"The best thing Robert ever did was killing Rhaegar!" - Elia stans

Ok. Elia stans are defending the man who called her children "dragonspawn" even after their death AND he was pleased of their death.

Twisted logic.

.....

I am once again asking if half the people in this fandom even like the series

@ people who carry bags everywhere what do you put in them what is there to bring other than chapstick, keys, phone and maybe a tampon why are you packing a suitcase to be outside for 5 hours

DO NOT LET SOCIAL MEDIA TURN YOU INTO AN AMERICAN

everyone say happy birthday creampuff 🎉🎉

a friend and i are taking her on a drive so she can get some wind under her wings. don't worry we've got her latched on properly so she doesn't fall off. will liveblog how it goes

Reminder: the companies and political entities pushing Project 2025 have addresses and go out to lunch a lot and should never eat a spitless meal for the rest of their lives.

Practice bagpipes outside their secure compounds.

Follow them around ringing a bell wherever they go.

If they are going to be farcically evil, be Animaniacally good. Be the definition of chaotic justice.

Also, vote. It might just kick the ball down the road a bit, but that gives people more time to organize a concerted resistance (in no way on any social media platform) to the fascist creep happening in America. It is possible to take this country from the bastards who control it, it will take work, effort, and occasionally going offline and talking to humans though.