Jodie Whittaker's joyous take on Doctor Who's titular Time Lord will be returning to television in December's "Revolution of the Daleks," but she may be a bit more isolated than we're used to seeing her. Ever since the Thirteenth Doctor was introduced in 2018's "The Woman Who Fell to Earth," she's been nearly inseparable from Yasmin Khan (Mandip Gill), Ryan Sinclair (Tosin Cole), and Graham O'Brien (Bradley Walsh).
This kinship has extend to the audience's relationship with these characters. The series has often used the emotional arcs of its companions as a point of reference in place of the less relatable, more complex inner life that the Doctor leads. Throughout Chris Chibnall's tenure as showrunner this has been heightened to an even greater degree. Although there have yet to be any truly Doctor-lite episodes à la "Blink" or "Turn Left," Yaz, Ryan, and Graham have filled out what the Doctor terms "a very flat team structure."
At the close of season 12, however, this dynamic appears to be threatened. After escaping the Master, his Cybermen, and a planet-consuming conflagration, the Doctor drops her friends back on Earth. This in and of itself isn't unusual, and there have been a number of times in the past couple of seasons in which story hooks emerge from the time that Yaz, Ryan, and Graham spend in Sheffield. The trouble is that this time, immediately after dropping them off, the Doctor is arrested by a squad of ever-dour Judoon and imprisoned somewhere in deep space.
As clearly as this cliffhanger sets up the initial conflict of the Christmas special (the primary conflict will presumably be with the Daleks), it also suggests a potential break from the philosophy of 2019's "Resolution," which kept the Doctor with her allies for the holidays. For fans of the Earthlings, don't fret: Chibnall told Radio Times that the quartet will be reunited in the special. But a lot can happen in a TV-hour. Look no further than "The Christmas Invasion," which, although it served as David Tennant's first proper episode, didn't really feature a fully-functional display of his Doctoring until the climax. With that in mind, the separation could easily be a bit more prolonged than Chibnall's comments might imply at first blush, even with another TARDIS in the mix.
This absence could signal a return to a practice common in previous years: Christmas guest companions. A laundry list of stars have graced seasonal episodes, including Kylie Minogue, David Morrissey, Michael Gambon, Richard E. Grant, and Nick Frost. The tradition was even the impetus behind the first appearance of fan-favorite Donna Noble, who was initially a one-shot character for Catherine Tate before the actress returned to the role full-time a year later. With all of the potential inherent in a one-off co-starring spot, and knowing that Yaz, Ryan, and Graham will definitely be returning in some capacity, "Revolution of the Daleks" looks poised to present Doctor Who fans with the best of both worlds in terms of who will be helping the Time Lord frantically juggle her multiple concurrent crises.