The BBC has released a breakdown of Doctor Who: Flux in which showrunner Chris Chibnall and star Jodie Whittaker explain the plot. The coronavirus pandemic forced Doctor Who showrunner Chris Chibnall to change the format of season 13. Ironically, he returned to something a little closer to the classic series, with an abbreviated six-episode season with a single overarching narrative.
The result was Doctor Who: Flux, a story in which the Doctor's quest to recover her lost Timeless Child memories coincided with a potentially universe-destroying threat. Doctor Who: Flux dramatically rewrote the show's mythology, revealing the true nature of Time as a malevolent force restrained by the Time Lords a billion years ago, and ultimately bringing the Doctor face-to-face with the woman who had raised her - Tecteun, the creator of the Flux who had consigned the universe to destruction because of the Doctor's influence. There were a lot of twists and turns, some of which were poorly signposted, and as a result, viewers have been confused about a lot of the plot.
Perhaps partly in response to this confusion, the BBC has released a YouTube video in which Chris Chibnall and Thirteenth Doctor Jodie Whittaker explain the plot. The focus of the video is really on the Doctor's character arc, explaining why the Flux was a personal threat and discussing the impact upon her as a person. It builds to a discussion on why the Doctor chose not to open the Chameleon Arch/fob watch containing her forgotten memories, choosing to accept she is not defined by her past. It's a fascinating video, clearing up a lot of the main plot elements that were confusing - such as how Swarm and Azure were able to transport themselves to Division headquarters in Doctor Who: Flux episode 6.
Unfortunately, the BBC's breakdown of Doctor Who: Flux unwittingly highlights many of the problems with Chibnall's storytelling. The character beats described in the video were all there, but they were undeveloped, meaning the story lacked the emotional impact Chibnall intended it to possess. Furthermore, it's striking how many plotlines were actually secondary to the main arc, and aren't even mentioned in the breakdown; the Sontarans felt like the main villains of Doctor Who: Flux, taking advantage of the chaos Tecteun had unleashed, and yet they don't even merit a mention. There's an unfortunate lack of focus in the storytelling, as demonstrated by the need to even release this breakdown at all.
Matters are compounded by Chibnall's interpretation of the Doctor's character journey in Doctor Who: Flux, which is unfortunately quite reductive. According to Chibnall, the whole purpose of the Doctor's quest in season 13 was to learn she is not defined by her past; but that is the very same lesson she was supposed to have learned in Doctor Who season 12, episode 10, and her coming to understand it literally gave her the power to break free of the Matrix, the repository of Time Lord knowledge. The Doctor has apparently spent the entirety of Doctor Who: Flux relearning that lesson.
The Chibnall era is coming to an end, with his story to be completed in three upcoming Doctor Who specials. Given that's the case, it's reasonable to assume the breakdown is intended to help prepare viewers for these specials, which are expected to continue the story of the Timeless Child and reveal the Doctor's true origin. That certainly explains why so much of the breakdown is spent pointing to the various loose threads - Tecteun's confirming the Doctor's multiversal origin, and the Doctor's hiding the fob watch away for now. For Chibnall, Doctor Who: Flux was the next step in the Timeless Child journey - but the destination won't be reached until next year.
Source: BBC