The Doctor was revealed to be the mysterious Timeless Child in Doctor Who season 12, but the Master would have been a better candidate for this role. The Timeless Child was first mentioned in season 11, episode 2, "The Ghost Monument," while the Doctor was subjected to the Remnants' psychic probe, with them stating that "[they] see what's hidden even from yourself," referring directly to the Timeless Child. While this is where the mystery began, it took two seasons for the reveal of what and who the Timeless Child actually is.
After coming through a universal portal, the Timeless Child was discovered by Tecteun, one of the first inhabitants of Gallifrey, and experimented on due to their regenerative ability, leading on to the creation of the Time Lords. After two seasons of speculation, the identity of the Timeless Child was finally revealed in the Doctor Who season 12 finale, "The Timeless Children." On Gallifrey, the Master reveals that the Doctor is in fact the Timeless Child which came as a shock not only to the Doctor, but also to Doctor Who's audience as this apparently retconned the Doctor's entire history.
The decision to rewrite the Doctor as the Timeless Child was a hugely controversial one, leading viewers to wonder whether there would have been a better choice for the character. In fact, it's fair to ask if the Master would have been a better choice to be the Timeless Child. From the Master's superiority complex to their mysterious history in Doctor Who, both classic and new, the Master could have been a far more complex choice for the Timeless Child.
Why The Doctor Shouldn’t Be The Timeless Child
It was a bold move by Chris Chibnall, Doctor Who showrunner between 2018 and 2022, to rewrite the Doctor's origins as the Timeless Child. In all of their incarnations, the Doctor has been seen to be an every-person figure, a charismatic adventurer who has no special powers other than fancy technology, a heightened intellect, and the ability to regenerate. The Doctor has always been a relatable character who suffers tribulations that everyone goes through while also being fantastical; this was one of the primary reasons that Doctor Who is so entertaining for audiences of any age.
However, the retcon of the Doctor being the Timeless Child means that the character was unique and remarkably different from anyone else the entire time. Many have argued that too much emphasis has been placed on how special the Doctor is, especially during Jodie Whittaker's run as the Time Lord, where in the past it's been emphasized that the Doctor isn't special, but just a person who ran away with a time machine. Introducing the Doctor as the Timeless Child not only makes the famous traveler difficult to relate to but creates some major Doctor Who plot holes. Writing the Master as the Timeless Child would have been far less controversial and could have even been viewed as a natural progression for the character.
The Master Would Be A Better Choice For The Timeless Child
Since the Master's debut in 1971's "Terror of the Autons," the character has always been a rebellious thorn in the Doctor's side, while the backstory of the character has been developed further since the series' 2005 revival. The Master has always been shown to be isolated from others with intense feelings of being different and a huge superiority complex. This was reinforced in Doctor Who season 3, episode 11, "Utopia," during which the Master, then disguised as Professor Yana, mentions being plagued by the sound of drumming, which drove him mad during his childhood on Gallifrey. These differences between the Master and other members of Time Lord society could have easily been explained had the Master been written as the Timeless Child.
This reveal would also have had a lesser impact on Doctor Who lore in general as viewers haven't received much information about previous incarnations of the Master. Therefore, they don't know how many there have actually been, fitting in with the narrative that the Timeless Child has unlimited regenerations, unlike the Doctor's original backstory. Reinventing the Master as the Timeless Child would have also played perfectly into the character's pre-existing god complex and would have allowed for some interesting exchanges between the apparently superior Master and the Doctor. In "The Timeless Children," the Master was disgusted at the fact that some of the Doctor's own DNA was infused into every Time Lord, including himself, but this would have perhaps had more of an impact had these roles been reversed, and the Doctor had realized that a piece of the psychopathic Master was in fact in every Time Lord.
Even though it's too late to go back now, especially since Doctor Who's "Flux" series has firmly solidified the Doctor as the Timeless Child, many viewers have expressed disappointment and annoyance at this massive change in the character's history. It's widely felt that the sense of mystery that previous seasons of Doctor Who cultivated so well has been quashed, with too many questions being answered. Despite some lingering plotholes being uncovered by the Timeless Child reveal, it's a certainty that Doctor Who will continue to expand its mythology as more episodes are due to be released in 2023 following a third and final centenary special in October 2022.