In the BBC’s trailer for Doctor Who: The Power of the Doctor, something strange is clearly going on with the TARDIS, as the famous blue box’s sign is shown to read ‘HAHAHA’ instead of its typical sign. The next special will be the last appearance of Jodie Whittaker's portrayal of the Doctor and will release in October, 2022. Whittaker's final outing comes after three series and three specials spanning five years, making it fitting that the story tests the Doctor in any way it can, including impacting the time-traveler’s iconic ship.

While there are many possible reasons for interference with the TARDIS in the Doctor Who trailer, there’s a particular scene midway through the trailer at 39 seconds that shows that there’s not only one police-box-shaped TARDIS, but two. Although they seem identical in the shot, it’s more than likely that one of the police boxes could be the Doctor’s while the other could belong to her oldest friend and enemy, the Master (Sacha Dhawan). If this is the case, the Master could be disguising his ship via its chameleon circuit and then butchering the sign’s language as a message or a warning.

Related: What Would Doctor Who's Universe Look Like If The Master's Plan Works?!

Why Would The Master Disguise His TARDIS Like The Doctor's?

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In the Master’s stated quest to erase the Doctor forever in the latest Doctor Who trailer, he could have several reasons for matching the Doctor's TARDIS’ exterior. The Master could be framing the Doctor by planting her ship at the scene of a crime or using the decoy ship to trick her companions, luring them away from an important goal or kidnapping them to use as leverage. As another possibility, the Master could use his TARDIS, and its yet-untapped potential in Doctor Who, in an attempt to stall the Doctor while stealing hers, leaving her stranded when she attempts to access her ship and finds it inaccessible. Any of these options could serve to give the Master a leg up against the Doctor, and while leaving a message on the false TARDIS to taunt her.

Could The Second TARDIS Belong To Jo Martin's Fugitive Doctor Instead?

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Alternatively, the second TARDIS in the latest Doctor Who trailer might not belong to the Master at all. Instead, it could belong to the Fugitive Doctor (Jo Martin), who was first introduced in series 12. Given that the Doctor chose not to remember the full extent of her experiences from her time as the Fugitive Doctor, instead hiding them away deep within the TARDIS, there is still a strong possibility that she could again meet with this unremembered self, opening the door to there being two Doctors in the centenary special. It’s also possible that the dual TARDIS ships could be an instance of the Doctor revisiting these memories, and the Fugitive Doctor is the one who sees the duplicate ships herself.

Regardless of whether the tampered TARDIS is the work of the Master or the result of a run-in with the Fugitive Doctor, the altered signage of the iconic ship is unsettling. With the Master back again and the TARDIS perhaps inaccessible to the doctor in the latest trailer, it is safe to assume that the Doctor will have her work cut out for her in her final special. Hopefully, this indicates that the regeneration scene for Whittaker will be a strong ending to her time in the TARDIS and on Doctor Who.

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