How Doctor Who's Midnight Monster Escapes In Season 15, Episode 3's Ending

Doctor Who

‘s “The Well” strongly implies that the monster originally seen in “Midnight” is still alive at the end of the episode, despite Shaya’s heroic sacrifice. Doctor Who has often had creatures return several times in various episodes. With some recurring monsters being a regular staple on the show, and other seemingly one-off villains being brought back for a follow-up story. And after “The Well’s” ending, it seems like another creature has entered the rotation as a recurring villain.

While the mysterious monster made its debut in “Midnight” back in 2008, showrunner Russell T Davies opted to bring the creature back in this story because of the similarity of the mining planet and the mysterious nature of the villain. And in the course of the episode, it seems as though the monster met its match when the captain, Shaya, sacrificed herself to kill the creature. However, the final moments of the episode appear to reveal that the creature managed to escape.

How The Monster Most Likely Escaped In Doctor Who Season 15, Episode 3

The Monster Narrowly Avoided Death In Doctor Who

There are a couple of possibilities for how exactly the “Midnight” monster managed to avoid the fate experienced by Shaya. Though the surviving crew agreed with the Doctor to destroy the planet after evacuating, the final scene strongly implies the creature is on the ship with the crew, meaning it could go anywhere despite its home planet being destroyed. Shaya was under the impression that shooting Belinda, and causing her to almost die, would transfer the creature to her, which is why she then ran to the well and jumped in. However, the monster could have decided to avoid Shaya and move onto a different crew member instead.

But, the episode does heavily imply that the monster was transferred to Shaya, through the punch in motion of the camera, and Shaya’s expression, which indicates she might have felt its presence. If this is the case, then Shaya succeeded in taking the creature, though either on her way to the well, or once she died at the bottom, the creature separated and worked its way back to the crew. After all, it initially found its way out of the well, so even if Shaya succeeded in putting distance between the monster and the crew, it may not have been enough.

We Don’t Know For Certain That The Monster At The End Of “The Well” Is The Same One

There Could Be More Monsters From The Well

Beyond the two above theories about how the monster could have survived and escaped, there is a third possibility that I believe is even more likely. This was likely not the same exact monster as the one that managed to attach to Belinda, but another of the same species. It’s rare for any alien to exist in isolation, though the Doctor may be an exception to that rule.

The Doctor only met one creature in “Midnight,” and he was certainly under the impression that this was the same creature. However, if the monsters shared a hive mind, or if there was another creature of the same species, they could have attached themselves to another crew member and escaped the planet after Shaya’s sacrifice. In this way, the monster from “Midnight” managed to avoid detection on a host like Belinda or the Doctor, who would recognize its presence, and escape. But what comes next for these creatures remains to be seen in future episodes of Doctor Who.

Doctor Who

5/10

Release Date

December 25, 2023

Directors

Douglas Camfield, David Maloney, Christopher Barry, Michael E. Briant, Barry Letts, Michael Ferguson, Richard Martin, Peter Moffatt, Pennant Roberts, Lennie Mayne, Chris Clough, Ron Jones, Paddy Russell, Paul Bernard, Michael Hayes, Timothy Combe, Morris Barry, Gerald Blake, Graeme Harper, Waris Hussein, Rodney Bennett, Mervyn Pinfield, Hugh David, John Gorrie

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