Doctor Who broaches the boundaries of the universe in season 2 teaser

A very merry Who-mas to all who celebrate. This year, Whovians were not only gifted with the Christmas special “Joy To The World” (co-starring Nicola Coughlan), but they were also treated to a teaser of what’s to come in the second season of Disney+’s Doctor Who. Ncuti Gatwa is back as the Fifteenth Doctor, and we got our first look at Varada Sethu as new companion Belinda Chandra. But unlike some starry-eyed companions, she doesn’t seem all that impressed by traveling through space and time. In fact, her defining moment in the teaser is to demand the Doctor brings her home. 

According to a synopsis for the second season, the new duo will set off on an “epic quest to get [Belinda] back to Earth. But a mysterious force is stopping their return and the time-traveling TARDIS team must face great dangers, bigger enemies and wider terrors than ever before.” The teaser hints at “forces beyond this universe” playing deadly games, which suggests that last season’s storyline concerning the Pantheon of Discord will continue into the second season. (Will this also somehow connect with the Doctor’s origin as the still-mysterious Timeless Child?) 

There are a few glimpses at the season’s adventures, but the other big reveal is the Doctor’s previous companion Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) hanging out at UNIT with Kate Stewart (Jemma Redgrave). Although she chose not to continue traveling with the Doctor at the end of her season, showrunner Russell T. Davies promised Gibson would be coming back. Having her join the ragtag group of former companions and special friends of the Doctor at UNIT seems like an appropriate fit. 

Doctor Who hasn’t yet been renewed for a third season on Disney+. Davies previously said that the show wasn’t doing “that well in the ratings, but it is doing phenomenally well with the younger audience that we wanted.” He also noted that “the BBC will decide its future.” Davies recently announced the wrap of the Who spin-off The War Between The Land And Sea starring Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Loki), Russell Tovey (Being Human), and George Robinson (Sex Education).