One of Doctor Who's biggest and most popular fan theories has just been basically confirmed

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One of Doctor Who's biggest and most popular fan theories has just been basically confirmed

Doctor Who basically just confirmed one of the franchise's oldest and most popular fan theories. First played by the late Roger Delgado, the Master is one of the Doctor's most terrifying enemies. He is the Moriarty to the Doctor's Sherlock Holmes, driven by his ego to prove himself a match for the Doctor and conquer the universe.

The Master first appeared in the 1971 story “Terror of the Autons”. Viewers soon discovered that the Doctor and Master studied together at the Time Lord Academy, but there were indications that they came into conflict after they both left Gallifreyon unprecedented adventures where they had already faced each other before. All of this led to a popular fan theory that the Master was actually the Warlord, another Renegade Time Lord who made his debut two years earlier. Now, it appears that theory has been proven true.

The warlord always seemed to be basically the master

The classic version of the Master, played by Roger Delgado, is an arrogant individual who considers himself the rightful ruler of the universe. Smooth and sophisticated, he tended to form alliances with alien races, intending to use them as pawns and then betray them. Oh, and he was also known for a very distinctive appearance; high forehead, mustache and beard.

This also describes the character of the War Chief very well. Appearing in the 1969 story “The War Games”, the War Chief was a renegade Time Lord who allied himself with an unidentified alien race. He gave them time travel secrets, and together they plotted to pluck human soldiers from time and space, subject them to barbaric war games, and ultimately turn them into an elite fighting force. Using these humans, they would conquer the galaxy.

As complicated as the plot was, it was basically the standard master plan.

A tall but somewhat abrupt individual, the War Chief was known for his high forehead, mustache, and beard. He never intended to honor his alliance with these mysterious aliens; instead, he planned to betray them, taking control as ruler of the galaxy. As complicated as the plot was, it was basically the standard master plan. Naturally, many viewers assumed that Edward Brayshaw's War Chief was actually the Master. The character was shot at the end, left for dead, but there's no reason to assume this did anything more than trigger a regeneration.

New Doctor Who War Games Rerelease Subtly Confirms This Fan Theory

The BBC has just released an edited version of “The War Games”, Patrick Troughton's final story, recolored and with some notable changes. One of the subtlest is a clever change to the music, adding the Master's iconic theme to a key scene in which the Warlord discusses his plans with the Doctor. This was always the moment that viewers pointed to as proof that the Master and the Warchief were very similar – and the musical change literally highlights that.

Realistically, this is the closest Doctor Who will someday come to explicitly confirm that “The War Games” is in fact a master story. The effect is as subtle as a sledgehammer and the intention is very obvious. It will definitely go away Doctor Who delighted viewers, an unexpected gift that subtly rewrites the franchise's history and pays homage to one of the most popular fan theories of all.

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