Doctor Who: We know the Doctor’s secret!

*This post contains spoilers to season 7 finale “The Name of the Doctor”*

Last Saturday was the season finale of Doctor Who and wow – we learned the Doctor’s secret was NOT his name.

No, we did not learn the Doctor’s name.

River Song said his name (without us hearing it) to open the tomb, but as a joke, people have been saying his name is Please, since he said Please and the tomb opened.

Then… later on, we learned the secret… was John Hurt.

My husband exclaimed, “So, the Doctor’s secret is that they kidnapped John Hurt in his tomb?”… hilarious. No. He tries to be funny.

John Hurt is “The Doctor.”

Whaaaaaaaaat?

John Hurt revealed earlier he played a pivotal point in The Doctor. He IS The Doctor. Some form of incarnation of The Doctor we have not seen.

Clara – who we found out is The Impossible Girl who was born to save the Doctor and jumps into The Doctor’s timeline/grave and saves him from The Great Intelligence in every incarnation” asks the Doctor who John Hurt’s character is because she did not see him when she went through all the incarnations.

Eleventh Doctor: I said he was me. I didn’t say he was The Doctor. My name, my real name. That is not the point.  The name I chose is The Doctor. The name you choose is like a promise you make. He’s the one who broke the promise. He is my secret…”

John Hurt’s Doctor: “What I did, I did without choice.”

Eleventh Doctor: “I know.”

John Hurt’s Doctor: “In the name of peace and sanity.”

Eleventh Doctor: “But not in the name of the Doctor.”

Now we have to wait until November 23rd to find out who John Hurt’s character is.

A lot of theories are going around already:

• John Hurt’s Doctor is actually the 9th Doctor – which makes 9th (Christopher Eccleston) the 10th Doctor, the 10th (David Tennant) the 11th Doctor and the 11th Doctor (Matt Smith) is the 12th Doctor.
• John Hurt’s Doctor is The Doctor who had to push the button to destroy Gallifrey to end the Time War.
• John Hurt’s Doctor is The Doctor who started the Time War.
• John Hurt was never The Doctor – he was the original name and then did something horrible and transformed into the First Doctor
• The Doctors created him to end the Time War – thus breaking the promise.
• John Hurt’s Doctor is Valeyard – a future evil incarnation of The Doctor (look it up)
• John Hurt’s Doctor is a future incarnation- I hope not, no offense Mr. Hurt, but that means we’ll have to use you again and by then… you may be a wee bit too old.

I hope it’s not that he is the 9th Doctor and then it moves everyone up. Do you know how difficult it is to change all that fan art and fan stories?! Then to add John Hurt into the mix on T-Shirts and memorabilia that has already been paid for…  I mean, really? I highly doubt Moffat would do that to the whole series.

If I had to believe one theory, I’d definitely agree with that he was the one who had to end the Time War by destroying his home planet. But, I don’t see how he could be The Doctor’s incarnation. Moffat has a lot of explaining to do. Maybe, he’s all the Doctors combined – the Trinity holding them all together.

At the same time, this photo of Hurt on set does provide clues that he is in between the 8th Doctor and the 9th Doctor – see the waistcoat (like McGann’s Doctor) and the leather jacket (like Eccleston’s Doctor). Oh dear.

November 23rd.

The exact day Doctor Who first aired.

Six months away.

I need a TARDIS, so I can time travel to watch the episode already.

When I hear more about the 50th Anniversary episode, I will report it.

Please tell me what your theories are in the comments!!!

Doctor Who’s 50th Anniversary Episode airs November 23rd on BBC One/America.