'Doctor Who': How The Doctor's Companions Could Prove Vital In 'The Reality War'

WARNING! SPOILERS for Doctor Who 15x07/2xo7, 'Wish World'.

The latest season of Doctor Who is racing towards it's conclusion, and it's set to be a big one! After previous episode 'The Interstellar Song Contest' revealed Mrs. Flood as returning Time Lady villain The Rani, with the character bi-generating to create a second, new Rani played by Archie Panjabi, 'Wish World', part one of the season finale, sees The Doctor (forced back into the human alias of John Smith) and most of planet Earth trapped in a seemingly idyllic world wished for by Conrad Clark, and maintained by Desiderium, the newborn God of Wishes.

This is all part of The Rani’s plot, knowing that such a reality will ultimately be cracked apart by doubt, particularly The Doctor’s. She plans to peek beneath the cracks hoping to locate the body of Omega, the first Time Lord, and use it to restore Gallifrey.

With The Doctor left in a tight spot at episode's end potentially about to fall through the cracks, his companions, both past and present, likely have a vital role to play in next week's finale. Let's remember where they all are currently, and how they will come into play in 'The Reality War'.

Belinda Chandra

The majority of Doctor Who's current series has focused on The Doctor's quest to safely return his newest companion, Belinda Chandra, to Earth on the same date she left: May 24, 2025. 'The Interstellar Song Contest' revealed why this wasn't possible, with Earth having disintegrated shortly after Bel's departure.

In the false reality of 'Wish World', which takes place on May 23, Bel is married to John Smith, and Mother to his daughter, Poppy. Both Bel and John/The Doctor are ultimately taken into custody over their doubts in the Wish World, but as Bel is surplus to The Rani's requirements, she is expelled over the threshold of the Bone Palace, assumably to perish as the Earth crumbles.

Fans will remember Poppy, Belinda and John's Wish World daughter, as Captain Poppy from last season's 'Space Babies' episode. She also appeared briefly to Bel in 'The Story and the Engine'. Interestingly, while doubting the world around them, neither Belinda or The Doctor doubt Poppy's existence. Poppy herself also expresses doubts about the Wish World.

From what little we know about 'The Reality War', it seems Belinda is eager to save Poppy. Given The Doctor's acknowledgement of Poppy's importance in the final scene of 'Wish World', this gives Bel a potentially vital role in the finale.

Mel Bush

Melanie Bush, a former companion of the Seventh Doctor, re-entered the series in Doctor Who’s 60th anniversary special, ‘The Giggle’, now working for UNIT. She has appeared on a recurring basis ever since, in most episodes involving UNIT. In the ‘Wish World’, Mel is a neighbour of John Smith. She lives alone, claiming to spend much of her time in quiet contemplation. Perhaps significantly, her rubbish bin is especially full of the smashed yellow mugs indicating ‘slips’, which pull residents back to the false reality following moments of strong doubt.

Fans have noted that Mel is the only regular UNIT employee not to be depicted as working for the Unified National Insurance Team of the wish reality. The reason for this is most likely that Mel was vacationing in Sydney during Conrad's attack on UNIT in 'Lucky Day', and so he was unaware that she should ordinarily be there when he fashioned his wish. Mel, as an orphan, also has a life experience that Conrad can't relate to, which similarly to the Disabled resistance, could make it more difficult for him to 'see' her, possibly giving her more resistance to the wish. This could explain Mel's apparently higher number of slips, and could make her an important figure in 'The Reality War'.

Ruby Sunday

While Ruby Sunday, The Doctor's previous companion, has been a highly reduced presence after choosing to stay home and get to know her Birth Mother at the end of the previous series, her starring role in this season's 'Doctor-Lite' episode, 'Lucky Day', makes her a vital figure in 'Wish World'.

Due to her previous confrontation with Conrad Clark in 'Lucky Day', Ruby knows from the beginning that something is 'off' about him, so while she is not entirely immune, she doubts Conrad from the beginning, and consequently the Wish never has the same hold on her as the other characters. Ruby later joins forces with her friend and usual UNIT co-worker, Shirley, along with a resistence of the other different and disabled whom have fallen through the Wish World's cracks, to bring Conrad down.

Ruby also believes that if she can properly remember The Doctor and her adventures with him, the world could be restored to the way it was. This is not an unreasonable hypothesis. The theory that 'If something can be remembered, it can come back', has featured in Doctor Who before, most notably in the series five finale, when Amy Pond is able to remember The Eleventh Doctor back to existence. Some fans also believe that the 'real-life' Whovians introduced in this season's 'Lux' can credit their survival after supposed erasure to the fact that The Fifteenth Doctor and Belinda were able to remember them.

If Ruby is able to bring her plans to fruition, she could be one of the most important characters in the finale.

"I never doubted You."

In the closing moments of 'Wish World’, The Doctor’s doubts in the wish cause reality to begin breaking apart. However, a well-known character trait of The Doctor's, particularly in NuWho, is that he never doubts those he chooses as his travelling companions. From The Tenth Doctor expressing his unending belief in Rose Tyler, to Eleven telling Clara Oswald that he never knows why, 'I only know who' when presenting her with a Tardis key, The Doctor's companions are people of whom he is always certain, to the point of The Eleventh Doctor claiming that they are the best of him.

These beliefs are reaffirmed in 'Wish World', first when 'John Smith' almost remembers Ruby, and later when he reassures Bel that despite his doubts in the world, he had never once doubted her.

The Rani appears to have overlooked the companions, and that may be to her detriment. While The Doctor's doubt is breaking reality, his total lack of doubt in Belinda, Ruby, and Mel could potentially keep them safe, and, in turn, give them the chance to save him and stop the two Ranis before it is too late.

Whatever unfolds, 'The Reality War' looks set to be a wild ride.