Doctor Who – Wish World ending explained: What is the Rani's plan?

Part one of the season 15 finale followed the Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and Belinda (Varada Sethu) into an alternate reality dreamed up by Conrad and brought to life by the Rani.

But, in true Doctor Who fashion, there's a lot going on beneath the surface – quite literally this time!

Here's everything you need to know about how Wish World ended.

Doctor Who – Wish World ending explained: What is the Rani's plan?

The Rani created the Wish World (with the help of Conrad and the god Desiderium) so as the Doctor could shatter its reality with his doubts (which are stronger than a human's doubts), to allow her to see the "One Who is Lost", AKA Omega.

The vindicator that the Doctor had been using to try and get Belinda home was used to create a web of power to bring the Doctor into the Wish World. The power it created was enough to amplify Desiderium's power and allow Conrad to create an entire world.

The Rani says that doubt can crack open the world – but the doubts of a Time Lord rip open the structure of reality and allow her to see underneath to where Omega is hidden.

As the episode ends, the Rani begins to tear apart the Wish World version of London, and sends the Doctor plunging off the edge of the universe.

But why? The full extent of her plan hasn't been revealed just yet, but star Millie Gibson told RadioTimes.com that the Rani "worships" Omega.

Plus, the Rani says all she has ever wanted is life... which brings us to Poppy!

How is Poppy real?

As he's falling, the Doctor tries to reason with the Rani, telling her: "Don't you understand? I have a daughter! Poppy is real. Don't you know what that means?"

Presumably, Poppy is actually the Doctor's daughter. One theory posited on Reddit is that the Rani used the Doctor's DNA and human DNA (perhaps even Belinda's) to create Poppy – a human/Time Lord hybrid. After all, the Rani does tell the Doctor that all she ever wanted was life.

To find out for sure, fans will have to tune into the finale.

What is the Doctor and the Rani's relationship?

As far as we knew up until now, the Doctor and the Rani have been age-old enemies – but the Rani suggests a different turn of events.

She tells the Doctor: "People said we were lovers – can you remember if that’s true? Far away in time and space… were we? The tragedy is, we were never enemies – every villain you’ve ever fought wanted death, I only wanted life, remember?”

Plus, showrunner Russell T Davies recently said in Doctor Who Magazine: "There are big surprises, from the Doctor and for the Doctor. Some of it shakes up the lore of Gallifrey. Some of it recontextualizes the Doctor, the Rani, and their relationship.”

Could there be more to the Doctor and Rani's relationship than we previously thought? It certainly seems so.

What does this mean for Susan?

So, if Poppy is the Doctor's daughter, presumably she's also Susan's (Carole Ann Ford) mother.

Fans might remember that, in The Devil's Chord last season, the Doctor mentioned Susan, but reasoned that he didn't have any children "yet".

Does that mean Susan was born to Poppy in the future, and then sent back in time? Very possibly!

Fans will have to wait for the finale to be sure, though.

Doctor Who continues on Saturday 24th May, with new episodes available from 8am on Saturdays on BBC iPlayer in the UK and later the same day on BBC One. The series is available on Disney+ outside of the UK.

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