Doctor Who season 12 episode 6 preview: “Praxeus”

Doctor Who follows up one of its most shocking episodes in history with “Praxeus,” an installment that looks like it should be a more traditional adventure. But is that true?

Last week’s episode of Doctor Who is one of the most shocking and consequential in series history. Not only did we finally see John Barrowman’s Captain Jack Harkness again after the better part of a decade, but in “Fugitive of the Judoon,” the show introduced a twist that alters the very foundation that the series and its lore are based on.

It introduced another Doctor. Who also happens to be a black woman. And may or may not be from some far earlier point in the timeline of the Doctor we know. Or maybe not. We don’t know yet – but no matter how the story and/or reasoning shakes out, the introduction of the Ruth Doctor will, out of necessity, change the show forever.

So…how do you follow that up?

It’s hard to say. But Doctor Who seems primed to try.

If the trailer and promotional materials are anything to go by, this next episode, entitled, “Praxeus,” will pick up exactly where “Fugitive of the Judoon” left off, with Team TARDIS heading off to investigate the strange confluence of events mentioned at the end of that installment.

Whether those things will somehow tie back in to any of the season’s outstanding plot arcs – the Timeless Child, the Ruth Doctor, the destruction of Gallifrey, or the return of the Master – is unknown. But given that time won’t really have passed between these two episodes is a positive sign, particularly given all the questions that the Doctor’s companions now have about her and her history.

The official synopsis for “Praxeus” is not particularly forthcoming on this issue, but we live in hope.

"What connects a missing astronaut in the Indian Ocean, birds behaving strangely in Peru and a US naval officer who washes up on a Madagascan beach? Team Tardis investigate."

The trailer seems to features some new secondary characters, but theres no sign of Jo Martin’s new Doctor, and no real indication that this installment is going to deal any further with that overarching plot point.

Would they really let it sit for weeks? Guess we’re about to find out.

Doctor Who continues Sunday at 8pm ET on BBC America.