Another mystery was added to the pot in this week’s episode of Doctor Who, which saw newly announced companion actress Varada Sethu appear a year early in an unannounced role.
Beginning in January this year, rumors swirled that Millie Gibson would “be replaced” by Andor actress Varada Sethu, after Sethu was spotted filming for the next season of Doctor Who alongside Ncuti Gatwa. Those rumors were mostly squashed when it was confirmed last month that Sethu would be appearing alongside Gatwa and Gibson in the next season. The three even posed for a delightful photo shoot that makes me really excited to see this TARDIS team in action!
So, you can imagine mine and every other Doctor Who fan’s surprise when Sethu turned up in this week’s episode, “Boom,” playing the part of Mundy Flynn. The character features heavily in the episode as the Doctor fights for his life while being unable to move from a powerful landmine. You can read my full recap and thoughts on the episode here, but it’s safe to say that Sethu put in an excellent performance as Mundy. That begs the question though, how will she return?
At the end of the episode, the Doctor and Ruby leave Mundy and Splice (Caoilinn Springall) to figure things out on the planet of Kastarion 3. So at least she’s not dead – leaving the option for that character to return. Perhaps the Doctor and Ruby pick back up on her at a later stage in the planet’s life? Another option could be a route similar to that of Clara Oswald (Jenna Coleman) from writer Steven Moffat’s era of the show. She too appeared earlier than thought, in a surprise role that turned out to be a splinter of the original Clara, who the Doctor meets a few episodes later. Perhaps we’re in for a timey wimey mystery akin to that?
As for what Varada herself has to say – in a statement on the Doctor Who social channels, she said “I'm so excited the world has finally met Mundy Flynn, it was such a joy to take my first spin in the Whoniverse! I'm so grateful I get to come back for more, but you'll all have to wait and see how that manifests in the new companion role."
Showrunner Russell T Davies adds some backing to my theory that she’ll be playing another character by saying “It's a delight to welcome Varada to Doctor Who, earlier than expected, though things are about to get timey-wimey. That's the end of Mundy Flynn's story, so quite how Varada returns will be revealed next year."
So it looks like we’ll have to wait until the 2025 season to see quite how the story continues. That or we’re once again surprised with another early appearance. In the world of Doctor Who, anything is possible!