Doctor Who Season 10 What-If Scenario: The Monk Arc

BBC

Sometimes things aren’t forgotten, they just didn’t get enough love! We’re here to look at characters, aliens, or villains that should have gotten more screen time.

Some of you may remember the Doctor Who forgotten pile that we started a little bit back. But as I started to think about it, I realized there’s more than villains that were just forgotten. Some just didn’t get enough time in the episodes that were available.

This week, we begin the series with The Monks. These villains were incredibly controversial because of the way they were used. They were brought in during the three episode Arc, Extremis/Pyramid at the End of the World/The Lie of the Land. And in their right, they were kind of creepy. Their view, at least. They looked creepy. They easily could have been pretty scary!

But instead, their storyline was kind of lacking. While they had the potential to be great villains, they didn’t get much screentime, and when they did, it didn’t quite make sense.

More from Winter is Coming

• For All Mankind finally gives us information in Episode 405, “Goldilocks”
• Watch a stunning VFX breakdown of The Wheel of Time season 2
• Of course Steve Toussaint (Corlys Velaryon) thinks Eve Best (Rhaenys Targaryen) should rule Westeros
• Confirmed: The Last of Us season 2 will air in 2025
• Final season of Star Trek: Discovery will have “a lot of action, a lot of adventure, a lot of fun”

What we know

Right now we only know that they used a simulation of the earth to plan an invasion. Then when the invasion was planned, using the pyramid in the second episode, Bill as their “lynchpin”, their way to attach to the Earth and take over. Once Bill’s memory began to fight against it, and they retreated away.

In all, it was a pretty small arc to use with such a potentially great storyline. They retreated too easily, and now it seems like they probably won’t come back. As is right now, they’re pretty forgettable.

BBC

How could they be revisited?

If Chibnall decides to use the Monks again, which is probably a long shot, I would definitely give them a longer story arc. They need one that lasts a whole season or half a season, not just three episodes. If we find out the Doctor’s in a simulation there should be clues, like the Master’s Harold Saxon posters or Amy seeing Madame Kovarian.

Next: Victor Pemberton, writer and inventor of the sonic screwdriver dies

They would also probably need to evolve. We know that they’ve been to other planets because Missy had run into them before. So they must evolve. They would need to become something eviler. They were almost too good, and not evil enough.

This, in turn, made the three part arc incredibly boring, rather than an adventure with new villains.