Doctor Who: How does the Flux tie into The Giggle?

The third and final Doctor Who 60th anniversary special, “The Giggle,” includes several callbacks to the franchise’s recent history – including the controversial “Flux” arc. Here’s how the two stories intersect.

“Flux” was the name given to Doctor Who Series 13. It referred to an anti-matter wave, the Flux, that destroyed half the known universe despite the best efforts of Jodie Whittaker’s Thirteenth Doctor.

Alongside the “Timeless Child” arc, “Flux” wound up being one of the most polarizing storylines from ex-showrunner Chris Chibnall’s run. Despite this, current showrunner Russell T Davies recently confirmed he wouldn’t retcon any of Chibnall’s additions to Doctor Who lore.

Davies proved as good as his word, too. The second Doctor Who 60th anniversary special, Wild Blue Yonder, explicitly references the devastation caused by the Flux – and the regret the Fourteenth Doctor (David Tennant) feels as a result. Warning: spoilers for “The Giggle” to follow…

How does the Flux tie into Doctor Who: The Giggle?

The Flux wiping out 50% of creation comes up again in “The Giggle.” This time, these events are crudely dramatized as part of a puppet show put on by the villainous Toymaker (Neil Patrick Harris).

The Toymaker’s”entertainment” is really a thinly veiled attack on the Doctor, highlighting his supposedly harmful impact on everyone around him. It features distorted retellings of the fates that befell the Doctor’s previous companions Amy Pond, Clara Oswald, and Bill Potts.

From here, the show launches into a simplified recap of “Flux,” with the Toymaker snipping the planet-shaped puppets’ strings to represent their destruction. Interestingly, unlike with the companions, this time, the Doctor doesn’t try to reframe the Toymaker’s version of events.

Instead, he challenges the Toymaker – an indication of how raw he still feels about the “Flux” arc’s happenings. Fortunately, the Doctor ultimately purges his Flux-related anxiety later in the special, via his off-screen, post-bigeneration rehab.

Doctor Who showrunner teases Series 14’s mysteries

With the Flux no longer a going concern, “The Giggle” sets up other, fresher plot threads for Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor to face. This includes the One Who Waits – a mysterious new antagonist whose true identity probably won’t come to light any time soon.

Davies said as much in a recent interview, warning fans that some of the questions raised here and in the 2023 Christmas special “The Church on Ruby Road” will remain unanswered for a while yet.

Doctor Who: The Giggle is streaming on BBC iPlayer (UK & Ireland) and Disney+ (everywhere else) now. For the latest Doctor Who news and updates, check out Dexerto’s full coverage here.

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