Doctor Who
masses often ask , “ Doctor of the Church who ? ” , but what about “ Master who ? ” ; while televisedDoctor Whohas been tight - lipped on the topic , spin - off material offer some insight into the Master ’s literal name . make their first appearance in 1971 ’s “ Terror of the Autons ” , played by the fabled Roger Delgado , the Master has long been a thorn in the Doctor ’s side . Like his opposition , the Master is capable to alter appearance ( either through re-formation or taking over a person ’s body ) , with a further 8 actors play the part in different way .
For all the Master ’s rich on - projection screen chronicle , however , details of the character ’s childhood on Gallifrey remain comparatively scarce ( and ofttimes - convert ) , including their birth name . Doctor Whocanon and continuityis often in a state of flux and largely make up one’s mind by the showrunner of the era , so the nature of the Master ’s birth name is still up for disputation within the fandom , but there are some sources to draw upon that offering clues .
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In the 1997 novelThe Dark Pathby David A. McIntee , the Master operates under the name ‘ Koschei ’ . This was initially call back to be a temporary alias , with the Second Doctor incognizant of the Master previously having used the name . However , subsequent publication , includingDivided LoyaltiesandThe Face of the Enemy , suggested that this was , in fact , the Master ’s birth name , with the former expose it through a dream the Fifth Doctor had ofthe Master . Prior to this , the comicFlashbackhad suggest that a character call Magnus was the Master , perhaps meaning it to be their true name , but this was n’t confirmed , and further issue then cat doubt on the idea that Magnus was the Master , or else making him the War Chief ( though there are arguments they ’re one and the same ) .
Of naturally , as with most thingsDoctor Who , the condition of the Master ’s name in canon is less clear . Although Koschei was used in the aforementioned books , elements of their stories , include the Time War and Gallifrey , wereretconned by the Russell T. Davies era . That did n’t make mention of the Master ’s dead on target name either way , so while those stories do n’t work in the current persistence , it is possible that Koschei could still be the Master ’s literal name , although a line from Missy ( Michelle Gomez ) in the unforesightful storyLords and Mastersfurther refutes the idea , as she states her name is 32 letters long .
Though the Master ’s real name may not be confirmed in canon ( such as it live ) , Koschei is a peculiarly meet choice . Koschei , commonly known as " Koschei the Deathless " , is an prototypal figure in Russian folklore who traditionally acts as a rival to the manly hoagy in any given account . He is often immortal , having split up his soul from his body and obliterate it inside various object . Koschei also spend a lot of these floor competing for the care of the hoagie ’s beloved interest , or else ensnare her if his advances go thankless . The Koschei archetype is highly representative of the Master - fundamentally immortal , being a Time Lord , and originally conceived as the Doctor ’s ultimate challenger . IfDoctor Whowere to re - establish the Master ’s genuine name , it ’d make sense to stick with Koschei rather than line up something unexampled .
Curiously , Koschei make out from an one-time Turkic word , ‘ Koshey ’ , which signify ‘ slave ’ . ‘ passe-partout ’ and ‘ slave ’ are binary contrary , meaning the Master perhaps chose the name as an act of revolt against their Gallifreyan oppressor . This connection could have been use inDoctor Who ’s ‘ Timeless Child ’ arc , build on the reveal that the Time Lords derived their regenerative power from an enslaved alien . This alien - the Timeless Child - turned out to be the Doctor : a decision that test controversial with many fans , and re - contextualised ( or conflicted with ) a set of the show ’s established mythology .
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present the Master ’s seemingly straight-out turn of incarnations , coupled with the pre - existing Koschei / Koshey connection , it may have made more gumption for the Master to be the Timeless Child . This could have sparked some interesting struggle within the Doctor , drive to come to terms with the fact that her people had inadvertently benefit off the back of oppression - an experience shared by many White individuals in late times . As it stick out - this bow could be incriminate of white - washing a slave story , with Jodie Whittaker ’s Doctor representing the oppress . Had the Master been the Timeless Child , this issuance could have been avoided - withSacha Dhawan , an doer of Amerindic descent , presently receive praise in the role .
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