Mrs. Flood has a distinctive fashion sense in Doctor Who, and a theory about her mysterious origins could explain it. From the One Who Waits to Ruby Sunday’s mother, Doctor Who season 14’s ending answered many of the big questions Russell T Davies posed following his return to the show. By far the biggest lingering mystery, however, concerns Ruby’s next-door neighbor, the eccentric Mrs. Flood. Breaking the fourth wall to expose her knowledge of the TARDIS in 2023’s Christmas special, Mrs. Flood went on to reference Sutekh, the Doctor, and even threatened poor Cherry Sunday during season 14.
One of the hardest aspects of Mrs. Flood’s Doctor Who character to explain is her penchant for copying the costumes worn by former companions. In one Doctor Who season 14 episode, Flood wore a sweater and collar combo virtually identical to the one donned by Clara Oswald. As she departed in season 14’s finale, Mrs. Flood wrapped up in a fluffy white coat reminiscent of Romana’s from the Fourth Doctor era. The costumes are too alike to be chalked up to coincidence, especially in the world of Doctor Who where coincidences typically carry a deeper meaning.
Mrs. Flood Could Be The Pantheon’s God Of Stories
All Clues Point Toward Mrs. Flood Being Another Pantheon God
One of the presiding theories about Mrs. Flood’s identity is that she’s a member of Doctor Who’s Pantheon, more specifically the God of Stories. The defining aspect of Mrs. Flood so far is her status as a gleeful observer. Whether bothering Ruby Sunday or being killed by Sutekh’s wave of death, Mrs. Flood has never directly interfered, nor been shown to possess any motivations of her own. She simply appears to derive enjoyment from watching Doctor Who unfold, like a viewer finding themselves dropped into the show’s world.
Doctor Who exposing Mrs. Flood as the God of Stories in season 15 would certainly explain her passion for watching the Doctor at work, and also chime with some of her most ominous lines in the show so far – “And that’s how the story of the Church on Ruby Road comes to an end,” for example. As further proof, identifying Mrs. Flood as a member of the Doctor Who Pantheon would address how, during season 14’s final two episodes, she knew so much about Sutekh, his intentions, and his reign as TARDIS hide-and-seek champion 1975-2024.
Adding all hints and references together, the God of Stories looks like the most fitting explanation for Mrs. Flood’s true form.
All members of the Pantheon possess godlike abilities, and they use these abilities to carry out their chief purpose as denoted by their title. The Toymaker (God of Games) uses his power to play games, Maestro (God of Music) uses their power to steal sound, and Sutekh (God of Death) uses his power to kill. Based on what little Doctor Who has shown of Mrs. Flood thus far, she is using her power to revel in the stories of others, and no one in the universe has a more exciting story than the Doctor.
Doctor Who season 14’s ending heavily suggested that Mrs. Flood knows the future, as she foretold, “What happens to that mysterious traveler in time and space known as the Doctor? I’m sorry to say his story ends in absolute terror.” While Mrs. Flood could just be a time traveler who skipped ahead to find out how the Doctor dies, the God of Stories would also be privy to such information. Various other time travelers and inhabitants of the future have presumed to know the Doctor’s final fate and have always been proven wrong, suggesting Flood is much more than the average timeline-hopper.
As a final clue to indicate that Mrs. Flood is some kind of storyteller god, one must consider two key details about the upcoming Doctor Who season 15. Firstly, Anita Dobson reprises her role and plays a significant part, according to Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies. Secondly, Ncuti Gatwa has promised much more of the Pantheon in Doctor Who’s immediate future. Adding all hints and references together, the God of Stories looks like the most fitting explanation for Mrs. Flood’s true form.
How Mrs. Flood Being The God Of Stories Explains Her Dressing Like The Doctor’s Companions
Is Mrs. Flood Another In-Universe Cosplay Enthusiast?
As the progenitor of the Time Lords, a hero whose legacy spans thousands of years, and an entity who straddles the line between god and intergalactic hobo, no single person in the Doctor Who universe has a more interesting story than the Doctor themselves. The God of Stories would have witnessed countless tales start and end throughout eternity, but the thrills and spills of the Doctor’s life provide unrivaled entertainment – an endless roller coaster of drama and tragedy.
If Mrs. Flood is indeed the God of Stories, one could hardly blame her for becoming a Doctor Who fan, and this is where the homage to past companions may derive from. Just as regular Doctor Who fans indulge in cosplay and mimic the outfits worn by famous characters, Mrs. Flood could be particularly fond of Clara
and Romana, so cosplays as them during her time on Earth watching the Doctor. Mrs. Flood’s companion obsession is evident elsewhere too: she spent a decade or so living directly next to Ruby Sunday.
Doctor Who season 14 even laid the groundwork for Mrs. Flood’s cosplay outfits with “Rogue…”
The average Doctor Who fan isn’t usually granted the privilege of living among their idols – and those who try typically receive a stern warning from the police – but Mrs Flood’s Pantheon powers allow her to assimilate perfectly into the story she loves. The “Mrs. Flood is the Doctor’s biggest fan” twist would be an incredibly meta turn of events, but Russell T Davies has already steered the show in that exact direction. From Maestro’s fourth wall breaks to the various musical numbers, Doctor Who gradually feels like it is becoming aware of its own conceit.
Introducing a god who watches the Doctor’s life like audiences watch Doctor Who is only a small step up compared to RTD’s meta mayhem thus far. Doctor Who season 14 even laid the groundwork for Mrs. Flood’s cosplay outfits with “Rogue,” which revealed the villainous Chuldur had been cosplaying as humans after borrowing the International Space Station’s Netflix password and binging Bridgerton. Mrs. Flood wearing the costumes of former companions because she enjoyed watching them is the next logical evolution of what RTD’s new Doctor Who is already doing.
Mrs. Flood As The Pantheon’s God Of Stories Would Be A Great Twist For Doctor Who Season 15
How To Avoid Repeating Doctor Who Season 14’s Mistakes
Doctor Who season 14 proved somewhat divisive in terms of its big swings, and particularly with how it resolved two key mysteries. The idea that Sutekh spent thousands of years clinging onto the TARDIS rapidly became meme fodder, while the revelation that Ruby Sunday was an ordinary young girl felt anticlimactic in the wake of so much buildup. From one perspective, it could be argued that Doctor Who tried too hard to subvert expectations. No viewer could have possibly predicted the Sutekh/TARDIS twist, while season 14 spent a great deal of effort convincing audiences Ruby was special to divert from the fact she wasn’t.
A twist viewers guess in advance isn’t automatically a bad one. Being “predictable” is often just proof the twist was well foreshadowed and made perfectly logical sense. The “Ruby Sunday is no one” reveal, for example, may not have been obvious, but it didn’t harmonize well alongside the hints from past episodes. Mrs. Flood announcing herself as the God of Stories would allow Doctor Who to avert that same pitfall, paying off several years of mystery and speculation with an answer that is plausible, but still delivers a big enough punch to the show’s lore to justify the hype and curiosity.