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Doctor Who: Flux is now in the bag, and if the series' Rotten Tomatoes audience rating of 35% is anything to go by, most fans didn't enjoy it. Those who were already upset at showrunner Chris Chibnall's treatment of this show didn't have their opinion changed, while some of the series' messier episodes led more to give up entirely.
There were plenty of highlights mixed in. Village of the Angels, in particular, received near-universal praise, but the overarching plots to do with "The Ravagers" and "The Timeless Child" failed to engage or interest the majority of the audience. That said, it did leave questions that could help the show's future, going into Chibnall's last few stories and Russell T. Davies reclaiming the mantle of showrunner in 2023.
10 Will Kate Stewart Revive UNIT?
In the Series 11 New Year's Special, Resolution, one creative decision that annoyed fans was the reveal that UNIT had been disbanded. The task force on Earth founded to defend against hostile alien encounters has been a mainstay of the show since the 60s, and for it to be dismantled for no real reason was a slap in the face to fans of the classic.
Flux revealed more to this than it first seemed, as it was part of the Grand Serpent's plan. Now he is out of the way, and Kate Stewart is presumably back in charge, will this mean that UNIT will become an established institution once again? It's possible that UNIT will stray away from its original conception of a military organization and instead be something smaller and underground, which would be an interesting change of pace.
9 What Did The Grand Serpent Actually Want?
When so many villains are stuffed into a story like this, some things will inevitably be left a little underdeveloped. The Grand Serpent's whole story was one of these things, and it left audiences scratching their head as to what he wanted to achieve.
He was a person of great power once but had that power stripped away, possibly due to Vinder's actions. In the finale, he's working with the Sontarans to help them destroy the other races, but it's unclear what he's going to get out of it. The Doctor even asks as much but gets no real answer. It seems like he just wanted power for power's sake, which isn't particularly compelling.
8 Will The Doctor Regain Their Lost Memories?
From the start of the series, The Doctor was dead-set on recovering the knowledge from the life they lost. Her time as a member of Division has been shown to them in little glimpses, but they seemed desperate for more at every turn. That was until they had the fob watch in their hands.
With no real epiphany or big moment to mark the change in perspective, The Doctor decides they don't want the memories and tells the TARDIS to hide the watch somewhere where they'll never find it. Except, even then, they add the caveat that the TARDIS should give it back if they "really ask for it", so perhaps a bigger look into that forgotten past is still on the cards.
7 What Happened To The Ravagers?
Vaguely defined powers were the order of the day when it came to The Ravagers, and their pretty weird ability to disintegrate things was never entirely explained. This meant that when they finally came face to face with the mysterious figure known as "Time" on Atropos, exactly what threat they posed wasn't clear.
This confrontation added more confusion when they were whisked away into nothingness by Time. As they speak, Time seemed angry with them and was punishing them, but The Ravagers seem happy about it, proclaiming it to be "ascension", which just raises further questions. Did Time destroy them? Or did they really ascend to a higher plane of existence?
6 Are the Barries Between Universes Breaking Down (Again)?
Division's plan in creating the Flux was to abandon that universe and cross into another. The concept of a multiverse is very "in" right now, thanks to the MCU, but this isn't the first time Doctor Who has tackled the idea of parallel universes. In David Tennant's first series, The Doctor, Rose, and Mickey fell out of the Time Vortex and into a parallel world. Eventually, Rose ended up trapped there after the events of Doomsday.
With Division trying to destroy one universe and expend great energy crossing into the next, does this mean that the walls between them are now weakened? If so, this opens up a world of possibilities, including the return of one of the show's most beloved companions, Rose Tyler, along with the meta-crisis Doctor from Journey's End.
5 Are The Doctor and Yas Getting Romantic?
One element that begged for more attention but didn't get it during Flux is the relationship between The Doctor and Yas. The Doctor was constantly shutting Yas out during the series for no good reason, and Yas rightfully took issue with it.
This concluded at the end of the finale with a scene where The Doctor vowed to open up and tell Yas everything. After this, the scene hung for a few moments as the two stared into each other's eyes, inches apart. It's not unreasonable to see romantic connotations between the two in this scene. Although this moment was interrupted by Dan, the two may share a tender moment, or perhaps even a kiss, before Thirteen regenerates.
4 How Did The Daleks Survive The Flux?
One of the key moments in the series finale was The Doctor using the Sontaran's trap against them, having the Flux destroy the Sontarans, Cybermen, and Daleks. However, it seems long-lasting consequences aren't on the table here, as the teaser trailer for the New Year's Special shows that the Daleks are just fine.
Naturally, the show isn't ever going to entirely destroy its most iconic villain, but there needs to be some explanation as to why these Daleks weren't destroyed by the Flux. Perhaps one ship teleported away at the last second, or these Daleks were simply already on Earth for some other reason.
3 What Is The Master's New Plan?
During The Doctor's brief conversation with Time on Atropos, they not-so-subtly hinted at the return of The Master. The evil Time Lord was last seen in The Timeless Children when he created Cybermen out of Time Lord bodies. However, his plan was stopped when the Death particle was unleashed and destroyed all organic life on Gallifrey.
Naturally, this would've killed The Master too, but as always, he will have found a way to escape. What his plan for revenge will be this time is unclear, and it's even possible that a new regeneration is in store for the character.
2 Is This The End Of The Timeless Child Story?
Despite being slated by the fans, Chibnall decided to stay the course in Flux when it came to the Timeless Child. Rather than rolling back the idea, it was pushed forward and given a little more depth in Flux, even meeting Tectaeun, the woman The Doctor used to call mother.
With The Doctor seemingly deciding not to regain their memories of this time, it perhaps spells the end of the Timeless Child plot thread. Chibnall only has a few episodes left as showrunner, so there can't be much more to get out of it, even if it is continuing past this point.
1 Is Most Of The Universe Still Dead?
One of the biggest threads left hanging in the series is what exactly is left of the universe after the Flux was contained. When in Division, The Doctor noted that the universe had shrunk considerably, with whole sections just gone. It didn't seem like the show intended to address whether or not this is still the case after the fact.
The Ravagers very clearly said that they had the power to reverse the Flux, as they planned to reverse it a bit and watch it destroy the Earth over and over again, so its destruction could be undone. However, the episode didn't say that's what happened. As with most threads like this, it will likely never be mentioned again, and before we know it, the universe will be back to normal, leaving fans to theorize how this came to be.