As Ncuti Gatwa's Fifteenth Doctor becomes entangled in a new conflict between gods and deities in Ariyon Bakare's mysterious Barber once served as a Storyteller who helped many gods gain recognition, only for them to turn on him.

As part of his plan, the Barber has taken control of Omo's (Sule Rimi) barbershop, using his and the establishment's regulars' many tales to power his transportation machine across the Nexus of shared stories, hoping to reach its center and erase the gods. The Barber isn't alone, as he is ed by Abena (Michelle Asante), an old acquaintance of the Doctor and daughter of Anansi, who seeks to take revenge on her father. Despite their plot, the Time Lord is able to convince the two deities to end their scheme.

Doctor Who's "The Doctor Is The Pantheon's God Of Life" Theory Explained

The Pantheon's Emergence Has Given Many Existing Characters New Depth

Of course, the Barber and Abena are not the only gods who the Time Lord has faced within the current era of Doctor Who, as one recurring threat has been the mysterious Pantheon. Alongside pre-existing foes such as the Mara, the Toymaker (Neil Patrick Harris), and Sutekh (Gabriel Woolfe), who exist as the deities representing Beasts, Games, and Death, new foes such as the Maestro (Jinkx Monsoon) and Lux Imperator (Alan Cumming) have been introduced as the gods of Music and Light. Other of the Pantheon have also been alluded to through Sutekh's harbinger, Harriet (Genesis Lynea).

Other beings alluded to include The Trickster (Paul Marc Davies), the recurring foe of spin-off The Sarah Jane Adventures, who was named as the God of Traps.

However, it was the Time Lord's battle with Sutekh that sparked a fan theory that the Doctor may have more in common with his new foes than he realizes. Upon restraining Sutekh and dragging him through the Time Vortex to restore the universe, the Doctor addresses Sutekh with a heartfelt speech, declaring himself the one who "brings death to death" as he casts Sutekh into the vortex. Within this speech, he states that he is representing life.

While it may have been a boast against one of the Doctor's most powerful foes, certain elements throughout the current era may hint towards the claim being more literal than it seems. Certain longtime villains have been retroactively made of the Pantheon, but others have been established as forces from beyond the known universe, a side effect of the Fourteenth Doctor evoking superstition on the edge. With the Time Lord's origins lying in a different universe, he could very well be from the same home.

Doctor Who Season 15, Episode 5 s The "God Of Life" Theory

The Time Lord Is Once More Named Life's Ultimate Representative Of Life

As the Time Lord tore apart the Barber's claims that he had been many deities over the years, he lists the many ways he had found himself encountering the gods he named, showing that he had plenty of experiences, both good and bad, with the ruling beings of the universe. While the Doctor is no stranger to name-dropping the many figures he has met, his naming several deities further shows how the universe has been reshaped. Rather than extraterrestrials posing as these beings, gods are living, breathing inhabitants of their own.

Furthermore, the Doctor is once more referred to as a being who embodies life itself. When the Doctor overloads the engine with his own tales, the Barber states that "The stories say you protect life" as he witnesses the Time Lord's past lives. Alongside affirming the Doctor's previous claims to Sutekh, the Barber's quote extends the claim to all the Doctor's past lives.

The Doctor Being The Pantheon's God Of Life Would Resolve Many Timeless Child Questions

The God of Life Theory Could Address The Doctor's Past And Gallifrey's Rise

The Doctor ultimately being the deity who represents life itself can offer a solution to the lingering questions left by the Timeless Child revelations of previous showrunner Chris Chibnall's era. Alongside giving a point of origin and species to the Doctor, his position as the God of Life can explain how he possessed the ability to regenerate that Tecteun (Barbara Flynn) and the Time Lords would extract to gain the ability. Doctor Who season 15 may be leading to another encounter with the gods, but the God of Life could simply be left on an ambiguous note.