villain called the Barber, and he has trapped Omo and the other patrons inside. As it turns out, the Barber has turned Omo’s Palace into an intergalactic ship in the form of an enormous spider that runs on stories.

Early in Doctor Who's “The Story & the Engine,” Omo explains to the Doctor how he and the other patrons became trapped in the barbershop by the Barber. As the men talk about their families and the people they miss, Omo holds a picture of a woman wearing blue earrings. He says, “There’s someone waiting for me, too, Doctor. The girl with the blue earrings the day we met.” Omo speaks as though the Doctor knows who he means, but the reference might confuse anyone who missed out on the prequel to “The Story & the Engine.”

Doctor Who's Prequel To "The Story & The Engine" Explains The Girl With Blue Earrings

The Short Story Can Be Found On The Doctor Who Website

The story that Omo tells at the start of “The Story & the Engine” is actually part of a longer tale, which can be read on the official Doctor Who website. Written by Inua Ellams, the same writer who penned the episode, the story is actually an essay for school by an 11-year-old Omo, titled: “What I Did On My Holidays.” Dated 1965, Omo's tale takes place just a few years prior to the Nigerian Civil War, in which the Nigerian government claimed several oil sites.

In his essay, Omo writes about visiting his grandparents in Etsako, a village in Edo State, Nigeria. While going to fetch water from the river, Omo meets a girl with blue earrings, and she introduces herself as Blue. When a fire breaks out (which Omo describes at the start of Doctor Who season 15, episode 5), the Doctor arrives in the TARDIS to rescue Blue and Omo. The woman in the photo is definitely Blue, and given the way that Omo cherishes it, it appears that the two eventually became romantic life partners.

Doctor Who's "The Story & The Engine" Prequel Also Reveals How The Doctor Knew About Omo's Palace

Omo Tells The Doctor The Best Place To Find Answers Is The Barbershop

Just as Omo says in his story from “The Story & the Engine,” “What I Did On My Holidays” describes how the Doctor helped to put out the fires with a water hose while flying overhead in the TARDIS. Later, Omo finds the Doctor sowing seeds to replace the trees that burned down in the fires. After assuring Omo that Blue is safe, the Doctor says that he is looking for answers, and asks Omo where he could go to find them. The first thing Omo thinks of is his father’s barbershop in Lagos, and he tells the Doctor to go there.

Because barbershops are known for being a place where many go to share stories and find community, it feels natural that it’s the first place that young Omo would think of. It also explains how the Doctor knew Omo’s Palace so well, as Omo likely inherited the shop from his father and made it his own. The friendship between the Doctor and Omo eventually evolved to where the Time Lord would regularly visit Omo’s Palace - whether to find answers to important questions, or to simply enjoy a sense of family and community.