Who Omega Is In Doctor Who: The Returning Time Lord's History Explained

Published 3 days ago

Followed

Warning: Spoilers ahead for Doctor Who season 15, episode 7, "Wish World."Anita Dobson's Mrs. Flood had been the Rani the entire time. However, Omega has a more interesting backstory than most.

Ncuti Gatwa, leading Doctor Who's classic era, Omega posed a very real but unique type of threat to reality at large, which aligns with his return in "Wish World." His story has been fleshed out in Doctor Who media away from the TV show, but the various novels, comics, and audio adventures aren't necessarily canon unless acknowledged by the live-action arm of the franchise.

Omega's Role In Time Lord History Explained

The Time Lords wouldn't exist without Omega's input

Omega staring off at something intently in Doctor Who's classic era.

Originally known as Peylix, Omega adopted his new name after being awarded a failing grade in an exam during his youth. Omega is the Gallifreyan equivalent of a failing grade, but he was one of the brightest minds in the planet's history, and so he chose his new name ironically to prove everyone wrong. He existed in a time before Gallifreyans had developed time travel. As such, there were no Time Lords. That said, "Wish World" hails Omega as "The first Time Lord," and for good reason.

Working with his peer and contemporary, Rassilon, Omega developed an experiment to help test the possibility of time travel by harvesting the power of an exploding star.

Working with his peer and contemporary, Rassilon, Omega developed an experiment to help test the possibility of time travel by harvesting the power of an exploding star. Disaster struck while Omega and Rassilon were testing their theory, and Omega was presumed killed in action. Rather than dying, Omega was trapped in a pocket dimension known as the Anti-Matter Universe, where he survived as its lone occupant for a long time. Back in the main universe, Omega and Rassilon's experiment was successful, and the Time Lord order was established with Rassilon at its head.

A gang of Silurians in a promotional image for Doctor Who

10 Doctor Who Monster Redesigns, Ranked Worst To Best

Doctor Who has brought several classic monsters over to the rebooted series, but the modern redesigns aren’t all as frightening as the originals.

Posts 4

Many of the Time Lords ed Omega as a hero, including William Hartnell's First Doctor, even though they weren't alive when Omega's "fatal" accident took place. He became a folklore icon and was hailed as one of the founders of Time Lord society, often mentioned in the same breath as Rassilon. Without his genius, Gallifreyans may never have developed the ability to traverse all of time and space before everyone else, which would have resulted in a very different version of the universe.

What Happened The Previous Times Doctor Who Fought Omega

Fifteen is the fifth Doctor to face Omega after One, Two, Three, and Five

Omega's backstory makes him seem like a genius who fell victim to his own success and incredible intellect. In a way, this is perfectly true, but it's what happened after his game-changing experiment that makes him such a fascinating Doctor Who character. Omega spent so long in the Anti-Matter universe that he learned to manipulate his surroundings using only his mind, using his new abilities to create himself a protective suit of armor and even rudimentary forms of life. Unfortunately, loneliness became his undoing, and he turned bitter and violent toward his eventual would-be rescuers.

Omega had become so intertwined with the Anti-Matter universe that it would collapse upon him if he ever tried to leave.

Those dispatched to eventually ride to his rescue just so happened to be the first three iterations of the Doctor working together. Omega was unable to leave the Anti-Matter universe, as his physical form had perished and only his consciousness remained, but this was only discovered when he tried to remove his bespoke armor, and nothing was there underneath. It also turned out that Omega had become so intertwined with the Anti-Matter universe that it would collapse upon him if he ever tried to leave, which holds up a mirror to the Atlas story from Greek mythology.

After creating a replica of Five's body and inhabiting it, Omega fled the Earth to try and hide.

The Doctors defeated Omega when he turned on them, but he secretly survived the encounter by simply willing himself (and his universe) to remain in existence. He returned during the era of Peter Davison's Fifth Doctor and managed to escape the Anti-Matter universe with the help of a sympathetic member of the Time Lord order. After creating a replica of Five's body and inhabiting it, Omega fled the Earth to try and hide. Sadly, the body wasn't complete by the time he was forced to escape, and it started to degrade back into anti-matter.

Debuting in 1973, Omega was originally portrayed by Stephen Thorne.

Five was forced to seemingly kill Omega, whose quickly degrading body would have caused a huge explosion when it came in with the regular matter of the universe. This was the last time Omega appeared in Doctor Who. Similar to the way Sutekh returned at the end of Doctor Who season 14, Omega was believed to be dead for good at the hands of Five, but "Wish World" has disproved that once-believed theory. Given how slippery he had already proven to be, this perhaps shouldn't have been a surprise.

Doctor Who Season 15 Is Changing Omega's Story

Omega's new home has been mentioned recently

Archie Panjabi as the Rani in Doctor Who

When Omega learned that his people ed him as a hero, his time in the Anti-Matter Universe had twisted his mind to such an extent that being hailed in such a way wasn't sufficient for him. Instead, he wanted to be seen as a God for his role in creating the Time Lords. However, he wasn't actually a God when he was last in the show. Since then, and after apparently surviving his encounter with Five, Omega has become one of the most powerful deities in Doctor Who's Pantheon. So, season 15 has finally granted Omega's wish.

This collage shows the Thirteenth Doctor and the Fourteenth Doctor in front of a multi-colored galaxy in Doctor Who.

How All 15 Doctor Who Actors Redefined The Iconic Character

A new Doctor, a new actor. Over the years, each performer has put their own twist on the famous Time Lord, evolving the character for the better.

Posts

Futhermore, the Rani makes no mention of the Anti-Matter universe at the end of "Wish World," but instead refers to a plane of existence called the "Underverse," which was referenced as recently as "The Giggle" by David Tennant's Fourteenth Doctor when describing where he had first met the Toymaker. Omega's dependence on the Anti-Matter Universe means it should be the only location where he is capable of surviving, but his return in "Wish World" surprisingly retcons that part of his fate with a slight course correction following Doctor Who's classic era.

Doctor Who Season 15's Release Schedule On Disney+
Episode	Title	Release Date (2025)
1	"The Robot Revolution"	April 12
2	"Lux"	April 19
3	"The Well"	April 26
4	"Lucky Day"	May 3
5	"The Story and the Engine"	May 10
6	"The Interstellar Song Contest"	May 17
7	"Wish World"	May 24
8	"The Reality War"	May 31