Where We Left Off In Doctor Who Season 11

The end of the year may be over, but Jodie Whittaker’s adventures as the Doctor have only just begun. Doctor Who season 12 is premieres on New Year’s Day, but before all of you Whovians immerse yourselves once more into the wibbly wobbly timey wimey world of time travel, it’s worth taking a step back and remembering where Doctor Who left off at the end of season 11. Because, sometimes, in order to better understand the future, one needs to go back and revisit the past — preferably with a TARDIS, if you have one at the ready. But just in case you don’t, a little research is in order.

Normally, this would mean going back to the Doctor Who season 11 finale and figuring out how everyone’s storylines came to a close. However, the BBC series is a little unique in that it also aired a follow-up New Year’s special, titled “Resolution,” a few weeks later and found the Doctor once again coming face to face with her arch-nemesis: the Daleks. Well, one Dalek, to be exact, who was accidentally dug up by two unsuspecting archaeologists. Before long, it reconstructed itself and sought to carry out the Dalek’s number one mission: exter-min-ation.

Unlike the typical Daleks of the past, though, this one didn’t don the usual technologically advanced armor. Instead, it acted like a parasite by using human hosts, allowing it to control their bodies and move around freely, undetected. Naturally, it didn’t take long for the Doctor to realize what was going on, and with the help of Graham, Ryan, and Ryan’s estranged father, Aaron, who showed up out of the blue, they were able to defeat the Dalek once and for all — with a microwave no less. (Yes, really.)

Basically, the episode ended on a relatively happy note, with the infamous foe once again defeated and the Doctor ready to tackle any new threat that comes her way. “No matter how many times you try, no matter how long you wait, I will always be in your way — backed up by the best of humanity,” she told the Dalek prior to its demise.

It makes you wonder how many other familiar enemies will pop up throughout the upcoming season. The return of the Cybermen has already been teased in the trailers, but what about the Weeping Angels? Anything is possible when the Doctor is involved.