*Warning: Major spoilers ahead for Doctor Who episode The Story and the Engine.*
With the Doctor's (Ncuti Gatwa) trip to Lagos, Nigeria in the latest Doctor Who episode The Story and the Engine came a ton of storytelling magic, an unexpected cameo, and a mysterious villainous duo in the Barber and the Spider.
In true Doctor Who fashion, the Doctor had some magic tricks of his own to play, after he and various other men were held hostage in a barbershop.
But the episode also leaves some unanswered questions.
Here's everything we know about how The Story and the Engine ended – complete with some intel from the Barber himself, Ariyon Bakare, and the episode's writer, Inua Ellams.
Doctor Who – The Story and the Engine ending explained: Who is the Barber, actually?
Despite the Barber's claims that he's an amalgamation of various different storytelling gods and goddesses, including Anansi, Dionysus, and Bastet, the Doctor laughs in his face and quickly figures out he's lying, revealing that he's met the various gods that the Barber claims to be.
The Barber is actually a demigod who was once human, but who had a close bond with the gods. When the Doctor meets him, he's aiming to wreak revenge on the gods by severing them from human memory.
The gods needed to strengthen their bond with humanity – and storytelling strengthened their power. So, wherever stories were told, the Barber went – and allowed the gods to be worshipped, reasoning that the gods only exist now because of him.
With the help of the gods, he created the Nexus, the fantastical creation that connects concepts, cultures, and ideas. He wanted to be recognised by the gods for his work – but instead, was told to know his place. So he sought revenge.
When the gods exiled him, the Barber was only able to salvage the story engine that he'd built – but that was enough. Abena explains that he aims to instal the barbershop – and all its stories – at the heart of the Nexus, making him Storyteller Supreme.
But the truth is much more sinister – the Barber wants to sever the gods from human memory. But doing this would kill all of the gods, including Abena's father Anansi. Plus, considering humans are so tied to the gods, the Barber's plan would irreversibly harm humanity.
As detailed below, the Barber eventually lets go of his plan and lets the trapped men, the Doctor, Belinda, and Abena out of the shop.
He's given a chance to begin again, with a new name and a new life. Speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com about that ending, the Barber actor Bakare said: "I don't think he should have faced more consequences.
"Redemption is really important. We live in a world where we have to forgive no matter what, and you have to forgive yourself.
"Sometimes circumstances create you to be what you are, and you can lose yourself in that, and you have to find yourself again and forgive yourself for what you've done in the past, because you can only live in the present."
Who is Abena and how does she know the Doctor?
Abena (played by Michelle Asante) is the daughter of Anansi. She met the Doctor when he was the Fugitive Doctor (the version played by Jo Martin).
The Doctor recalls Anansi purposefully losing a bet so that the Doctor would win Abena's hand in marriage. When Abena confronts the Doctor, he insists he tried to lose the bet.
Abena tells him: "I grew up trapped with Anansi, terrified someone would win me in a bet. I'd heard about you, travelling through time. I had faith you would help. Instead you left me. You humiliated me, Doctor."
Gatwa's Doctor tells her: "I'm sorry I couldn't take you with me."
The camera then pans behind Abena's head to reveal Martin's cameo as the Fugitive Doctor, telling her: "I was a fugitive back then. Anansi was wrong to offer that bet. And, frankly darling, I was busy in a different story that might be finished one day."
While Abena is still hurt, she eventually helps the Doctor, Belinda, and the other men held hostage to escape from the barbershop after some persuasion from Belinda.
How did the Doctor and Belinda escape?
Abena helps the Doctor and Belinda to escape by weaving a map of the escape route into his hair.
The Doctor distracts the Barber, by causing an explosion in the shop, and he and Belinda make a run for it using the map in his hair.
They make it to the engine room and open up the heart of the story engine. While the Barber disrupts them, the Doctor has a plan – he tells the Barber a six word story, capturing the essence of his life, which gives the engine power.
The Barber is confused – but the Doctor explains that he established a link between himself and the engine, with it now being powered by lifetimes of his stories (with every previous Doctor appearing on screen in a moving moment).
While the Barber insists that the Doctor has given him never-ending power, the engine actually can't process that much power – and it begins to implode.
The Doctor points out that, while he controls the engine, the Barber controls the doors – and he urges him to let everyone out. The Barber relents and opens the doors, and reluctantly escapes himself alongside the Doctor.
The Doctor closes the doors with his sonic screwdriver, with the Nexus seemingly being destroyed.
Writer Inua Ellams previously opened up to RadioTimes.com about the importance of storytelling in the episode, saying: "Storytelling is how the men let each other into their most intimate spaces, but it's also what powers friendships across the world.
"Specifically in barbershops, it is the locomotion that deepens relationships. It is everywhere. It's how we make friends. We begin to tell stories about ourselves to people. But in the barber shop, it is heightened. So storytelling is vitally important."
How does the Fifteenth Doctor remember being the Fugitive Doctor?
It's not clear how the Fifteenth Doctor remembers being the Fugitive Doctor and we're going to have to wait for some clarification from showrunner Russell T Davies on this.
Fans will remember that, when the Fugitive Doctor was introduced, the Thirteenth Doctor (Jodie Whittaker) did not remember being her at all – although she came to accept that she was a past incarnation. She fits in right before the incarnation we know as the First Doctor (William Hartnell).
It's possible that, after his latest regeneration, the Doctor's memories of being the Fugitive Doctor were restored – but it's not clear why this would happen.
Perhaps seeing Abena in person jogged the Doctor's memory of that specific interaction if not his whole time as the Fugitive Doctor.
We'll update this page with any new intel as and when it emerges!
Who is the child?
A little girl appears to Belinda twice in the episode and it's not explained who she is – at least not yet. It seems likely that this will be explained later in the series.
The Doctor doesn't see her but says to Belinda: "The stories were leaking out, getting mixed up."
Does that mean she could be someone from the Doctor's past? Perhaps her sudden appearance means she's a harbinger of the next god of the Pantheon we're set to meet.
Only time will tell!
Doctor Who continues next Saturday (17th May), with new episodes available from 8am on Saturdays on BBC iPlayer in the UK and later the same day on BBC One. The series is available on Disney+ outside of the UK.
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