Warning: spoilers ahead for Doctor Who season 14, episodes 1 & 2.

Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor mentions four new Time Lord characters in Doctor Who season 14, episode 1, teasing exciting opportunities for Russell T Davies’ new era. Despite the crucial importance of Time Lords to Doctor Who‘s very premise, Gallifreyans have always been few and far between among Doctor Who‘s cast of characters. The handful of stories set on Gallifrey aside, Doctor Who‘s relatively small list of notable Time Lords includes the Doctor, the Master, the Rani, the Monk, Rassilon, Romana, Susan, and Omega.

Between the Time War and the Master committing genocide, however, Time Lords in the modern era have been even rarer than they were during the classic years. That may all change after Doctor Who season 14, episode 1, “Space Babies.” As a gentle introduction for newcomers on Disney+, the premiere begins with Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor giving Ruby Sunday a crash course in all things Doctor Who. Explaining the Gallifreyan tendency to use a title in lieu of a proper name, the Doctor references four new Time Lords that have never appeared in the show before: the Bishop, the Conquistador, the Pedant, and Sagi-Shi.

Who Is The Bishop? Doctor Who Season 14 Tease Explained

Could The Bishop Become A Regular Character In Doctor Who?

The most intriguing Time Lord mentioned in Doctor Who season 14’s opening episode is “the Bishop,” as this is the only character mentioned twice by Ncuti Gatwa – once at the beginning of the episode and then again at the end. The Bishop is not a character seen anywhere in Doctor Who previously, so this mysterious entity will be an entirely new creation if they ever actually appear onscreen.

Russell T Davies has, of course, offered no guarantee that the Bishop will ever become a future character in Doctor Who, but it would certainly seem strange in hindsight if a character mentioned on two separate occasions in “Space Babies” turns out to be nothing more than meaningless dialogue chatter. The two name-drops in season 14’s opener feel very deliberate, and perhaps hint that the Bishop will eventually play a role in upcoming Doctor Who stories.

Gallifreyan titles often give away a crucial aspect of a Time Lord’s personality – the Doctor makes people better, the Master seeks domination over the universe, the Rani saw herself as royalty above others, the Monk liked brown robes, etc. The name “Bishop” has religious connotations that could indicate deep roots in Gallifreyan spirituality and lore, and potentially even knowledge about the Doctor’s true origins after Doctor Who‘s Timeless Child twist. The Bishop’s name is ambiguous enough that the character could be a benevolent friend of the Doctor’s, or a villainous figure with ruthless views on upholding Gallifrey’s traditions – something the Doctor is notoriously bad at.

The Conquistador Could Be A Deep-Cut Doctor Who Character

Another Obscure Doctor Who Reference From RTD?

Another Time Lord mentioned by the Fifteenth Doctor, albeit only once, is the Conquistador. Unlike the Bishop, this could be a character some Doctor Who fans are familiar with already. While not explicitly part of the Doctor Who universe, the Faction Paradox series is an offshoot of a 1990s Eighth Doctor book story by Lawrence Miles that has since evolved into its own beast. The Conquistador is a Time Lord-adjacent protagonist from Simon Butcher-Jones’ The Book of the Enemy.

While it may be a coincidence, the Meep appearing in “The Star Beast” proved Russell T Davies’ willingness to bring deep-cut Doctor Who characters from comics and other media into TV canon. Mentioning the Conquistador may, therefore, represent a deep-cut Easter egg nodding toward Faction Paradox and its connection to Doctor Who. The link begins to look even more intentional when considering that RTD’s three-word tease for “Space Babies” was “Roar. Glastonbury. Conquistador” (via Doctor Who Magazine #589). Highlighting the “Conquistador” title implies that RTD is aware of the Conquistador character from Faction Paradox.

Doctor Who Also Teases Time Lords Called “Sagi-Shi” & “The Pedant”

It’s Raining Time Lord Titles In Doctor Who Season 14

The two other Time Lords confirmed by the Fifteenth Doctor’s Gallifreyan history lesson are the Pedant and Sagi-Shi. Like the Bishop, these are names that have not featured in Doctor Who before. The “Pedant” title conjures an impression of a teacher-type Time Lord, or perhaps a law-keeper of some description. “Sagi-Shi” is a Japanese term broadly translating to “con artist,” painting the picture of a criminal adopting many different disguises – not dissimilar to the Master, but maybe less hell-bent on world domination. Both names clearly carry the intrigue and potential to lead onto bigger things.

Doctor Who season 14’s “Space Babies” places more emphasis on the Bishop, so if any of the Time Lords mentioned are going to appear during future episodes, the Bishop is clearly in pole position ahead of the Pedant and Sagi-Shi. Regardless, it is undeniably exciting to see Doctor Who season 14 expanding Time Lord mythology by revealing a host of intriguingly-titled characters that have either played a significant role in Gallifrey’s history, or are known personally to the Doctor.

RTD and future showrunners now have the option to bring these Time Lords into the narrative at any time rather than simply relying on the Master when an antagonist from the Doctor’s own planet is required. The Master is a classic and brilliant creation in Doctor Who, but there is room to introduce more than one recurring Time Lord villain – especially if they possess a fundamentally different personality compared to the tissue-compressing menace.

Are Doctor Who’s Teased Time Lords All Dead?

The Master May Have Killed The Bishop & Friends

Doctor Who may have actually killed its new Time Lord tease before it even unravels. In season 14, episode 2, “The Devil’s Chord,” the Doctor speculates that Susan, his granddaughter, may have been killed by the Master’s Gallifreyan genocide. He ponders whether the Master’s attack rippled across space and time to affect all Time Lords regardless of where and when they were. The Doctor may have been spared this fate because the Master plotted to kill her only after explaining the Timeless Child in great detail. If the Doctor is right, the Bishop, the Pedant, the Conquistador, and Sagi-Shi are all dead.

The Doctor’s theory about what happened to Susan after her Doctor Who exit is, however, utter speculation. One could even suggest that after the Doctor deliberately avoided visiting Susan for the best part of 15 regenerations, he’s now making up excuses not to see her out of some emotional insecurity. Furthermore, Tecteun’s appearance in Doctor Who season 13 confirms not all Time Lords were wiped from existence by the Master’s mass slaughter. The Master is clever but not infallible, and if the Bishop, Conquistador, Sagi-Shi, and Pedant were smart enough, they might have averted disaster and survived in secret.

Sources: Doctor Who Magazine #589