Doctor Who's first Disney+ 60th anniversary special, "The Star Beast," came with a shocking villain twist involving Beep the Meep.
Having originated in a 1980s Fourth Doctor comic strip, the adorable and cuddly-looking Beep the Meep came to live-action in "The Star Beast" - voiced by Harry Potter's Miriam Margoyles - seemingly being pursued by the Wrarth Warriors.
Doctor Who's Beep the Meep Villain Twist Explained
Warning - The rest of this article contains spoilers for Doctor Who Special 1, "The Star Beast."
During the opening of "The Star Beast" a spaceship landed in London housing the furry and adorable Beep the Meep, who took asylum with the Doctor and company, but struck up the closest connection with Yasmin Finney's Rose Noble.
Meanwhile, a group of UNIT soldiers at the steelworks landing site gazed into a light coming from inside the ship and became somewhat possessed (a detail that would prove to be of great importance to the big twist).
Having escaped the pursuit of the possessed UNIT soldiers and Wrarth Warriors from the Noble home, the Doctor took Beep the Meep to a parking garage and summoned two of the alleged attackers for a court hearing.
Beep the Meep had previously claimed while under the watch of the Doctor that the Wrarth Warriors "cultivate Meepkind for [their] beautiful fur" and slaughtered their livestock of Meeps after the galaxy rebelled against their trade.
But that couldn't have been farther from the truth, as the Wrarth Warriors were never out to kill the Meep - but were rather exclusively using stun guns - and the possessed UNIT soldiers were actually in pursuit of Beep to free them.
One of the Wrarth Warriors explained that the sun of the Meeps' homeworld "went mad" and turned Meepkind "into cruel beasts who live for conquest:"
"The story of the Meep is a tragic tale. Their planet basked in the light of the living sun until one terrible day the sun went mad. Its radiation mutated all of Meepkind into cruel beasts who live for conquest."
After the Meeps waged war on the Galactic Council, the Wrarth Warriors were summoned and waged a "long and awful battle" against the mad creatures:
"The Meep army captured the Galactic Council, beheaded them, and ate them. The Wrarth Warriors were summoned and we fought across the stars. A long and awful battle."
Ultimately, the Meeps were wiped out, leaving only their leader, Beep the Meep, remaining, describing them as "the most cruel and despicable of all:"
"Meepkind died rather than surrender. And now only this one survives. Their leader, the most cruel and despicable of all."
Beep quickly admitted to this, killed the two Wrarth Warriors, and used the UNIT soldiers under their control to prepare their spaceship for escape from Earth - a launch that would essentially use London as fuel to launch. Fortunately, the Doctor, Donna, and Rose were able to avert the plan, free the soldiers, and thwart Beep.
The Meep's Cryptic Ending Sets Up Doctor Who Season 14
After the Doctor and the Nobles stopped Beep the Meep's spaceship launched and the creature had been remanded into the custody of the Wrarth Warriors to be imprisoned for 10,000 years, there was one last cryptic tease from the adorable alien promising "revenge" and mentioning a mysterious "boss:"
"Oh, I will escape, and have my revenge. So you beware Doctor, cause there's one more thing. A creature with two hearts is such a rare thing, just wait till I tell the boss."
Up until this point, there was no indication Beep the Meep was anything more than a solo act, but this seems to suggest a larger threat looming for the Doctor.
Naturally, most would guess Beep the Meep is teasing the arrival of Neil Patrick Harris' Celestial Toymaker, who will be the villain of the third and final 60th anniversary special, "The Giggle." But that doesn't seem to be the case...
However, during the official video commentary for "The Star Beast" on BBC iPlayer with David Tennant, executive producer Phil Collinson, and producer Vicki Delow, they seemed to tease this may instead be setting up for Season 14.
As Tennant questioned whether the other two now know what the "boss" tease means as it's "still cryptic to [him]," to which they confirmed they do, it appears this was likely to lay the groundwork for Ncuti Gatwa's upcoming arc:
COLLINSON: "And now another cryptic line here."
TENNANT: "Do you now know what this means?"
DELOW: "Yes."
COLLINSON: "I do."
TENNANT: "Oh, I don't. Still cryptic to me."
DELOW: "You'll get to find out with all the viewers."
Whoever "the boss" of Beep the Meep may be is unclear, but it appears fans won't be getting answers until next season. Regardless, it's exciting to see showrunner Russell T. Davis already laying the groundwork for a larger connected tale with a big bad at the end of the line for the 15th Doctor to face.
Based on the reference to "a creature with two hearts" - something the Meep also turned out to have - it's easy to imagine the big bad in question being another time lord whom Ncuti Gatwa's Doctor will need to contend with.
One particularly villainous-looking guest confirmed for next season comes with RuPaul's Drag Race star Jinx Moonson. Perhaps they will ultimately be revealed as a new or familiar time lord villain in disguise such as the Master or the Rani.
With this tease and Beep the Meep's promise of "revenge," there's a good chance the fury alien will also be back next season to join the boss in a crusade against the new Doctor to come in his freshman eight-episode run.
Doctor Who Special 1, "The Star Beast," is streaming now on Disney+ along with BBC iPlayer in the UK & Ireland.
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