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Key Takeaways
- The Guardians have appeared more frequently than any other god-like entities in Doctor Who.
- Far more than good versus evil, the White and Black Guardians represent opposing forces of order and chaos.
- The Guardians’ origins remain a mystery, as does their current fate after a run-in with the Toymaker.
The Guardians are among the most mysterious of the many entities the Doctor and his companions have come up against. Sometimes known as the Guardians of the Universe or the Guardians of Time and Space, they weren’t the first omnipotent beings to appear in Doctor Who. However, the Doctor has come into contact with these powerful entities more than any other. Their introduction during a season-long arc in the mid-1970s was enough to earn them a returning trilogy during the show’s 20th anniversary season.
As Doctor Who has opened up a universe of fantasy, magic, and gods since its 60th-anniversary celebrations, it’s a great time to get up to speed on these elemental forces. Having encountered the Toymaker, Maestro, Harbinger, and Sutekh, fans are keen to see if other mysterious individuals, like Mrs. Flood, could herald the return of the Guardians to the Whoniverse.
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This classic antagonist from ancient Egypt stepped back into Doctor Who’s spotlight after a long hiatus.
Who Are The Guardians Of Time in Doctor Who?
The Guardians were introduced in Doctor Who’s Sixteenth Season, which comprised an ambitious story arc called The Key to Time. Over six stories, the Fourth Doctor, his iconic scarf, and new Time Lady companion Romana were tasked with finding and uniting the scattered fragments of the titular Key.
Once assembled, the Key formed a perfect cube capable of maintaining equilibrium in the universe. Understandably, it had been divided to ensure such a powerful weapon didn’t fall into the wrong hands. However, with the forces of the universe upset, the White Guardian entrusted the Doctor with the search. Just as the White Guardian strove to restore universal balance, he warned of the deceptive Black Guardian who sought the Key to aid his mission of chaos.
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What Doctor Who Monster Is The Scariest?
Many creatures throughout the world of Doctor Who are horrific to behold. While not all of them are malicious, plenty of creatures throughout the series are frightening simply thanks to their designs, abilities, or their very nature. Of course, some of them have cruel intent as well. The scariest to me were always the Weeping Angels, with the way they hide in plain sight and suddenly move and change shape when you’re not looking.
The White and Black Guardians, then, embody opposing forces. As the White Guardian represents light, order, and structure, the Black Guardian personifies darkness, chaos, and entropy. Flipsides of the same coin, they are part of the fabric of the universe and indistinguishable from gods. Their powers are vast, with the ability to alter time and reality on a vast scale. Of course, that immense potential is dedicated to their eternal struggle against each other: The Black Guardian seeks only to extinguish the light and the White Guardian exists to repel him.
On-screen, the Guardians have been shown to change their form, hypnotize other beings, absorb and control power, and penetrate defense shields like the Doctor’s TARDIS. Both Guardians can control matter and possess omniscient knowledge and insight. They draw their powers from the Key to Time and the elements they personify. The Guardians’ power levels fluctuate depending on the strength or weakness of their respective forces. They can also be affected if the Key to Time suffers damage or decay.
Although sometimes portrayed as good and evil, the White and Black Guardians are neither. Instead, they form a symbiotic and essential balance. As physical embodiments of aspects of the universe, they cannot be destroyed unless the universe itself is destroyed.
The Doctor, though, fancies himself against god-like beings. In The Key to Time arc, the Doctor and Romana successfully retrieved and assembled the Key but dispersed the segments across time and space once again rather than hand them to the Black Guardian. Powerful, elemental beings they may be, but the Guardians can still be outwitted by a madman with a box.
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Where Did The Guardians Come From?
When clear and definitive origins aren’t provided on screen (and written directly into canon), the extended universe of a show as established as Doctor Who rushes to fill the gap.
Some theories about the Guardians’ origins and existence suggested over the years in the books, comics, and audio adventures of the Whoniverse include:
- Members of the Great Old Ones — transcendental beings from the dawn of time.
- Former members of the High Council of Old Time Lords who were linked to the Matrix when their universe ended and transformed into conduits of the fundamental elements of our proto-universe.
- Part of the Council of Six Guardians, each representing distinct elements. While Silver, Green, and other Guardians may exist, only the White and Black Guardians have so far appeared (although the Toymaker was once suggested as a Crystal Guardian)
- A collective consciousness from beyond time that split into oppositional entities upon arrival in this universe.
As it stands, fans are waiting for a definitive answer to the Guardian’s existence.
How Have The Guardians Influenced The Doctor?
The Guardians were the motivation for the fascinating season-long arc The Key to Time, but their influence didn’t end there. Having tricked and defeated the Black Guardian, the Doctor fitted a randomizer to the TARDIS so he couldn’t be tracked by the vengeful god-like entity on his travels through time and space. The Doctor finally had an excuse for landing in the wrong time and place.
However, that plan only lasted into his next incarnation. The Guardians returned in the 20th anniversary season in a trilogy of serials dubbed the Black Guardian Trilogy. Through loosely connected stories, the Black Guardian sought to use new companion Turlough to kill the Fifth Doctor. Turlough is finally able to overturn the Faustian pact he made with the Black Guardian and neither he nor the White Guardian have appeared in the show since, as far as fans know. That said, there have been hints that their existential struggle is ongoing.
What Happened To The Guardians?
The Guardians have been mentioned in Doctor Who since the modern era began in 2005. In “Can You Hear Me?” the Eternal Zellin — a member of another race of god-like immortals first encountered during the Black Guardian Trilogy — namechecked the Guardians’ ‘power struggles.’
Zellin also mentioned the Toymaker for the first time in the modern era, and it would be that god who delivered the latest update on the Guardians during the show’s 60th anniversary specials.
According to the God of Games, he beat the Guardians soon after arriving in N-Space (our universe) and turned them into voodoo dolls. Things look bleak for the forces of order and chaos then. But, as the White Guardian explained to Turlough in “Enlightenment,” he and the Black Guardian will always exist as long as the universe (and Doctor Who fandom) need them.
