Master Theory
Jun. 27th, 2008 10:11 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
versaphile.livejournal.com posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
best_enemiesI have a theory of why the Master's plans of conquest have a tendency to be oddly unfinished. Why they're often more about making the Doctor squirm than actually achieving any kind of genuine power.
It's because if he did achieve real power, the Time Lords would zap him right back to Gallifrey.
In general, the Time Lords don't care what the rest of the universe does. But they care very much about their own. So just as they yank the Doctor back when it suits them, they'd do the same to the Master if he went too far. And as tradition holds, as long as the Doctor is there to stop him, they leave the Doctor to do the dirty work, just as they did with Three. It's also why they're perfectly fine with dragging the Master back to Gallifrey for the Five Doctors, because everyone knows the deal.
The Master could play all he wanted, but if he posed a serious threat to the timeline, and the Doctor failed, they would slap him into Shada so fast his head would spin. And that is why when the Master actually does try for real power and not "I'm bored and feeling like trying to kill the Doctor" power, it's big power, big enough to keep even the Time Lords off his back. Like a Chronovore or Logopolis or the Source of Traken. Small-scale power = messing with the Doctor. Big-scale power = freedom from the Time Lords.
And that is why when the Master came back to a Gallifrey-free universe, he finally did exactly what he'd always wanted to do, and did it with great competence.
It's because if he did achieve real power, the Time Lords would zap him right back to Gallifrey.
In general, the Time Lords don't care what the rest of the universe does. But they care very much about their own. So just as they yank the Doctor back when it suits them, they'd do the same to the Master if he went too far. And as tradition holds, as long as the Doctor is there to stop him, they leave the Doctor to do the dirty work, just as they did with Three. It's also why they're perfectly fine with dragging the Master back to Gallifrey for the Five Doctors, because everyone knows the deal.
The Master could play all he wanted, but if he posed a serious threat to the timeline, and the Doctor failed, they would slap him into Shada so fast his head would spin. And that is why when the Master actually does try for real power and not "I'm bored and feeling like trying to kill the Doctor" power, it's big power, big enough to keep even the Time Lords off his back. Like a Chronovore or Logopolis or the Source of Traken. Small-scale power = messing with the Doctor. Big-scale power = freedom from the Time Lords.
And that is why when the Master came back to a Gallifrey-free universe, he finally did exactly what he'd always wanted to do, and did it with great competence.
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