Could Blink Be Cleverer Than We First Thought?

Andrew Reynolds is a writer at Kasterborous Doctor Who News and Reviews - All the latest Doctor Who news and reviews with our weekly podKast, features and interviews, and a long-running forum.

How clever is Blink? Very, there you go, thanks for your time…No, wait. Really just how clever is Blink – is it even smarter than we first thought? Is there a secret buried at its terrifying heart? Or Is this new theory just a coincidence?

Well, fan and blogger JenneralGeek seems to think we’ve all missed something hiding in plain sight; something that can be explained in three words…

Sally Wainwright Shipton.

Confused, well remember the moment when, all aflutter, Sally Sparrow, as played by the now Oscar nominated actress Carey Mulligan, accidentally calls herself ‘Sally Shipton’ in front of flirty police officer Billy Shipton?

A funny, enduring Freudian slip in the midst of a lovely meet-cute? Well, maybe not: What if it was a little bit of timey whimey magic?

Going back a little further in the episode, JenneralGeek reminds us that Sally brought her pal Katherine Nightengale to Wester Drumlins, home of the Weeping Angels, in 2007. It was there that Kathy fell victim to their powers and was transported back in time to 1920.

Then back in the modern day, Kathy’s grandson then turns up at the Weeping Angels abode with a letter from Katherine which reveals that she married a man called Benjamin Wainwright and had three children – the youngest of which, she named Sally.

Now given that we know that Kathrine lied about her age to Benjamin (as Sally notes, she wasn’t 18 as her gravestone suggested), JenneralGeek guesses that Sally Wainwright could have been born anywhere from a decade to two decades after her mother arrived.

So what is the connection between Sally Wainwright and Billy Shipton?

We know that, thanks to the Angels intervention, it wasn’t meant to be for Billy and Sally Sparrow but what about Billy and Sally Wainwright?

You see, if you take into account both Billy’s age at the time he was sent back to 1969 – say, and these aren’t accurate but, going from appearance, he was in his twenties – and Sally Wainwright was born late (and that’s a little unlikely in the 1920’s and 30’s); and her eldest son, as seen in the picture was provided by Kathy’s grandson, was 11 and you gave it a little bit of wriggle room – could Sally Sparrow have inadvertently set up Billy with Kathy’s daughter and his future wife?

We’ll let JenneralGeek take it from here:

“I know that there are a lot of variables, hence my excessive usage of the word, “about.” Now this isn’t factual information and we don’t know enough to affirmatively verify most (if any) of these claims. Also, there is the question of who Kathy’s grandson’s parents are. He does not say, but since Kathy had three children, there is a 66% chance that Billy Shipton is not the father. My point is this, wouldn’t it be crazy if this theory was true? That would mean that Sally Sparrow in a sense created and crafted Sally Shipton’s life. Think about it, Kathy would have never gone to Wester Drumlins if it wasn’t for Sally sparrow, meaning Kathy would have stayed in 2007, and Sally Wainwright would never have existed. Also, if Billy Shipton had not showed Sally Sparrow the Tardis, The Weeping Angels who were following Sparrow would not have sent Billy to 1969 where he could have potentially met Sally Wainwright. All of these potential happenstances make it extra crazy that Sally Sparrow accidentally says, ‘Sally Shipton’.”

Mind. Blown.

There are a lot of coincidences at the heart of this theory but it is curious to think that one key element of Blink – an episode beloved by pretty much every Doctor Who fan – was missed by everyone.

So what do you think? Is it too far-fetched? Has it blown your mind? Does it make sense?

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