Talk:Grigori Rasputin

Out-of-universe
This article currently illustrates why it's a bad idea to copy from Wikipedia when writing about an individual. Hard to tell exactly what's established in the Doctor Who universe and what's not. This article should probably be pared down to just the last paragraph, because that's the only bit that seems to come from the DWU. People who've read the book should update the article so it only includes information from the book.  Czech Out  ☎ | ✍  09:14, March 14, 2010 (UTC)

"The Power of the Doctor"
The text:


 * During World War I, Rasputin worked as a trusted adviser to the Tsar Nicholas II. By 1916, however, the Spy Master had taken his place and took up residence in the Winter Palace as part of the Master's Dalek Plan. The Master was ultimately killed during the plan. (TV: The Power of the Doctor)

has been replaced with:


 * According to another account in which Rasputin was The Master in disguise, in 1916 he took up residence in the Winter Palace as part of The Master's Dalek Plan. (TV: The Power of the Doctor)

The reason given for this is that it makes it more neutral, I feel like this might lean towards the Spy Master being the same person as Rasputin, which is somewhat ambiguous in the story. Surely it would be easier for a viewer to assume that the Master took his place for some time than for them to assume that Rasputin either never existed or was erased from time by the Master? Cookieboy 2005 ☎  23:23, 26 October 2022 (UTC)


 * But this isn't stated in the text, so it's explicitly against policy for us to say that. No matter what the reader assumes, the wiki can't make that determination. (I note that I didn't add categories to the page like "individual time lords" due to this ambiguity. I'm trying to keep the coverage neutral.) Najawin ☎  23:33, 26 October 2022 (UTC)


 * However, the Doctor explicitly says "that's not Rasputin, that's the Master," indicating that the two are separate individuals. Doug86 ☎  22:38, 27 October 2022 (UTC)


 * There's another reading of that where she's just saying the important thing is that it's The Master as opposed to Rasputin. But you're right, she does say that, the reading I'm suggesting is interpretation. Your edit is correct. Najawin ☎  01:09, 28 October 2022 (UTC)

So the script is out and it seems that the intent was very much that Rasputin was the Master all along. Should we just note this in a BTS section? Najawin ☎  00:05, 5 November 2022 (UTC)