by The Shadow » Tue Sep 20, 2011 1:14 am
The Valeyard appeared throughout Trial of a Time Lord. And I believe some fans speculated that the Dream Lord from Amy's Choice might also be the Valeyard, a first appearance in the characters personal timeline so to speak.
And now for a couple of my own ideas concerning the Valeyard in the new series...
Personally, the new series incarnation of the Master (a different character from the Valeyard) has always bugged me. Largely because he doesn't really act like the Master, and then there's the whole laser screwdriver bit.
It occured to me the other day that if the new show's team wanted to, they could ret-con the current appearances of the new series Master as the Valeyard. And explain the nu-Master's odd, for the Master anyways, behavior as the character having only recently split from the Doctor and experiencing an identity crisis. I have a good reason for why the identity crisis but I'll save it for the end.
Professor Yana was a cocoon of sorts, intended to allow the Valeyard's consciousness time to gestate or stabilize as an independant entity. But that cocoon period is interrupted when Martha Jones encourages Yana to open his watch, thus the Valeyard's confusion. The Valeyard knows he was originally part of the Doctor but also that he's a villain like the Master and the Valeyard's mind latches onto memories of both Time Lords for stability and creates a false identity. The Valeyard only thinks he is the Master at this point, with a personality that is hallmarked by a desire to be like the Doctor but better, in his opinion, hence things like the Laser Screwdriver.
"But what about that whole bit about the Time Lords resurrecting the Master to use him as an ultimate soldier," you may ask. That still happens, the Time Lords do resurrect the real Master in attempt to use him, but the Master has always been a wily opponent and had a plan of his own, just in case.
By this point the Master had long known who the Valeyard was, and at some point after ToaTL he learns when the Valeyard first splinters from the Doctor. Knowing when the Valeyard would be at his most vulnerable, the Master captures the Valeyard and substitues the Valeyard for himself in the Time Lords' plan. The Master creates the conditions that cause the Valeyard to think himself the Master and allows the Time Lord's plan to continue on.
The Master, with no special allegiance to the Time Lord leadership, takes off on his own and any future appearances of the character can now fall in line with the cunning and calculating genius that Roger Delgado originated.
Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men?