WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for Doctor Who: Flux, "Chapter Two: War of the Sontarans," which aired Sunday on BBC.
Doctor Who: Flux continues its epic storyline with "Chapter Two: War of the Sontarans," in which the Doctor (Jodie Whittaker), Yaz (Mandip Gill) and Dan (John Bishop) all crash-land on Earth in 1855 during the Crimean War. However, instead of the British army fighting the Russians as it historically happened, they find themselves fighting an army of Sontarans led by Commander Skaak (Jonathan Watson). Unbeknownst to the Doctor, the Sontarans also arrived in Liverpool in 2021 intending to create temporal ships that can invade Earth across its entire history. This fleet is led by Commander Riskaw, a clone of Skaak.
The Doctor is eventually separated from her companions (Yaz is sent to the planet Time while Dan returns to Liverpool in 2021) and finds herself working with Mary Seacole (Sara Powell) to prevent a full Sontaran invasion. They trick a captured Sontaran soldier, Svild (Dan Starkey), into revealing the location of the Sontaran camp and succeed in drawing out Skaak. In her exchange with Skaak, the Doctor learns that the Sontarans' interest in Earth started with the arrival of Commander Linx (Kevin Lindsay) on the planet during the 13th century -- a Sontaran the Doctor herself is well acquainted with.
The Doctor first met Linx in her third incarnation (Jon Pertwee) in the 1973 Doctor Who serial "The Time Warrior." In that story, the third Doctor traveled to the 13th century to bring back some kidnapped scientists from the 20th century. In doing so, the Doctor learned Linx was actually attacked by a Rutan fleet and was forced to make an emergency landing on Earth. Since he landed in England during the 13th century, none of the technology he needed to repair his ship was available. He then began abducting scientists from the 20th century to develop the technology that could repair his ship.
During his brief stay in 13th century England, Linx claimed the Earth and its moon for the Sontaran Empire, intending to later invade it and turn it into an outpost for Sontaran soldiers. He also formed a brief alliance with a rebel named Irongron during this time. In exchange for food and shelter, Linx provided Irongron with advanced Sontaran military weaponry. Linx's plans were eventually thwarted by the Doctor when he succeeded in his task of reclaiming the kidnapped scientists. Linx was himself killed by an archer named Hal when he shot an arrow through his probic vent and his ship was subsequently blown up.
Since Linx's first arrival on Earth, more Sontarans have traveled to Earth to study the planet and decide how they want to turn it into an outpost for the Sontaran army. These Sontarans included Styre and Commander Skorr, both of whom carried out their own plans to claim the Earth for the Sontaran Empire. This makes Skaak only the latest Sontaran commander on Doctor Who to follow up on Linx's claim on Earth, but with a more massive plan than his predecessors. Instead of invading Earth from one point in time, Skaak along with his clone Riskaw decided to invade the planet from multiple timelines at once. With the Flux giving the Sontarans strategic advantage, Skaak and Riskaw would've succeeded in their plan if the Doctor hadn't arrived once again to thwart them.
To see what threat the Doctor deals with next, Doctor Who airs Sundays on BBC.
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