Volcano Aliens From Capaldi's First Episode Return to 'Doctor Who'

Peter Capaldi’s time on Doctor Who could end similarly to where it began: surrounded by volcano monsters from the planet Pyrovillia.

Doctor Who fans spotted Capaldi, Pearl Mackie (newly minted companion Bill), and the red-hooded familiar faces of the (presumed) Pyrovile while the Who team was filming in Cardiff on February 5.

It’s hard to miss the similarities between these “new,” imposing figures and the Pyrovile of David Tennant’s Season 4’s “Fires of Pompeii” when Capaldi made his first Who appearance as Caecilius. The stone-faced monsters are also wreathed in red, hooded cloaks much like the members of the Sibylline Sisterhood, in which Karen Gillan made her Who debut.

Not a lot is known about Season 10, but seeing these creatures — who are undeniably similar to the Pyroviles — running around in Cardiff has to be a good sign for all the throwback hints that have been flying around. And what a fitting sendoff it would be for Capaldi’s time on Doctor Who to end where it began.

Also spotted on set were the same “truth” signs and symbols that have been popping up at filming locations throughout Season 10. On February 5, an image of one of the stone-faced monsters appeared underneath “truth,” looking decidedly cultish, perhaps even religious.

The recurrence of the “truth” imagery and symbolism across filming locations is leading fans to believe that they’re in for a final Steven Moffat plot arc before the showrunner exits his role at the end of the season. The cultish, mysterious nature of “truth” feels like an homage to the Silence plot of Matt Smith’s era and his time with Karen Gillan’s Amy Pond, who, ironically enough, first appeared in Doctor Who during “The Fires of Pompeii.” It’s all coming together in a fit of wibbly-wobbly madness (if these new monsters are, in fact, Pyroviles).

Season 10 of Doctor Who is set to premiere in April.