Science Fiction not Sci-Fi: Saving the Doctor

Can Doctor Who be Saved?

I think it can. The scenario below is the result of a discussion and speculation with a fellow fan.

The Timeless Child, Retconned

The Rogue Doctor was not, in fact, the Doctor but a different Time Lord. This Time Lord has held a grudge, many grudges, against the Doctor for a very, very long time. Time Lords have long memories.

During his many lifetimes, many had tried to kill the Doctor. All had failed. Even a creature whose purpose was to assassinate him had failed. He even ended up marrying the woman!

The enemy Time Lord came up with an insidious plan. Instead of killing the Doctor, he would assassinate the Doctor's identity, his sense of self. An act of revenge so Machiavellian that Master and Rani would be forced to look on with envy. The first part of the plan was to affect the Twelfth Doctor's regeneration. For the first time in his life, the Doctor was female. He wished the Twelfth Doctor's visit with his first incarnation was part of the plan, to see his attitude towards women back then, but that was a happy accident.

Next, he created some clues for the Doctor to find. He knew he could count on the Doctor's curiosity. He created the concept of the Timeless Child. The enemy, too, took on a female form. She thought her plans would unravel after the Master got involved, but no, incredibly the Master bought into it. She could not believe her luck. He had hidden on Earth before, in human form. She did it again. She revealed herself as the Doctor. There were flaws in the plan, but Doctor missed them. The Rogue Doctor's TT capsule was a Mark VI, more advanced than the Doctor's Type 40. She had overlooked that the TARDIS assumed its police box shape after he had supposedly become the First Doctor and fled Gallifrey. Or was that part of the plan to make the Doctor doubt his memories?

After all of this time, he, or rather she, had had his revenge. Mortimus' meddling had prevailed. The Doctor was conflicted and no longer knew who she was. With Gallifrey lost, who was there to put her right?