WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD
Ncuti Gatwa’s first season of Doctor Who has all been leading towards a climatic two-part series finale. Across the whole season we’ve had the mystery and emotional journey of Ruby Sunday, the enigma of the same woman continually appearing across time and space, and with the return of Sutekh there is a dramatic story to tell. How well were all these ingredients managed? Let's take a look.
The story begins with the Doctor and Ruby landing in UNIT HQ wanting their help to solve the main mysteries of the series. It turns out that the woman who keeps appearing in 2024 has appeared in the form of the CEO of S Triad Technologies, which seems to be a trap. It all turns out to be a plot by Sutekh who has been attached to the Tardis and waiting since his last encounter with the Doctor to unleash his gift of death causing destructive chaos. However, the mystery of Ruby’s mother is something which continues to puzzle him.
There are a lot of small mysteries across the series which have been brewing and developing. Like the first era of Russell T Davies, this is where all the various components come together in such a precise manner. In this case I really like the blatant and upfront nature of the resolution to the mysteries. The Doctor and Ruby just go to UNIT to get their help to solve everything and there is something admirably simplistic about that approach.
This feels like the right time to talk about Susan Triad played by Susan Twist, as she basically functions as a McGuffin. Susan Twist has been cropping up randomly as various characters since Wild Blue Yonder and it’s in this story where all that gets tied together and explained. Here Susan Twist appears in the form of Susan Triad, who is the CEO of S Triad Technologies. She appears as a very hard-working and gentle person and Twist portrays that effectively. You have a lot of moving parts all culminating towards a reveal moment which Susan Triad plays heavily into. With Triad being an anagram of Tardis and the name Susan linking into the Doctor’s backstory with his granddaughter, there are a lot of clues left for the audience. Russell T Davies does an effective job of leaning into fan theories by misdirecting fans into anticipating the return of Susan. This would feel irritating and a misuse of audience trust if it wasn’t for the fact that Russell T Davies only does this for Sutekh’s return to feel like a surprise. It was a clever way to incorporate the Doctor’s past and personal backstory into the show as a way for Sutekh to manipulate the Doctor.
You also have the twist of Sutekh being attached to the Tardis. I like the way the hints are laid across the series that there is something wrong with the Tardis, but the audience dismisses and barely notices it. It’s subtle, which means the revelation feels incorporated into the core of the series and means more as a result. Russell T Davies does a fitting job of laying groundwork, which he also did for Triad Technologies to come together cleanly in a dramatic and powerful manner.
I do have a problem with what the hints laid ultimately come to. Considering the groundwork for Sutekh’s return, his execution and role in Empire of Death feels somewhat underwhelming. I was able to look past the lack of a return for Susan Foreman that had been hyped up because the story was servicing something just as exciting. However, when the story does not deliver on that, then the ingredients that the cliff-hanger was in service of feels like a waste. I hope at least Susan Foreman’s return is planned for some point in the future, because otherwise it would feel like the story was baiting and stringing along the audience for no real reason.
This feels like a good time to talk about the return of Sutekh, the god of death. Sutekh is one of the best villains in the history of Doctor Who, coming from one of the best ever stories with the Pyramids of Mars. He really crippled the Doctor and brought him to the emotional limit. He is a force and a power that has been unmatched. You have to question where you can take Sutekh that’s in any way satisfying, and if its worth bringing him back. Pyramids of Mars already created such high stakes, such a sense of unfolding terror and emotionally damaged the Doctor. It’s difficult to progress that story and for it not to feel underwhelming. The strength that Empire of Death does have is that you do have Gabriel Woolfe returning to voice the character. He has such a sense of menace, cruelty and sinister horror just from the voice which creates the character. I also really like the way Sutekh has been attached to the Tardis and waiting for all these years. It’s bold, but it ties together Susan Triad and feels very meaningful. The trouble is that there is very little to Sutekh’s character across the story. He has a subdued role in the Pyramids of Mars, but the threat of him holds a lot of power and the menacing voice really carries the threat. Once you have a character that has literally brought the universe to dust, there is nowhere to take them after that point. It makes the threat redundant because they have fulfilled their role immediately.
Given how much I love the original story, I was very let down with what little Sutekh got to do in Empire of Death. His role didn’t live up to the brilliant cliff-hanger at the end of the Legend of Ruby Sunday. I also didn’t like the re-design of Sutekh at all. It plays into the canine imagery of Egyptian culture, but it strips Sutekh of his personal rivalry with the Doctor. It turns Sutekh into more of a monster and beastly figure rather than an intellectual antagonist for the Doctor like he used to be, and totally misses the essentials of the character. It feels like change for the sake of change when a mending and updating of the original design would have been a lot creepier. Because there is not enough time to fully develop the villain, Sutekh comes across as a very bland and generic antagonist. From the Pyramids of Mars, you understand the threat that Sutekh represents, but Empire of Death feels overly reliant on that history. The story itself doesn’t do any of the work to flesh out who Sutekh is, which feels like a mistake. It dilutes Sutekh by bottling him down into being a purely godlike figure. In truth, Sutekh comes from a race which the Egyptian gods were inspired by and is a character with a lot of paranoia and fear.
The root of Sutekh’s motivations is left untouched, which I think harms the character. New audiences are going to be left confused and underwhelmed with the threat you actually get from Sutekh. With all the buildup, he feels like a damp squib of a villain and not worthy of the setup and climactic stakes. The personal rivalry between him and the Doctor is incredibly shallow and meaningless, and the story does nothing to progress the relationship from where it was left in the Pyramids of Mars. You would think Sutekh would be angry at the Doctor and want revenge, but Russell T Davies just seems uninterested in any possible trajectory. Usually, villains are at the centre of his finales, but Russell T Davies quickly loses interest in Sutekh. Nothing is done to either update the character or to progress them from their previous state. It means Sutekh could have been practically any villain and the worth of bringing him back feels totally pointless and redundant.
The destructive chaos of the story feels like a double-edged sword in a number of ways. I think it works for the stakes of the story, it creates an emotional and end of the universe danger which is very important and impactful. Leaving everything purely up to the Doctor, Ruby and Mel also make things very reliant on their actions and decisions and the plot and story enclosed around them. It gives a simplicity to Empire of Death which I like. The dusting is very similar to Avengers Infinity War and Endgame. The problem is that you know everything is going to be reversed, so the danger feels somewhat insincere and unbelievable. I could have rolled with and accepted it if there had been some cost and death by the end of the story.
As much as the Marvel films often avoid death, there is still legitimate emotional cost by the end of Avengers Endgame, which is lacking in this story. The wrap-ups in the finales of Russell T Davies' first era felt combined with emotional sacrifices and some level of consequence and danger. The end of Empire of Death feels too easy and convenient. It feels consequenceless, which just makes the stakes of the whole story feel hollow. With the god of death, you need some kind of permanent death, which the story does not provide.
I really liked and appreciated the use of the Memory Tardis. We are familiar with the set from the Tales of the Tardis series, but it feels like a treasure trove of nostalgia, easter eggs and references that is very rewarding. I admire the way Sutekh’s death and endpoint was set in motion. With the intelligent gloves from the Church on Ruby Road and the intelligent rope that Russell T Davies incorporates, clever links are established to pay off in a dramatic way. A link I didn’t think worked was the one with Roger Ap Gwilliam. The DNA testing was never mentioned in 73 Yards, so there is no setup to make the payoff feel meaningful and for the series to feel linked. Even putting this aside, I don’t think the link to 2046 has enough of a role to feel worthwhile. We are likely to have more of this plotline, but within this story and series, the end result does not feel worth the effort.
The puzzle-box and revelation of Ruby’s mother is one that has alienated and disappointed a lot of fans, and I can certainly appreciate why. However, for me I thought this was the perfect ending for the plotline. With all the enigma, for it to come down to something so ordinary and mundane at the end of a supernatural mystery and story feels emotionally appropriate. It was a clever twist and I think the emotional drama of things really came together and succeeded. It’s what I think ultimately strung the drama of the story and characters together. There are things across the two parter that feel nonsensical, overblown and silly. However, the emotional drama and stakes of things are what hold the story together, particularly in the character journeys. After the Timeless Child, the Hybrid and the Impossible Girl I have become tired of mysteries which elevate character's importance for the sake of drama. I am much more in favour of this kind of theming which surrounds the journeys of ordinary people and their lives. Everything surrounding Ruby’s mother is because of her asserted importance and the universe and time turning around her rather than anything to do with who she is. That being said, I think the revelation regarding the signpost is incredibly dumb. The whole thing feels daft and takes you out of the reality of the emotion.
Now let's look at Ncuti Gatwa as the Fifteenth Doctor. He has such a sense of charisma and lively personality which leads the show. There is a lot of heart and soul in Ncuti Gatwa’s performance as the Doctor. There is an adventurous wildness to this Doctor that keeps the series full of energy, and yet he still has a sense of wisdom and an age to him. I like the maturity and the warmth which he has in his relationship with Ruby, as he feels very protective towards her. However, there is a sense of damage and a hurt to the Doctor and a vulnerability which feels very real. You can feel his regret and shame for leaving and abandoning Susan and how much his past and trauma weigh on him. His own emotion and sense of terror at the end of the Legend of Ruby Sunday also gives things a lot of weight.
I do adore the drama and the baggage with which Ncuti Gatwa carries across Empire of Death. The Doctor’s sense of despair and hopelessness when Sutekh wipes everything out, weighs upon the Doctor in a way which is truly meaningful and emotional. The visceral pain and emotion and personal sense of blame with which the Doctor carries with him for what has happened makes the stakes of the story very personal and human. The end scene between the Doctor and Ruby is a highlight. You can see the way Ruby has opened up and broadened the Doctor and the loneliness the Doctor feels without Ruby feels right for the character and his progression.
The two parter is centred largely around Ruby Sunday and her journey and story surrounding her birth mother. I like the relatability of Ruby’s personal journey that is tracked across the two parter. Ruby is looking for a missing piece in her life to get to her own roots. I love the scene with Ruby inside the Time Window. Her own sense of disbelief and desperation at not being able to see her birth mother is very crushing. You can see the rush of emotion becoming too much for her to deal with rationally as she clings to answers. Ruby is a very resilient, brave and compassionate person and that is shown throughout the story and the way she handles the chaos, stakes and emotion of what’s around her. The way she confronts and helps to trick Sutekh shows her heroic bravery as a companion. Her reunion with her birth mother feels like the moment the series has been leading up to. Ruby’s nervousness, confusion and emotion in her moment of reunion feels very organic and real. You can feel Ruby’s personal journey evolving as she is given the chance to connect with her birth family. The personal arc of Ruby and her character journey is cleanly tied up in a satisfying and very emotional manner. Ruby is hesitant to leave the Doctor given what he means to her, but it’s right for the story and for Ruby in her progression to find out who she truly is.
You have Melanie Bush returning, played by Bonnie Langford and she is given a very satisfying role to play. There is a sense of history with the Doctor, but she has an optimistic and lively personality that works well with Ncuti Gatwa’s Doctor. Mel is given more intelligence to play with than she was in her original run, which gives her more meat to chew on. However, her stubbornness and bluntness is what makes this version of Mel succeed. She has a sense of skill, but the way she pulls the Doctor out of his emotional fit at the end of the Legend of Ruby Sunday gives Mel the right mixture of energy to mesh perfectly with Ncuti Gatwa’s Doctor. I appreciated giving her an active role in Empire of Death and the internal conflict she had when being taken over by Sutekh gave her a lot of emotion and vulnerability. I’d like to see Mel get the spotlight at some point soon.
You have a well-formed UNIT team across the Legend of Ruby Sunday led by Kate Stewart. Jemma Redgrave always gives the character a graveness and authority, but her sense of care for her men and the death and stakes lying on her shoulders gives her character a lot of weight in this story. Unfortunately, Ruth Madeley was unable to return as Shirley Ann Bingham, but in her place, you have Lenny Rush as Morris Gibbons. He gives the character a very likeable sense of fun, skill and intelligence and fits well into the dynamics of different characters. Rose Noble, played by Yasmin Finney, returns as a part of UNIT and feels kind of pointless. Don’t get me wrong, I was happy to see her part of the UNIT team and I liked her dynamic with Ruby a lot. However, I didn’t understand what she was doing and what her role was. She seemed to fall into the background and didn’t have much of an active role. It would have worked better if Rose had survived the dusting along with the Doctor, Ruby and Mel, as that would have given her more attention.
It's always a joy to have the Sunday family around and they get a fitting role in this story, especially Carla Sunday played by Michelle Greenidge. Her stubborn energy and wholesome love for Ruby is something which you can admire. Her emotion, love and care grounds the story into family dynamics, which helpfully ties into the themes of the story. The way she feels for Ruby’s birth mother and her crying at leaving Ruby is very real and believable, makes sense for her character and feels right.
The story is directed by Jamie Donoughue who previously directed the Children in Need special Destination Skaro last year and has also worked on the Last Kingdom and the Discovery of Witches. There is a dramatic and large scale feel through the story and I think Jamie Donoughue’s directing personifies this. There is something very immersive, climatic and big about the feel of it. The zooming movement of the camera when the Time Window is activated gives things a frantic movement and sense of importance, but the inwards focus on the Doctor and Ruby makes things feel intimate and personal which feels right. I just love the way the Memory Tardis is framed; it’s enclosed feel makes things feel contained. The desolate sense of the universe is very apparent across Empire of Death, but it’s well sold visually from the shot panning away from the Memory Tardis alone in space, it's an effectively demonstrated visual idea.
So overall, how did I feel about the Legend of Ruby Sunday/Empire of Death? It feels like a typical Russell T Davies finale in a lot of ways. It takes tiny seeds and setups from across the series and draws it all together into a dramatic conclusion. However, whilst I enjoyed the unveiling of Susan Triad and the emotional story for Ruby unfolded in a satisfying manner, I think there are many parts of the story which fall flat and don’t live up to expectations. Considering all the buildup to Sutekh, the payoff feels bitterly disappointing and not worth bringing him back. I also feel like the lack of emotional cost and lasting death really hinders the main stakes of the story. It makes things feel hollow, with a lack of consequences, and the overall story feels a bit redundant. It’s an enjoyable ending that delivers on emotion but under-delivers and feels underwhelming in some essential aspects.
Sources that influenced this article:
Social media links:
Comments