Empire of Death

There’s nothing we can do…but fight!

Melanie Bush

Synopsis

The Doctor has lost, his ageless enemy reigns supreme, and a shadow is falling over creation. Nothing can stop the devastation… except, perhaps, one woman.

Review

The series’ shorter nature makes it all the more surprising that we are at the final part. I’ve enjoyed this series, with some reservations, and I think that some elements of the arc could have been developed a bit more. The surprise return of Sutekh in The Legend of Ruby Sunday ultimately felt a little bit rushed and the series feels as though it could have benefitted from an additional episode.

After the character-filled Legend of Ruby Sunday, Empire of Death feels tighter and more intimate than its first part. This owes a lot to the God of Death, Sutekh, killing everyone off except for the Doctor, Ruby and Mel early on in this story. In that way, it almost feels more similar to the series finales written by Steven Moffat than those from Russell T Davies’ original run, as the story slows down, but I do not think that this is a bad thing really. The scenes in the Memory TARDIS work really well and allow this trio to bounce off each other really well. The moments of the Doctor blaming himself for the death of the universe at the hands of Sutekh, which is inadvertently his fault, are great and I think that the mix of a new and experienced companion to support him does feel earned. This is the first time that I have really seen the reasoning behind bringing Bonnie Langford back, and the show has given her something new to do by being Sutekh’s way of keeping tabs on the Doctor and Ruby. The moment when that skull appeared over the top of Mel’s head in the Memory TARDIS sent shivers up my spine.

Russell T Davies does wrap up a lot of the plot threads that have run through this series and by bringing back Sutekh, shown that the show is not afraid to bring back deepcut villains and references to the show’s past. Not all the story threads are wrapped up, and the mystery around the identify of Mrs Flood still persists, following her threatening Cherry Sunday last week and her statement that she had such plans before Sutekh’s death wave turns both her and Ruby’s grandmother to dust. The story does benefit from an additional ten minutes but I was surprised at how quickly Sutekh’s plot was wrapped up. Whilst I was expecting a reset switch at the end of this story – and with some of the characters that are killed off in the story’s opening moments, it is unsurprising that these don’t stick – the scope of it did definitely take me by surprise. It would seem that the Doctor has potentially undone the Flux, but it is perhaps more notable that Gallifrey is not mentioned. This would seem to have been an opportunity to bring back the Time Lords, but maybe Russell T Davies still does not want them on the board again.

I have seen a lot of criticism on Twitter about the resolution of this story thread and people saying that they are dissatisfied with how this has been wrapped up. In my opinion, this is the problem with telling stories by way of mystery boxes, which are designed to provoke online discourse but create a lot of negative feeling if the story doesn’t go their way. Most recently, we’ve had the identity of Rey teased in the sequel Star Wars trilogy, which was set up in The Force Awakens, but then revealed to be nobody in The Last Jedi, then reverted to be related to a legacy character in The Rise of Skywalker. Russell T Davies took inspiration from the ideas of The Last Jedi when writing this story, and I agree with him that Ruby being related to nobody makes her a far more interesting characters than if she was the daughter of the Rani or River Song, for instance. There are no theories as to the identity of either Ruby or her mother There are bits that feel a little bit weaker about her story, such as her mother pointing to the road sign, but I certainly could buy the TARDIS trying to fight back against Sutekh by concealing her identity from him as the reason behind her dramatic robes. Ultimately, Russell T Davies has always championed the exceptional nature of ordinary people, like Donna, Rose Tyler or Martha, and how they can do extraordinary things, so Ruby’s mother Louise being in a similar mould feels in keeping with those characters. Millie Gibson has really shone this year and the scene in the coffee shop with her mother really highlights her strengths as an actor.

The Fifteenth Doctor has been through a lot this series, and having faced off against his first big bad in the shape of Sutekh, it seems clear that despite his best efforts, the Doctor will be unable to escape the demons of his past. It is perhaps notable that the Daleks get their first mention of this Doctor’s era in this story, and it cannot be long before Gatwa gets his chance to go up against them. As I have said in previous reviews, this Doctor is more in touch with his emotions but I remain unconvinced that the therapy in reverse element of bigeneration has worked. The Doctor remains able to put on a brave face, such as when he says goodbye to Ruby, which feels quintessentially like the Doctor, but then becomes emotional when left alone. This has been a good debut series for Gatwa’s Doctor and I am intrigued to see where this Doctor goes.

Verdict: A solid, if unremarkable finale, brings the Fifteenth Doctor’s debut season to a strong close. 8/10

Cast: Ncuti Gatwa (The Doctor), Millie Gibson (Ruby Sunday), Gabriel Woolf (Voice of Sutekh), Susan Twist (Susan Triad), Bonnie Langford (Melanie Bush), Jemma Redgrave (Kate Lethbridge-Stewart), Yasmin Finney (Rose Noble), Genesis Lynea (Harriet Arbinger), Lenny Rush (Morris Gibbons), Aidan Cook (The Vlinx), Nicholas Briggs (Voice of the Vlinx), Alexander Devrient (Colonel Cristofer Ibrahim), Jasmine Bayes (Corporal Alice Sullivan), Anita Dobson (Mrs Flood), Michelle Greenidge (Carla Sunday), Angela Wynter (Cherry Sunday), Sian Clifford (Kind Woman), Amol Rajan (Himself), Aneurin Barnard (Roger ap Gwilliam), Tachia Newall (Colonel Winston Chidozie), Fela Lufadeja (Bailey Sinclair) & Faye McKeever (Louise Miller).

Writer: Russell T Davies

Director: Jamie Donoghue

Producer: Vicki Delow

Composer: Murray Gold

Original UK Broadcast Date: 22nd June 2024

Behind the Scenes

• This story shares a title with a 2004 Past Doctors Adventures novel featuring the Fifth Doctor and Nyssa.
• Empire of Death was released in UK cinemas on 22nd June, with The Legend of Ruby Sunday being shown before it.

Best Moment

I know that Ruby will be back next series, but her departure scene featured superb acting by both Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson.

Best Quote

Previous Fifteenth Doctor review: The Legend of Ruby Sunday

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