Doctor Who Television Review: The Legend of Ruby Sunday / Empire of Death

Episode: The Legend of Ruby Sunday / Empire of Death
Story Number: 311
Series: 14
Screenwriter:  Russell T Davies
Director: Jamie Donoughue

Thoughts:

Series 14 has felt very Moffat-y up until this two-part finale which feels very Chibnall-y in the sense that it destroys and undos the destruction of the universe, has plot points that don’t have much internal logic, and emotional beats that feel unearned.  But it’s also extremely Davies-y.  After, his finale cliffhangers were 1. It’s the Daleks!, 2. It’s the Cybermen – and the Daleks!, 3. It’s the Master!, and 4. It’s the Daleks again!  So why not have, “It’s Sutekh!” for a change of pace.

While this story is ultimately unsatisfying, there are lots of parts I really like:

• working with UNIT and the return of Rose and Mel.  I especially like how Ruby and Rose immediately become best friends.
• the Sutekh reveal is great as well as the fact that Sutekh has been riding the TARDIS for thousands of years (which retrospectively makes a lot of past stories really funny). Gabriel Woolf sounds terrific and I’m happy he was able to return to voice Sutekh.
• the memory TARDIS is great both as an escape and for the many Easter eggs
• the scene with the kind woman (Sian Clifford) is brilliant.  Now if Moffat had written this, the universe would’ve been destroyed in the cliffhanger and part two would’ve started with this scene.
• call backs to “73 Yards” regarding the perception filter and Roger ap Gwilliam.  I think what happened in that episode will continue to be important in the future of Ruby’s character arc.
• Mel’s fall to the dark side.
• Ruby’s heroic moment and the Doctor dragging Sutekh behind the TARDIS like Clark Griswold with a dog.
• Ruby meeting her birth mother Louise (Faye McKeever) is lovely and awkward.
• The mystery of Mrs. Flood.

What doesn’t work for me is that there is a lot of time in “The Legend of Ruby Sunday” spent in the time window trying to solve the mystery of Ruby’s birth mother and it kind of makes the episode drag.  The explanation that Ruby’s mother becomes a dramatic mystery because they made it important doesn’t make sense.  It especially doesn’t make sense for a 15-year-old in 2004 to wear a medieval cloak and point dramatically at a street sign when no one else is around.  And it really makes no sense that Sutekh would be so invested in solving the mystery of Ruby’s mother.

I also don’t like how the “therapy Doctor” has suddenly resumed gloomily holding himself responsible for death caused by Sutekh, or feeling angst about destroying Sutekh in the vortex.  I also felt the farewell with Ruby felt out of character for Gatwa’s Doctor.  Why is he suddenly being so enigmatic and distant? Why is the farewell given so much finality when we know Ruby is coming back next season.

Anyhow, it was ultimate a disappointing finale to an otherwise terrific season, and doesn’t stand up to scrutiny after the fact, but it was enjoyable enough to watch in the moment.

Rating: 6 of 10