So, it seems that the Doctor Who fanbase has never been unanimously happy with any Doctor Who finale since the show’s return in 2005. For every really solid finale (Parting Of The Ways, Journey’s End, and The Doctor Falls) fans still complain about deus ex machinas, plot contrivances and nonsensical twists. And for every one of these good finales, there’s bad ones (Last Of The Time Lords, The Wedding Of River Song, and The Timeless Children) that are classed as wholly stupid and unsatisfying messes.
No matter who is showrunner, they always seem to be a hard story to pull off and, while they are always entertaining (well, except for The Battle of Ranskoor Av Kolos which was just a listless bore), I’m still not going to be deluded into thinking that the conclusion to the various plot strands of the series are going to be resolved in a way that’s entirely foolproof or satisfying.
The Legend of Ruby Sunday and Empire Of Death is a two-parter that not only showcases the achievements and stumbles of every finale that’s preceded it, but it also displays Russell T. Davies’s best and worst tendencies as a writer, and particularly as a showrunner. It’s by no means a finale which resolves a takeover of the world by the Master with humanity chanting the Doctor’s name in unison so the power of belief can turn him into space Jesus, but it doesn’t quite hit the emotional potency and dread of Donna having to have her mind wiped, or the residents of Satellite 5 being slaughtered by a wave of Daleks.
The Legend Of Ruby Sunday is the archetypal Part One – a lot of setup, a lot of teasing, and a lot of mystery that won’t pay off for a little while yet. The first ten minutes, with the Doctor and Ruby landing at UNIT and explaining to them the situation, are fun but do they give off the same energy as Russell shuffling his notes when writing the script, remembering what he’s got to do in the finale, and going “Crap,” a feeling which was probably even more terrifying for him since he’s also got to worry about the Sutekh reveal in the last ten minutes.
For the most part, The Legend Of Ruby Sunday dedicates itself to exactly that – the legend behind Ruby’s parentage. As a result, the Susan Triad elements of the episode feel largely tacked-on and scattershot throughout the episode, even if that was seemingly the main food for thought for the Doctor and Ruby going in. The way in which the episode goes about exploring the mystery behind Ruby’s mother, bringing the CCTV videotape to life and trying to catch her face using the enhanced image, is really well-done. It’s brilliantly directed by Jamie O’Donoughue, and the acting from Millie Gibson as well as Michelle Greenidge was fantastic, as both considered their relationship with one another when faced with the truth of Ruby Sunday’s lineage.
I never once doubted that Ruby Sunday was human, nor did I ever consider that she might be evil, but the actual reveal that the reason why Ruby is important is because she was made important is really stretching credibility. I get there’s a greater influence from magic and the supernatural in this series, with the events of 73 Yards being evidence of this, but it doesn’t sufficiently explain the presence of snowfall everywhere Ruby went, or why the mother glitched in the videotape, or why she has a hidden song “deep inside her soul.” If there’s more than what Russell is letting on here, great. If there isn’t, then I’m calling shenanigans on this as a resolution to that mystery.
With that said, the scene when Ruby meets her mum was gorgeous and one of the best moments in the series. Russell is just so good at domestic moments like this, he really does excel at the ‘little things’ that other writers take for granted, and while the 8-episode count has sadly meant we haven’t had as many of these, I’m really happy with the one here. It worked really well for the episode, and made me really emotional and happy. It’s a shame it ended on the fourth-wall break from Mrs Flood and not that, because it would’ve been even more powerful.
As for the Sutekh angle of the story, this is even more of a mixed bag. I’ve been loving the appearances by Susan Twist in random roles throughout the series, and it’s cool to see RTD using the same trick he did in his first era (repeated appearances of something that keep happening until someone notices them) with Bad Wolf and Mr Saxon etc, only this time with an actual person and not just a phrase or a mysterious figure in the background.
Fans were obviously quick to note the character’s name of Susan Triad. Susan, a reference to the Doctor’s granddaughter who’s been mentioned more this series than in the past sixty years, is the most obvious one but also the abbreviation of S Triad is an anagram of TARDIS. Morris, played by Lenny Rush, is quick to point out that this has a high probability of being a trap and, as fans also deduced, Susan Triad Technologies can also be abbreviated another way. Susan Triad Tech. Susan Tech. Sue Tech.
Oh Russell, you mad bastard.
In a very meta turn of events, the twist involving the character played by Susan Twist is that she isn’t actually Susan and is instead Sutekh, the God of Death who before this has only ever been seen in the phenomenal 1975 story Pyramids of Mars. Major kudos to original voice actor Gabriel Woolf, now in his nineties, for returning to the role, but also kudos to Russell for delivering one of the scariest cliffhangers I’ve seen in quite some time, and a strong runner-up for his best ever cliffhanger. It doesn’t quite beat the heart-pounding fear at the end of The Stolen Earth, but it’s damn near close.
It’s very hard to make the TARDIS seem terrifying, given how much of a beacon of hope it is, but that’s exactly what this episode does, and the moment when Sutekh reveals himself wrapped around it was an awesome shot.
However, if I’m calling shenanigans on the presence of magic in the mystery of Ruby Sunday, then I’m calling complete bullshit on Sutekh being wrapped around the TARDIS ever since Pyramids of Mars, and even more bullshit on him being defeated by being dragged around the time vortex on a leash until he can’t take it anymore.
It doesn’t help that the CGI for this was fairly naff too.
That, and it makes little sense as to why Sutekh would lay this intricate trap for the Doctor involving Susan Triad. It feels like the plan of the Master or the Great Intelligence, not the God of Death.
Empire of Death certainly had its moments though. Ncuti’s Doctor has been taken the mick out of for how much he cries, but his scream of anguish when he sees the destruction that he helped cause was really powerful. I also respect how much Russell gave Mel to do, after being somewhat of a background character in The Giggle. He has overcompensated with that though, now that Yasmin Finney is an extra who occasionally speaks, but the decision to show Sutekh killing all the UNIT crew, including Kate Stewart, was really gutsy and looked terrifying.
So, that about it wraps it up for this finale and this series. I want to do an overview of the series once it’s had time to settle, but for now I enjoyed this finale as a big bombastic spectacle of effects and emotion, rather than a conclusion to the main story arcs of the series. It definitely ranks in the upper-half of new Who finales as far as I’m concerned, with its touching moments and well-executed horror sequences, but it is sad to see that 15 years after his last finale Russell still seems unable to offer a fully-rounded conclusion to everything he sets up. The conclusions are fine, but not memorable enough to live up to his fantastic way of setting up mysteries, and especially the terrifying cliffhanger to The Legend of Ruby Sunday.
Russell has proven that he is still capable of delivering an emotionally satisfying finale. He has also proven that he is still incapable of delivering a narratively satisfying one.
The Legend of Ruby Sunday & Empire of Death are available to watch on BBC iPlayer
