Doctor Who: Empire of Death (14x08)

This season flew by so quickly, I can't believe we have to wait until the end of the year for more of Ncuti Gatwa's Doctor! Let's dive in.

Cons:

Unfortunately, my big complaint from last week's episode does still hold true for me here. Sutekh as our villain to finish off the season doesn't really do anything for me. I don't know him, I don't know the lore, and "death" is kind of a generic villain, is he not? I mean, sure, I love that the Doctor takes on the mantle of Life, and defeats Death by turning Death on himself, that's a cool enough concept. But really this is some Marvel-esque drama, isn't it? Everyone in the world gets turned to dust, then the Doctor fixes it and everyone comes back. It's just sort of a generic bad guy to cap off the season.

And look - I liked the stuff with Ruby and finding her mom, I really did, but I do feel like several questions remained unanswered that had to do with Ruby specifically. Namely, what did old Ruby say to people to get them to run away in "73 Yards"? I really thought we'd get the answer here, but we didn't, really. Also, Ruby made it snow with the power of memories or something, so like... was that a Sutekh thing, or is there something more going on with Ruby? I don't need this show to "make sense", honestly, but when they seed little hints of things and they don't pay off, it does sort of chafe.

 Pros:

All that said, I think there was a lot to love in this finale. I did like the scene where the Doctor talks to a random woman who has escaped Sutekh's death momentarily, I liked the spoon, I liked the simplicity and power of that connection.

I liked spending time with Mel, and the genuine heartbreak of losing her to Sutekh as well. The scene where you see that the Doctor is being threatened by an unseen foe and then the turn to see Mel's face, turned into one of those ghastly death masks, was really effective. I also liked the reveal that Ruby and the Doctor had foreseen Mel's turn, and had planned a trap for Sutekh through it.

The concept of Susan, this recurring figure throughout the Doctor's many adventures, is a really cool one. I loved that bit at the end about how Death had created Life, and it looks like maybe Susan has a place with Kate and the others at UNIT. I wouldn't mind checking in again sometime soon on these characters.

Honestly, though, the thing that elevates this episode from being a bit of a mediocre finale to something I definitively enjoyed, it's all in that epilogue about Ruby and her mother.

I do love that she's not a mystical being, not important. She's only important in that she's a mystery. She's something the God of Death could not understand, could not identify, and that bothered him enough to lead to his undoing. It's very in the spirit of Doctor Who as a show. At its best, the purpose of the companions or really any human character isn't that they're naturally some sort of destined important being, but that just by being ordinary, they have huge and inexplicable significance at certain moments.

I cried like a baby in the scene where Ruby meets her mom, and they hug and cry. I really felt Ruby's youth, in this finale. She's still just a kid, really, figuring out her place in the world. And her mother is only 35, having been 15 when she gave Ruby up to protect her from her own bad home life. Ruby's joy, her exhilaration, at the prospect of finding her father as well, all of it paints her as she truly is: someone starting off on the great adventure of her life. And traveling with the Doctor was a part of it, an important part. She loves him. But...

Gosh, I just really loved how this turned out. The Doctor's parting words to Ruby are to reassure her that of course she'll see him again, and also to tell her that she changed him. She made him open up about his family in a way he never has before, and that's huge. It is, once again, Doctor Who at its very best when it comes to the relationship between Doctor and Companion. He swans into someone's life and changes it forever, never settling down, always off on the next grand adventure. But he is also changed by every person he comes across, and that's important too.

I find myself hoping we do get to see Ruby again. I find myself hoping that the Doctor's next companion(s) are interesting and unique, and that we get to stick with Gatwa's version of the Doctor for a minimum of two more seasons. I love this guy, I want so much more of him. He should go find Jonathan Groff now, thanks.

As I reflect back on this season, I have no choice but to be really excited for more. We get the ominous final words from Mrs. Flood that the Doctor's story will not end well, and whatever that foretells for the Christmas Special and beyond, I'm definitely ready and waiting to find out!

7.5/10