Doctor Who: The Legend of Ruby Sunday (14x07)

This is an undeniably excellent season of this show, wow!

Cons:

So, the big thing is, I don't know who Sutekh is within the lore of this show. I went and did a google, and he's a figure who appeared in one episode and then a bunch of tie-in stuff. There was a lot about this "reveal" that was effective, and I'm not saying knowing the deep lore is a requirement to get the significance of the twist, but it's like... I don't know. Ideally, you spend all season with the mystery of this recurring woman, and you hear people talking about "The One Who Waits," and then the moment of truth hits and you go "oh shit! I can't believe it was [blank] the whole time!" Sutekh could have been "Bob the Scary Demon Man" and it would have made no difference to me or, I would wager, to the majority of the audience.

I also think I could have used a bit more buildup of "The One Who Waits" just as a concept. Could have used one or two additional drops of that phrase. There's something a little clunky about the reveal being a god of Death, because it's like... hmm. Isn't the saying "time waits for no man," like, Death is going to get you, you can't run from it? So the idea of a death god "waiting" and then deciding to "stop waiting" is a little off for me. My favorite depictions of Death in fiction are always Death as Inevitability. Not cruel, not actively violent, just... it's coming for us all. This dude by contrast seems to be more of a god of destruction, an active force that wants to kill the universe. I'm down for it, I'm just saying maybe the "waiting" aspect is a little muddy.

Also, the creepy old lady neighbor being some sort of messenger for the coming of Sutekh was cool, but I could have used another cut back to her just to make sure Grandma Sunday is okay, or to give us a tease of what might need to happen to keep her safe next episode? It felt weird to include that little sinister bit and then not really revisit it.

Pros:

I say all of that, and I mean it, but at the same time I was wicked impressed with this episode's ability to build and hold tension, to tie me into the emotional reality of the Doctor and Ruby and feel the pain and fear through their lens, even when I didn't get the larger reference from the show's lore. I think the real showcase of this episode, the scene I'm going to carry with me, is the scene in the time window. It's a long, long scene, and very slow, with a lot of the Doctor and Ruby just standing and watching, and not a lot happening. And yet somehow I was holding my breath, filled with the tension and the desperation of the moment, the whole way through. When the hooded figure, ostensibly Ruby's mother, turned and pointed, I honestly gasped. And when the UNIT member's voice started speaking, talking about being lost and being in hell... goosebumps.

I also want to say how good it was to see Kate, and Rose, and Mel, and just spend time with this oddball UNIT crew. There's this interesting sense whenever we're with Kate, like, "oh, everything's going to be okay now." And it's a fun reciprocity between viewer and characters, because you also get the sense that Kate feels that way about having the Doctor near. We can take comfort from UNIT, and UNIT takes comfort from the Doctor. I liked the little twelve-year-old genius boy and the other characters we got to spend some time with; there's this real sense of a lived reality going on when we're not here to observe it; they're on about their business all the time, keeping a lookout for inexplicable danger. That's also what makes it so sinister and thrilling when you realize the danger is right there in the room with them. The Doctor brought it with him, totally by accident, leaving his TARDIS behind to set off the trap.

There are two identity-based mysteries going on in this episode. One is Ruby's mother, and the other is Susan, the Doctor's granddaughter. Are we going to get to see a glimpse of Ruby's mum? Will the great mystery be unveiled? Is this woman actually the Doctor's relative? Are we going to see him face his past and reunite with her?

And the answer to both of these questions seems to be: nope! Not yet, anyway. Just you wait! There's a delicious frustration to this episode, where you think what we're building to might be the answer to what the heck is happening with Ruby, but it's not. There's a connection there, but it still feels elusive, the real truths just out of our reach. I believe that Ruby is not returning as a companion for another season, so ostensibly whatever answers we're going to get about her, we'll get next week? I hope she gets the answers and the peace she's looking for. I still want to know what creepy old-lady-Ruby was whispering to everyone that made them run away back in "73 Yards."

Once again Ncuti Gatwa's performance was outstanding. I loved seeing him interacting with Kate and Mel, these people who have known the Doctor for so long and through so many different iterations. His contained pain and doubt about Susan, and that moment of heartbreak when he shakes her hand and looks her in the eye and can't feel the recognition that would prove who she is... that was really moving. And then also his care and compassion for Ruby, holding her through her grief about not being able to find answers about her mom! And then the fear and horror on his face as the truth of his foe comes clear to him at last. Despite my complaints above about this reveal not really having prior meaning to me as a viewer, I am convinced to feel a great amount of horror by the strength of the Doctor's reaction alone. That's impressive!

One last note, I'll say that Doctor Who isn't known for its top-notch SFX even in this new age of Disney money, but I always appreciate the creativity of how they choose to do things visually. The memory effects in the time window had this strange mix of VHS static and then a genuine horror element to it, where it felt like everything was happening on a predestined loop but you were also ready for the hooded figure to turn and see the Doctor and Ruby at any moment. It felt so nebulous and unspecific in a really neat way. And then the Sutekh effect at the end, looming over the TARDIS - I mean, it's kind of cartoony and a bit unconvincing but I honestly really liked the way it looked, that big scary mouth, the glowing red eyes, the whiskers and the ears... and then the effects on Harriet and Susan too, they looked so creepy and scary and I didn't want them to touch the Doctor or our other good guys!

So yeah, that's what I've got for this one. I do wish I could have somehow been clued in to the full lore so that the big reveal would feel like a genuine revelation. But even with that significant disadvantage built into the structure of the story, this was a great installment of the show and I eagerly await part two!

8/10