Doctor Who Episode Review: The Legend of Ruby Sunday and Empire of Death (2024)
Synopsis: Arriving back in present-day London, the Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) seeks help from UNIT to track down the identity of a mysterious woman (Susan Twist) who has appeared as multiple incarnations during his travels with Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson). At the same time, he also enlists UNIT's help in tracking down Ruby's long-lost birth mother. In doing so, he inadvertently releases Sutekh, who immediately begins wiping out all life in the universe.
Review: As I mentioned previously, my wife and I spent part of this past weekend getting caught up on the previous Doctor Who season so we can start watching the newer episodes that just started airing this month. This included watching the two episodes, The Legend of Ruby Sunday and Empire of Death, which I'm going to lump together since they were basically a two-part season finale. After watching them, I would describe my opinion as being a bit disappointed.
My biggest problem with these episodes is the same one I had with The Giggle. I'm all for nostalgia and remembering long-time fans but if you're going to re-introduce a character that was last seen back in 1975, it does help to introduce them before the season finale so you can give them some more context. I'm approaching 50 and was only a few weeks old when Pyramids of Mars first aired. Even though I've probably seen it in re-runs at some point, that's a very large time gap for a casual viewer and I spent most of these two episodes just trying to figure out who the heck Sutekh was.
As far as the plot itself goes, I was a bit mixed. I did like the part about Ruby Sunday's unknown birth mother and the attempt to solve the various mysteries surrounding his companion, including why she was able to make it snow. I also thought the part about the mysterious Susan Triad (Twist), including the possibility she was the Doctor's long-lost granddaughter had potential. However, as the Sutekh story emerged, those took a backseat with the Susan Triad story ending in a bland way and Ruby's story seeming a bit rushed in its conclusion.
I was also left scratching my head at the whole bringing the dead back to life thing. It feels like it was a bit too simple considering they didn't just die; they were turned to dust.
I did, however, find I liked the ending, which was a good mix of happy and sad as Ruby finds her mother but says goodbye to the Doctor as a result. It was nice closure while still offering up the opportunity to see her again. I'll take that over a companion dying any day.
Final Opinion: I think I would have enjoyed these two episodes better had Sutekh been re-introduced earlier in the season, and we were given a refresher on who he was and his motivations. That might have allowed for Ruby and Susan's stories enough time to do it right.
My Grade: C-
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Here are some other Doctor Who episode reviews:
Doctor Who Episode Review: 73 Yards (2024)
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